The Tragic Death of Ratt Guitarist Robbin Crosby

Ratt guitarist Robbin Crosby spoke about the success of the band’s first album in 1984, Out of the Cellar, “Everything that’s happened to us, has been like something out of a fairy tale.” Ratt would go on to dominate the rock scene in the 80’s with hit album after hit album but Crosby’s fairy tale would turn into a nightmare.

Robbin Crosby Dreams of Becoming a Rockstar

Becoming a rockstar was the dream of guitarist Robbin Crosby, who grew up in San Diego. In the 1970’s, he played in a local band named Mac Media, where he came up with early versions of the songs “Scene of the Crime” and “I’m Insane”, both of which showed up on Ratt’s debut album.

Eventually Crosby left Mac Media and joined a different San Diego outfit named Phenomenon. It was around this time that Crosby met Stephen Pearcy who was fronting a group called Mickey Ratt.

Robbin Crosby and Stephen Pearcy Move to LA

By 1981, both musicians hadn’t yet played in the same band together, but they moved to LA with their respective groups, hoping to land a major record deal. Joining Crosby on his journey from San Diego to LA, was his girlfriend and future model and actress, Tawny Kitaen.

Los Angeles proved to be a much more fertile ground for the type of rock n’ roll that the two musicians were playing, given the success of LA-based bands like Van Halen and Quiet Riot.

“In those early years, Robbin was pretty much the main guy.” – Stephen Pearcy

Not too long after the pair moved to LA, their own bands fell apart and Pearcy and Crosby started playing together under the moniker Ratt. Pearcy discussed the importance of Robbin Crosby joining the band and how he was instrumental in establishing Ratt’s sound, during a 2011 interview with Noisecreep, “I brought Robbin into the lineup. Together we laid down the foundation for what everyone knows as the Ratt sound. In those early years, Robbin was pretty much the main guy.”

The band underwent several lineup changes before settling on the musicians that got them a record deal including lead guitarist Warren DeMartini, drummer Bobby Blotzer and bassist Juan Croucier.

“Robbin had his own style, but he was definitely influenced by Billy Gibbons and Jimi Hendrix.” – Stephen Pearcy

Percy recalled the twin guitar attack of DeMartini and Crosby, telling Noisecreep, “Robbin had his own style, but he was definitely influenced by Billy Gibbons and Jimi Hendrix. He played with great feel. Warren was more of a noodler, a guitar hero type of player. They complimented each other so well. Warren was progressing so phenomenally that it was hard to ignore.”

Shortly after their formation, Ratt played at the Whisky A Go Go and soon earned the status of house band. During this time, they caught the attention of Marshall Berle who signed the band to his Time Communications record label. They released a self-titled EP that sold so incredibly well that it caught the attention of several labels.

Out of the Cellar

The band eventually signed a major recording contract with Atlantic Records and released their debut album Out of the Cellar in 1984.

Appearing on the front cover of the band’s first EP and LP was Crosby’s girlfriend, Tawny Kitaen. Out of the Cellar would be the biggest album of the band’s career, going triple Platinum.

“We try to come off with a lot of sex appeal in our lyrics and our look, rather than having a violent or rebellious image.” – Robbin Crosby

Robbin Crosby told the San Diego Tribune in 1984 how Ratt separated themselves from the other rock bands at the time, “We definitely try to be melodic so that we don’t get caught up in the heavy metal shuffle, but I think our music is more aimed at a female audience than a lot of contemporary hard rock bands. Part of our plan was to attract a female audience. We try to come off with a lot of sex appeal in our lyrics and our look, rather than having a violent or rebellious image.”

While the band would never match the success of Out of the Cellar, they continued to dominate the 80’s with their subsequent albums all going Platinum.

Robbin Crosby and Tawny Kitaen Split

Crosby’s grueling touring and recording schedule, in addition to Tawny Kitaen’s busy career, got in the way of the pair’s relationship and they soon stopped seeing each other exclusively. At one point Kitaen was rumored to be involved with OJ Simpson.

After his relationship with Kitaen fell apart, Crosby married Playboy Playmate Laurie Carr in 1987.

Turmoil in the Band

While Ratt were playing to sold out arenas, turmoil was growing in the band. Stephen Pearcy and Bobby Blotzer were at odds over how the band should conduct their live shows. Crosby was also feeling overshadowed by Warren DeMartini.

Crosby felt marginalized and felt his role diminishing in the band, both on stage and in the studio. To deal with his bruised ego, Crosby started self-medicating with drugs and alcohol. It was a destructive path that would lead to him leaving the group.

While Crosby hid his addiction to heroin from his bandmates for several years, it finally caught up with him in 1990 and soon affected his playing.

Robbin Crosby Enters Rehab

As Ratt headed into the studio to record their album Detonator in 1990, Crosby left for rehab. While he did play on the record and get some writing credits, it was Ratt’s first album that didn’t go Platinum, instead being certified Gold.

Following his stint in rehab, Robbin joined the band on tour, but staying sober was difficult. He played his final gig with the band in 1991 in Osaka, Japan.

Before his final gig, his bandmates found him polishing off an entire bottle of vodka backstage and during the show. It became apparent that Crosby was in no shape to continue on with Ratt and he left the group following the performance. Robbin checked himself into rehab once again, however, it was short-lived.

Ratt Disbands Amid Group Tension

Robbin Crosby was replaced by former Scorpions guitarist Michael Schenker, however, Ratt would disband in 1992 after tensions rose and the group’s brand of rock became stale thanks to the rise of grunge.

Crosby’s departure from the band only made his personal life worse when he divorced from Laurie Carr in 1991. Focusing on what lay ahead, Robbin wanted to get into producing and he did work with a few bands, but his addiction was all-consuming. He told VH1’s Behind the Music that he developed a $500/day habit.

Robbin Crosby Diagnosed HIV Positive

Robbin Crosby’s ability to start a new career was met with devastating news in 1994 when he was diagnosed as being HIV positive.

Two years after Crosby’s diagnosis, Ratt looked to reform. In anticipation of playing with his old bandmates once again, he sold all his possessions and wanted to start fresh in LA, but things fell apart once the band got into rehearsals.

Ratt Reunites Without Robbin Crosby

It was apparent to the other members that Crosby was in no shape to play as the guitarist had gained a significant amount of weight and was still using drugs. The band opted to reunite without him. Sidelined, Crosby felt betrayed and his downward spiral continued.

Robbin would reveal to Mitch Lafon in one of his final interviews in 2001, how his hard partying lifestyle took its toll on his health, “Apparently my pancreas has given up and I’m not metabolizing food the way I should. It’s real frustrating. I have a roommate that probably weighs 150 lbs and eats a lot more than I do. It’s not like I’m a pig or a slob.”

In the same interview, Crosby admitted he was living in hospice care, which is typically reserved for people who are facing an incurable life-ending disease. Tawny Kitaen would corroborate this as she was still in touch with the guitarist in the final months of his life.

Kurt Dudley, who became friends with Crosby in the final two years of his life, published his time with the guitarist online. He revealed Crosby was disappointed that even though his former bandmates lived about a half an hour away from him, they rarely came to visit.

Robbin Crosby Dies of Drug Overdose

Dudley claimed that he knew the end was near for Crosby when he started living with an old partying friend of his in May of 2002. Roughly a month later, on June 6th, news broke that Crosby passed away due to a drug overdose at the age of 42.

During his 1999 interview with VH1’s Behind the Music, Crosby seemed to accept his fate, “When I die, nobody cry at my funeral, in fact, let’s all have a party. I’ve lived the life of ten men. I lived all my dreams and more.” he’d say.

“He was a soldier we lost in the rock ‘n’ roll war and I’m sure he won’t be the last.” – Stephen Pearcy

Following his death, Stephen Pearcy fondly remembered his ex-bandmate, telling Classic Rock Revisited, “The guy was ‘King’ in our eyes. He was Robbin. He was our leader, and he was my right-hand man. It was terrible; it was just bad all the way around. He was a soldier we lost in the rock ‘n’ roll war and I’m sure he won’t be the last.”

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