Carl “C.J.” Snare was the lead singer for the hard rock band FireHouse, known for 1990s hits like “Love of a Lifetime” and When I Look into Your Eyes.”
- Died: April 5, 2024 (Who else died on April 5?)
- Details of death: Died of cardiac arrest after fighting colon cancer at the age of 64.
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C.J. Snare’s legacy
Snare began playing the piano as a child, and in 1984, he was one of four musicians to co-found FireHouse in Richmond, Virginia. He sang lead vocals and played keyboards, and he was one of the band’s songwriters. FireHouse developed their sound as hair metal was racing up the charts in the 1980s, but by the time they signed their first record deal in December 1989, grunge was about to overtake it as the dominant rock genre. FireHouse still managed to break through as one of the last glam metal bands standing, beginning with their 1990 self-titled debut and its lead single, the catchy Top 20 hit “Don’t Treat Me Bad.”
FireHouse came to be known better for their power ballads, most notably the No. 5 hit “Love of a Lifetime,” also from their debut album. Written by Snare, it became a standard at weddings. FireHouse’s second album yielded the 1992 hit ballad “When I Look Into Your Eyes,” and “I Live My Life for You,” from their third album, was their final Top 40 hit reaching No. 26. Charting in 1995, years after grunge had replaced glam in the charts, “I Live My Life for You” is considered the last hair metal hit.
Though the band’s greatest fame was past by the mid-‘90s, FireHouse continued to tour for decades. Snare remained with FireHouse, only taking a brief hiatus in 2021 after a diagnosis with colon cancer. He returned to the band, then stepped away again in 2023 for health reasons.
Notable quote
“I have the benefit of time to look back over this and there isn’t a show that goes by where people don’t come up to us and are like, ‘”Love of a Lifetime”… we got married to that song!’ When I sat down and wrote that song, I wasn’t thinking, ‘Oh this is going to be a cool wedding song.’ It was just a love song. Is that my legacy? Well you know what? It could be worse….” —source
Tributes to C.J. Snare
Full obituary: Billboard
