Original Beastie Boys member John Berry dies at 52

John Berry, an original member of rap-rock group Beastie Boys, has passed away at the age of 52. He was at a hospice in Danvers, Massachusetts. According to Rolling Stone, Berry suffered from frontal lobe dementia.

Berry is credited with creating the name Beastie Boys. The band officially formed in July 1981, with Berry, Mike Diamond, Adam Yauch and Kate Schellenbach. Berry is featured on their first seven-inch EP, Polly Wog Stew, which was released in July 1982. (Photo is back-cover of Polly Wog Stew)

It was during this time that the group performed with bands such as the Dead Kennedys and the Misfits. Berry left parted ways shortly thereafter and went on to perform in Even Worse, Big Fat Love and others.

Schellenbach left the Beastie Boys in 1983. He and Berry were replaced by Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz. It was then that their music began to take on a hip-hop direction.