Brad Arnold, the lead singer and founding member of the American rock band 3 Doors Down, has died after being diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer. He was 47.
A representative for Arnold said he died peacefully in his sleep Saturday, surrounded by his wife and family.
Arnold led the Mississippi-based rock band since 1996. He wrote their breakout 2000 hit “Kryptonite,” which has more than 1.2 billion plays on Spotify, while still in high school.
The singer shared his cancer diagnosis on the band’s Instagram in May last year.
He said: “I'd been sick a couple of weeks ago and went to the hospital and got checked out. I actually got the diagnosis that I have a clear cell renal carcinoma that has metastasized into my lung... and that’s stage four, and that’s not real good.”
Clear cell renal carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer. Stage 4 cancer, also known as metastatic cancer, refers to cancer that has spread from its original location to other parts of the body.
Arnold went on to announce that 3 Doors Down would have to cancel their forthcoming tour in light of the news.
Arnold concluded his message by saying: “I’d love for you to lift me up in your prayers every chance you get, and I think it’s time for me to go listen to ‘It’s Not My Time’ a little bit, right? Thank you guys so much. God loves you. We love you. See you.”
3 Doors Down formed in 1996 with Arnold, Matt Roberts (lead guitar), and Todd Harrell (bass), with Chris Henderson joining as rhythm guitarist in 1998; Arnold shifted from drums to focus solely on lead vocals around 2000. Over the years, the rhythm section changed — drummer Daniel Adair left in 2005 to join Nickelback and was replaced by Greg Upchurch, while founding guitarist Matt Roberts departed in 2012 for health reasons and was succeeded by Chet Roberts; bassist Todd Harrell was dismissed in 2013 following legal issues and replaced by Justin Biltonen.
The band’s debut album, The Better Life, released in 2000, went platinum seven times over. They have released five albums since. Arnold is the band’s longest-serving and only original member. He is a recovering alcoholic who quit drinking in 2016 and discussed his newfound sobriety around the release of the band’s most recent album, Us and the Night.
3 Doors Down founded The Better Life Foundation (TBLF) in 2003 with the aim of improving the lives of children. Since then, the foundation has supported a wide range of U.S. charities, including the Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Habitat for Humanity, and provided aid to Mississippi’s Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina.
Matt Roberts, the band’s founding guitarist, died from an overdose at a hotel in Wisconsin, at the age of 38, in August 2016.
3 Doors Down famously performed at Donald Trump’s first inauguration in 2017, performing renditions of “Kryptonite,” “The Broken,” “When I'm Gone,” and “Here Without You”.
The band’s business manager, Angus Vail, told Vice at the time: “Well, 3 Doors actually played George W. Bush’s inauguration. They are good Mississippi and Alabama boys — they come from conservative families. You know, they’re really good guys, but they have very different political beliefs. Because they played both Bush’s inaugurations, they’ve obviously been on the conservative radar.”
Vail said their choice to perform had a lot to do with their “God, guns, and country black-and-white sort of viewpoint” and that “they spend a lot of time going to Iraq, doing service, playing for the troops.”
Arnold is survived by his wife, Jennifer.
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