Richard Burton Cronin was an American singer, songwriter and rapper, best known for being the lead singer and primary songwriter for the pop and hip hop groupLFO.
Cronin was the founding member of the pop group LFO. The group started in Germany on BMG in 1997 with member Brian Gillis, aka "Brizz". In the Spring 1998, the group opened for *NSYNC and by this time were signed to BMG/Logic Records in the U.S. They were labeled as the "bad boys of pop" and cited The Beastie Boys and New Edition as influences. They released two singles "Sex U Up " and "Can't Have You" with original member Brian Gillis, who left the group frustrated with the direction of the group and lack of success. His brother Mike Cronin was a manager for the pop group O-Town. Harold "Devin" Lima was added to the group to replace Brian Gillis six months before the hit "Summer Girls" was released. By this time, the group had transitioned from Logic Records to Arista Records. Executive Clive Davis worked closely with Cronin on the group's self-titled debut album. The group's breakout hit "Summer Girls" was written by Cronin in 1999, hit #3 on Billboard's Hot 100, and was #1 on the BillboardHot 100 Single Sales chart for six weeks. The single also went platinum in the U.S. with sales of over 1 million units. The group's second albumLife is Good was released on Davis' new label, J Records, with Cronin writing or co-writing each song on the album. The group had success with the album's first single "Every Other Time." LFO disbanded in 2002.
In 2008, Cronin released his only solo album Billion Dollar Sound. He recorded two hit songs, "Impossible" and "Story of My Life". Cronin also formed a rap duo with Doug Ray called Loose Cannons. They released one album entitled Life Goes On. The band performed shows from 2006 until 2008.
2009 reunion tour with LFO
On June 3, 2009, LFO posted a blog entitled "LFO IS BACK" on their official MySpace page which announced that they had reunited and were going on tour beginning July 9, 2009, with Rookie of the Year, Go Crash Audio, and Kiernan McMullan. A new song titled "Summer of My Life" also was announced in association with the reunion. In September 2009, however, LFO announced that they had again broken up. Cronin's final song "It Only Gets Better" was recorded in 2009 after the LFO reunion tour. It was released shortly after his death from a stroke on September 8, 2010. Billboard described the song as an "upbeat tune...reminiscent of the boy band's past hits 'Summer Girls' and 'Girl on TV', but the lyrics discuss Cronin's health struggles and how they altered his view of the world".
Personal life
Cronin began dating actress Jennifer Love Hewitt in 1999 after meeting her backstage at the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards. Cronin wrote the song "Girl on TV" about Hewitt, and she also appeared in the video. They broke up in 2000.
Illness and death
In March 2005, Cronin sought treatment for constant headaches and was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia. He underwent chemotherapy at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. By January 2006, his leukemia was in remission, but recurred in 2007. He subsequently started the Rich Cronin Hope Foundation for Leukemia to raise awareness. In the summer of 2010, Cronin suffered a relapse, and he was treated at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. On the afternoon of September 8, 2010, Cronin died at the Brigham and Women's Hospital after suffering a stroke secondary to his leukemia due to complications from medicine he was taking to offset GVHD, which he had been struggling with after having a stem cell transplant. He was 36 years old. His funeral was held at St. Joseph Church in Kingston, Massachusetts on September 13, attended by family and friends. He is buried at Vine Hills Cemetery in Plymouth County, Massachusetts.
