Yahoo News Crazy Town Frontman And 'Butterfly' Singer Shifty Shellshock Dead At 49
Shifty Shellshock, the lead singer of millennium-era chart-topper Crazy Town, has died at the age of 49.
Shellshock, whose given name was Seth Binzer, died at his home in Los Angeles on Monday, according to records on the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s website.
A cause of death has yet to be confirmed. Records show that a postmortem medical examination has been scheduled.
Binzer’s band was best known for the twangy rap-rock hit “Butterfly,” which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in 2001.
The track, which samples Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Pretty Little Ditty,” became a prime example of the taste for hybrid music genres in the early 2000s. It features Binzer leisurely rapping the lyrics, “Come my lady, come-come my lady, You’re my butterfly, sugar baby” over a melodic, treble-tinged guitar riff.
Fortifying its place in pop culture, “Butterfly” subsequently appeared in films including the intro of Nancy Meyers’ 2003 film “Something’s Gotta Give” and a scene from 2002’s Colin Hanks-fronted comedy “Orange County.”
Reemerging years later as something of a punch line, “Butterfly” was featured in a 2014 episode of the HBO series “Silicon Valley” and in the 2016 animated feature “Sing.”
After Crazy Town split in 2002, Binzer embarked on a solo career, releasing the 2004 album “Happy Love Sick.”
He also collaborated with English DJ and producer Paul Oakenfold on the 2002 track “Starry Eyed Surprise,” which reached No. 6 on U.K. music charts.
Crazy Town reunited in 2007 and released its third album, “The Brimstone Sluggers,” in 2015.
Open about his struggles with substance abuse, Binzer appeared on two seasons of VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab,” followed by two season on its companion show, “Sober House.”
He is survived by his three children, Halo, Gage and Phoenix.
