Drummer on Famous Pulp Fiction Song Dead at 57

Urge Overkill's John Rowan (aka Blackie Onassis) kept the beat on 'Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon'
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 15, 2023 9:35 AM CDT

Sad news for fans of Urge Overkill, and for fans of the Pulp Fiction soundtrack: The band's drummer, John Rowan, has died at the age of 57, reports Pitchfork. "Urge Overkill is saddened to report that Blackie has passed away," the group wrote Wednesday on Instagram, referring to Rowan's stage name, Blackie Onassis. A band spokesperson confirmed Rowan's death to the Los Angeles Times, though no cause of death was given.

Emerging out of Chicago in the mid-'80s, Urge Overkill, known for such tunes as "Sister Havana," "The Break," and "Positive Bleeding," was catapulted into the mainstream in 1994, when Pulp Fiction arrived in movie theaters. The film featured the group's remake of Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon." (Uma Thurman's character famously dances to the tune in the movie before overdosing.) Rowan wasn't initially in the band but had joined by 1991's The Supersonic Storybook, its third full-length album.

How Rowan described the group, which opened for Nirvana during its 1991 Nevermind Tour, in a 1992 interview with Spin, per the Times: "We are here to resurrect the era of the swinger—the late '60s, the playboy life when America was a fun place. The golden era of Vegas, Neil Diamond, moonlight dancing, and [Church of Satan] founder Anton LaVey!" Rowan left the band in 1996 soon after they'd released 1995's Exit the Dragon, and not long after he'd been arrested for heroin possession; the charges were later dropped. He's said to have lost touch with his bandmates after his departure. (More musician stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X