According to a social media post by Dream Theater drummer and founder Mike Portnoy, the band’s original singer Charlie Dominici has passed away.
“I am devastated to share the news of the passing of former Dream Theater singer Charlie Dominici. Charlie was the voice of Dream Theater on our debut album ‘When Dream And Day Unite’, recorded back in 1988. Beyond being a great singer, he also was an incredibly talented songwriter and well-rounded musician on both guitar and keyboards.” wrote Portnoy.
“While we parted ways with him in late 1989, he always remained a friend…fronting the band that played at my wedding in 1994, reuniting with Dream Theater for WDADU’s 15th-anniversary show in 2004, opening for Dream Theater in Europe with his solo band in 2007 and coming to see myself & JP on our tour together in 2022. I was texting with him as recently as a few weeks ago when he texted me to congratulate me on my return to Dream Theater on the day of the announcement. He was so happy and excited for us all…”
“Charlie’s unexpected passing is a tremendous loss to everyone in the Dream Theater family, and we wish to extend our deepest sympathies to the Dominici family during this immensely difficult time.”
“If you haven’t seen it already, there is a documentary on Dream Theater’s 1988/1989 era that I compiled for the ‘When Dream And Day Reunite’ DVD called “I Can Remember When…” that is a great tribute to Charlie and his time in the band”
Dominici remained in contact with Dream Theater throughout their career, despite lapsing out of the music business and obtaining a job as a finance manager in the automobile business. Dominici sang at Mike Portnoy wedding to Marlene Apuzzo, and opened for his former band at three shows at their Chaos in Motion Tour in June 2007.
If you haven’t listened to Dominici‘s last two solo albums yet, we can’t recommend them enough. Do yourself a favor and check out “O3 A Trilogy – Part 2″ and “O3 A Trilogy – Part 3″ right away.
