Minutemen were one of the leading lights of the early-to-mid-1980s Los Angeles punk rock scene. That was in large part due to the singing and songwriting talents plus the unique roots punk guitar style of frontman D. Boon (Dennes Dale Boon). From 1980 through 1985 the three-man band managed to record four albums and eight EPs for the SST label and build a rep as road dogs.
On this day, December 22, 1985, Boon’s fiancee Linda Kite was was driving a van along an Arizona highway. Her sister Jeannine was sitting beside her in the passenger seat. Boon, who had been suffering from a fever was sleeping in back, not wearing a seatbelt. The van ran off the road and Boon was thrown out the back door and died instantly from a broken neck. He was 27. Jeannine Kite was severely disabled in the accident.
Boon’s reputation has no more avid a supporter than bassist Mike Watt, who was Boon’s lifelong pal and played bass in Minutemen. He has consistently touted Boon’s talents while carrying on in the bands fIREHOSE and Dos and playing with such other distinguished acts as the Stooges.
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