Charlie Dominici has passed away, age 72

[Pebsie]

From Mike Portnoy's Facebook

I am devastated to share the news of the passing of former Dream Theater singer Charlie Dominici. Charlie was the voice of DT 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.

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 w DT for WDADU's 15th anniversary show in 2004, opening for DT 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 DT 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 DT'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: https://youtu.be/QXfN5D8LzD4?si=P6mcpYV6HFmn1FqI

Nothing to add to this one, but there wasn't already a thread up so I figured I'd make one.

[Zydar]

Oh wow. RIP Charlie, I will spin WDADU tonight in your honor.

[KevShmev]

I don't think I knew he was that much older than the rest of the band.

R.I.P.

[Stadler]

Wow that kind of hits close to home.

I often think of bands in terms of eras.  Beatles and Stones: 60s; Zep and Sabbath (and many more): early 70s.    Kiss and Aerosmith and Rush:  late 70s.    Maiden and Def Leppard: 80s.  For better or worse, DT is a 90s band for me; when we start losing people from that era, you know you're old.

[nikatapi]

Very sad. May he rest in peace.
I really liked his voice, both on WDADU and on his solo albums.

[emtee]

Very sad news. Makes me even more grateful that MP is back with the band. Time waits for nobody.

Condolences to his family.

[hefdaddy42]

Just last week I rewatched the WDADRU DVD.  Wow.

RIP Charlie

[nobloodyname]

Such sad news.

Charlie had an underrated voice.

[TheCountOfNYC]

This is so sad. RIP Charlie.

[gborland]

Really sad to hear this.

I genuinely love his vocal performance on Only A Matter Of Time in particular.

[Buckethead]

Thank you Charlie for the music you gave us !!!

[Dani Helios]

Rest in Peace, Charlie. A fantastic performer and vocalist with Dream Theater, and in his own right.

[SeRoX]

His lyrical contribution on WDADU is great and I have zero problem with his voice on WDADU. He has a great part in DT's history.

"Will the blind have sight in the Afterlife?"

R.I.P.

[ReaperKK]

Just last week I rewatched the WDADRU DVD.  Wow.

RIP Charlie

Me too! Sad news to hear about his passing. It's crazy I knew he was older but didn't think he was 72. That said RIP Charlie.

[faizoff]

Very shocking, I knew he was much older than the rest of the band. Even still I'm glad he had a good relationship with the band after his departure, RIP Charlie.

[SoundscapeMN]

very sad news.

I always have loved When Dream and Day Unite.

yeah I remember his age being a factor why he didn't stay with the band. 72, born in 1951. So while the other guys in 1988 were 21, he was 37.

Jordan of course is a fair amount older than the other guys, but Charlie was born 5 years before him even.

[EPIC Outro]

I am so sad to hear this. I always liked Charlie's voice and his take on 'A Vision' from  1989 is one of my favorite Dream Theater songs. Rest in peace.

[OptionalPlayer]

Such a talented musician. RIP.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

RIP Charlie

[Jamesman42]

Rest in Peace. Started the pathway for an amazing band.

[T-ski]

WDADU gets a lot of flack but I truly enjoy it.

RIP Charlie.

[HOF]

Man, just saw the news on Twitter before coming here. That's awful. A sad day for the DT family.

[MirrorMask]

I never realized he was already in his 70s.

Still, it's way too young nowadays to die. Condolences to his family and the DT camp, very sad news.

[Mladen]

Whoa, I completely forgot he was that much older than the other guys in the band. This is also the first time that a former Dream Theater member passed away, I think.

Charlie's contribution to the band is important and he has his place in the band's history. Better spin WDADU today. Still a good album, production flaws and all.

[cramx3]

RIP Charlie

[CharlesPL]

RIP Charlie

very sad news ;(

[Madman Shepherd]

I am so sad to hear this. I always liked Charlie's voice and his take on 'A Vision' from  1989 is one of my favorite Dream Theater songs. Rest in peace.

He was awesome on that for sure. I actually quite liked his solo band. O3 Part 3 was killer!

I'm so sad about this. I actually had a little contact with him a while back and got an autographed cd.

[jingle.boy]

Damn.  Dominici's O3 Trilogy is amazing.  Gonna spin that today for sure.

[Wim Kruithof]

"Will the blind have sight in the Afterlife?"

I truly hope he's in peace right now. Dominici had a wonderful voice and I love When Dream and Day Unite.

I hope there will be a lyrical phrase in #16 to honor him.

[Madman Shepherd]

Damn.  Dominici's O3 Trilogy is amazing.  Gonna spin that today for sure.

Do you have a particular favorite of the three or song? I love Genesis on the 3rd where everything just sort of comes together. Pretty epic.

[Jamesman42]

I am spinning WDADU today. It's better than I probably give it credit for, though it's still not my jam. But CD does a great job on this album.

[Nel_Annette]

Used to talk to him on Twitter when he was on there maybe like nine years ago. He sent me an autographed copy of O3 Part 1. Rest in peace, sir.

It's really cool that even recently, he was keeping up with the band.

[jingle.boy]

Damn.  Dominici's O3 Trilogy is amazing.  Gonna spin that today for sure.

Do you have a particular favorite of the three or song? I love Genesis on the 3rd where everything just sort of comes together. Pretty epic.

[ProfessorPeart]

Damn.  Dominici's O3 Trilogy is amazing.  Gonna spin that today for sure.

Just saw this on a music news site. Very sad. I was also going to point out that those O3 albums are excellent. Was never a big fan of WDADU, but I loved him on those O3 albums.

[kaos2900]

RIP Charlie