Shifty Shellshock Singer Died at 49 Crazy Town,
The medical examiner’s office reports that the musician passed away at home.
On August 23, 1974, Seth Binzer gave birth to Shellshock. In 1992, he got to meet co-founder of Crazy Town Bret Mazer. The band continued to grow, including Adam Goldstein (dj AM, who passed away in 2009 from an accidental overdose), Rust Epique, Antonio Lorenzo Valli, James Bradley Jr., and others. In November 1999, the band released The Gift of Game, their debut album. On the March 3, 2001, all-genre Billboard 200 list, it peaked at No. 9 and stayed there for 34 weeks.
“Toxic” and “Darkside,” the set’s first two singles, did not chart, but for Crazy Town, the third time was the charm. “Butterfly,” the third single off the album, featured a sample of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Pretty Little Ditty.” It debuted in October 2000 as the number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for two weeks thanks to its infectious chorus, which goes, “Come my lady, come my lady / You’re my butterfly, sugar baby/ Come my lady, you’re my pretty baby/ I’ll make your legs shake, you make me go crazy.”
The group’s biggest hit to date, the song stayed on the list for 23 weeks. (The band did not place another song on the list during their tenure; the song appeared on Billboard’s One-Hit Wonders of the 2000s list in 2014).
November 2002 saw the release of the sophomore album Darkhorse, which debuted at No. 120. After a week, it dropped off the chart due to its inability to rise higher. The band disbanded soon after.
Binzer was candid about his battles with drug misuse. He made appearances on Sober House (VH1) in 2009 and Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew (VH1) in 2010.