Autumn Sunshine

I wanted to send my goodbyes out in the blogosphere. Adam fought cancer and he lost. A rare form, he was first diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his left salivary gland in 2009.

Adam was married to a Tibetan woman named Dechen Wangdu and they have a daughter, Tenzin Losel Yauch. My thoughts are with them, losing a loved one to cancer is the worst feeling ever, since you have seen them fight so hard. Losing anyone is horrible, but the cancer battle is bad.

Remember when …

Yauch co-founded the Beastie Boys with Mike “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz in 1979. The band started off as a hardcore punk group, but soon began experimenting with hip-hop.

The band broke huge with their first proper album, Licensed to Ill, in 1986; it was the biggest-selling rap album of the decade and the first to reach Number One on the Billboard chart. Further albums Paul’s Boutique, Check Your Head and Ill Communication cemented the Beasties as a true superstar act.

In addition to his career with the Beastie Boys, Yauch was heavily involved in the movement to free Tibet. A founder of the Milarepa Fund, Yauch was instrumental in the first Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park 1996, which drew 100,000 people – the largest U.S. benefit concert since 1985′s Live Aid. After 9/11, Yauch and the Beastie Boys organized New Yorkers Against Violence, a concert benefit for some of the victims least likely to receive help from elsewhere.

“(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)”

Sometimes shortened to “Fight for Your Right” is a song by American rap group the Beastie Boys, released as the fourth single released from their debut album Licensed to Ill (1986). One of their best-known songs, it reached #7 on the Billboard 100 in the week of 7 March, and was later named one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. The Beastie Boys also included the track on their hits album, The Sounds of Science in 1999, and Solid Gold Hits in 2005.

The Battle is Over

I am just sad as I am with anyone who fights so hard with cancer and loses.  It’s a real battle, I’ve seen it and Adam fought for three years … Godspeed Adam, you can rest now.

 My thoughts are with his family and Adam will be remembered fondly with a smile and perhaps tears, for he was one of the good guys.

Tags: Adam Yauch, Beastie Boys, cancer
Posted in Life, Music