Dream Theater Mourns the Passing of Former Frontman Charlie Dominici
A member of the Dream Theater family recently passed away, leaving the surviving members of the band reeling from the news. Within the last hour or so, both drummer Mike Portnoy and the official Dream Theater social media accounts paid their respected to Charlie Dominici, who was 72 years old when he passed.
Dominici was the band’s second singer and was part of the band from 1987 to 1989. During that time he contributed to the 1989 album When Dream and Day Unite.
In his Instagram post, Mike Portnoy said he’d recently heard from Dominici after news broke that the drummer had returned to the band. He indicated that the sudden loss came as a shock.
“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 mine and [my wife] Marlene’s wedding in 1994, reuniting w DT for ‘When Dream And Day Unite”s 15th anniversary show in 2004, opening for DT in Europe with his solo band in 2007 and coming to see myself & [John Petrucci] 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.
“#RIPCharlieDominici #WhenDreamAndDayUnite”.
The band itself also paid tribute to their fallen band member. Over on the official Instagram account, there was a sense of gratitude in the words posted.
“We are devastated to hear 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 was an incredibly talented songwriter, a well-rounded musician on both guitar and keyboards, and a long-time friend even after his departure from the band.
“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.”
We at MetalSucks want to offer our condolences to Dominici’s friends, family, and former bandmates. This is undoubtedly a difficult time and wish everyone
