Tim Kelly (musician)

Tim Kelly

Timothy Patrick Kelly (January 13, 1963 - February 5, 1998) was the guitarist for the band Slaughter. He was killed in an auto accident in 1998. Jeff Blando replaced Kelly's guitar spot in Slaughter in 1998.

Biography

Tim Kelly was born on January 13, 1963 in Trenton, New Jersey. Tim was a self-taught guitar player and began his music career around the sixth grade. He was inspired by other guitarists such as Rick Derringer and Peter Frampton.

Some of the bands Kelly played in during his career included Hellion, New Haven, and Allegiance (that was fronted by his brother Brian) along with a couple other cover bands. After no real success with these bands, Kelly teamed up with Mark Slaughter and Dana Strum (both of which came from Vinnie Vincent Invasion) to form a new group with their own original music. They later found Blas Elias and he joined as their drummer. Thus, the group Slaughter was formed in late-1988.

With Slaughter, Kelly was a collaborator, writing and playing several songs. In the first album of the band (Stick It to Ya), he wrote and performed an instrumental piece called "Thinking of June" which he dedicated to his sister who died in 1982 from ovarian cancer. In all, Kelly released four studio albums with the band, and two live albums, the last of which (Eternal Live) was released posthumously and includes a pictorial and video tribute to Kelly.

Due to a conviction for drug related offences, Kelly was forced to become active in community service, particularly in reaching out to our troubled youth with a positive message. Kelly was open about having himself a bit of a troubled past and considered that important to get his message through.

On February 5, 1998, Kelly died in an auto accident in Bagdad, Arizona. At the time of his death, he resided in Henderson, Nevada.

Married to Sarah Norton a UNLV student and Army National Guard Soldier from May 1993 to 1996.