American bassist (1972?2010)
Paul Gray
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Birth name
| Paul Dedrick Gray
[1]
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Also known as
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Born
| (
1972-04-08
)
April 8, 1972
[1]
Los Angeles
, California, U.S.
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Died
| May 24, 2010
(2010-05-24)
(aged 38)
[1]
Urbandale, Iowa
, U.S.
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Genres
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Occupation(s)
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Instrument(s)
| Bass
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Years active
| 1991?2010
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Formerly of
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Musical artist
Paul Dedrick Gray
(April 8, 1972 ? May 24, 2010),
[1]
also known as
The Pig
,
[2]
was an American musician who was the bassist, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the
heavy metal
band
Slipknot
, in which he was designated
#2
.
Early life and career
[
edit
]
Paul Dedrick Gray was born in
Los Angeles
,
California
. Later his family relocated to
Des Moines, Iowa
. He played guitar but switched to bass after he relocated to Iowa. In his youth, Gray performed in bands such as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Anal Blast, Vexx, Body Pit, The Have Nots and Inveigh Catharsis.
At the time of his death, he was one of three original members of Slipknot remaining in the band, and the only one who had maintained his original role in the band due to
Clown
's switch from main drums to percussion during the
early days
. He was one of the two members not born in Iowa (the other is
Jim Root
, who was born in Las Vegas). In 2010, Slipknot released the Download 2009 performance on DVD in memory of Gray.
Besides Slipknot, Gray filled in as bassist for
Unida
during their 2003 tour, appeared on the album
Worse Than a Fairy Tale
by the band
Drop Dead, Gorgeous
, toured briefly with
Reggie and the Full Effect
and appeared on the
Roadrunner United
project, performing bass on "The Enemy" and "Baptized in the Redemption" from the project's album
The All-Star Sessions
.
An award was named after Paul titled "Paul Gray: Best Bassist of the Year", as a tribute to Paul. Slipknot presented the award to
Nikki Sixx
, of
Motley Crue
and
Sixx A.M.
Death
[
edit
]
On May 24, 2010,
The Des Moines Register
reported that Gray was found dead in Room 431 at the
TownePlace Suites
in
Urbandale, Iowa
at about 10:50 a.m. local time. He was 38 years old.
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
In a
911 call
, obtained by
TMZ
, one of the hotel's proprietors said that a hypodermic needle was found next to Gray's bed and that many pills were apparently scattered across the room.
[13]
An initial
autopsy
determined that no foul play or trauma was involved, but could not establish the cause of death.
[8]
[9]
[14]
On June 21, 2010, the autopsy results showed that Gray had died of an overdose of
morphine
and
fentanyl
, and that he had also developed "significant heart disease". The autopsy also revealed traces of the anti-anxiety pill
Xanax
in his system.
[15]
Aftermath
[
edit
]
On the day after Gray's death, May 25, 2010, the band, without their masks, held a formal press conference in
Des Moines, Iowa
. They did not take any questions from the media. The band, along with Gray's brother, Tony, and wife, Brenna, paid tribute to him.
He was kind of the person in the band that really wanted everybody in the band to always get along and just concentrate on the band. He was a really great friend and just a great person. He's going to be sadly missed, and the world is going to be a different place without him.
The only way I can sum up Paul Gray ? is "love". Everything he did, he did for everyone around him. Whether he knew you or not. And that's what he's left behind for us ? his absolute love. I will miss him with every fiber of my heart. As will everybody at this table; and everyone who knew him. He was the best of us.
A private funeral was held on May 28, 2010. Gray was interred at Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery in
Des Moines, Iowa
. On November 8, 2010, items that decorated Gray's grave, including a Buddha statue and gargoyle statue, were stolen.
[18]
The band responded to this event with a post on their Myspace and Facebook page, asking the robbers to return the stolen items and appealing for information from the public.
[19]
On July 30, Paul Gray was posthumously awarded the
Kerrang!
"Services to Metal" award, which was collected by his Slipknot bandmate
Corey Taylor
on his behalf.
[20]
In one concert,
Korn
dedicated a performance of "
Did My Time
" to Gray.
Slipknot's former guitarist
Donnie Steele
filled in on bass guitar for Gray on Slipknot's 2011 Summer tour. Slipknot shows during this time featured Paul's jumpsuit and self-titled album era pig mask on a stand, along with a bass guitar standing next to it. Fans honored Gray with a two-minute silence during the band's headline set at
Sonisphere Festival
, Knebworth.
[21]
Corey Taylor also got a tattoo of Gray and his number on the back of his left leg, which was documented in the television series
NY Ink
, during the second episode of season one.
Trial against physician
[
edit
]
In September 2012, Gray's physician Daniel Baldi was charged with involuntary
manslaughter
relating to Gray's death, as well as the deaths of at least seven others. He was accused of continually writing high-dose prescription narcotics to Gray from December 27, 2005 until his death, despite knowing Gray's history of drug addiction and abuse. The doctor appeared in court on September 27, 2012 to face the charges, to which he pleaded not guilty.
[
citation needed
]
On May 1, 2014, jurors found Daniel Baldi not guilty on all seven counts of involuntary manslaughter following two days of deliberation. Gray's wife Brenna had testified during the two-week-long trial that Baldi prescribed the anti-anxiety drug Xanax to her husband, despite knowing he was addicted to the prescription medicine.
[22]
In January 2018, the family received an out of court settlement from a civil lawsuit they had filed against Baldi and his former employers.
[23]
Two months later, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy permanently banned Baldi from being able to prescribe, administer, or dispense controlled substances for the treatment of chronic pain.
[24]
Personal life
[
edit
]
He and his wife Brenna Gray have a daughter, October Dedrick Gray who was born on August 17, 2010, a few months after he died in 2010.
[25]
[26]
[27]
[28]
Discography
[
edit
]
with Vex
[
edit
]
with Anal Blast
[
edit
]
- Demo Tape
(1991)
- Pussy Blood Pentagram
(1994)
with Inveigh Catharsis
[
edit
]
with Body Pit
[
edit
]
With the Have Nots
[
edit
]
- Forgetting Yesterday and Beating You With Kindness
(1996)
with Slipknot
[
edit
]
Studio albums
[
edit
]
Other media
[
edit
]
Guest appearances
[
edit
]
Filmography
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Goodman, Eleanor (September 21, 2022).
"Paul Gray: the life and death of Slipknot's quiet genius"
.
Loudersound
. Retrieved
December 1,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Myers, Ben (May 25, 2010).
"Slipknot: Paul 'the Pig' Gray remembered"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
December 2,
2022
.
- ^
Harris, Chris (October 12, 2009).
"Anal Blast Frontman Don Decker Dies at 41"
.
Noisecreep
. Retrieved
September 4,
2015
.
- ^
"Breaking News: Slipknot bassist found dead"
.
onemetal.com
. Archived from
the original
on May 28, 2010
. Retrieved
October 9,
2015
.
- ^
Lawler, Joe. Hulsebus, Lars L. (May 24, 2010).
"Slipknot bassist Paul Gray found dead at Urbandale hotel"
.
The Des Moines Register
. Retrieved
May 25,
2010
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"WOI: Pills, syringe found next to Slipknot bassist Paul Gray's body"
.
The Des Moines Register
. May 25, 2010. Archived from
the original
on January 21, 2013.
- ^
"Slipknot Bassist Paul Gray Found Dead in Hotel"
.
Billboard
. May 24, 2010
. Retrieved
May 25,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
Slipknot Bassist Paul Gray Found Dead
Archived
March 22, 2017, at the
Wayback Machine
FMQB, May 24, 2010
- ^
a
b
"Slipknot Band Member Found Dead At Hotel"
.
KCCI-TV
. May 24, 2010. Archived from
the original
on March 7, 2012
. Retrieved
May 24,
2010
.
- ^
"Slipknot's Paul Gray dies: Mirror.co.uk"
. Mirror.co.uk. May 25, 2010
. Retrieved
May 25,
2010
.
- ^
"Slipknot bassist Paul Gray dead ? Metro.co.uk"
. Archived from
the original
on May 29, 2010
. Retrieved
May 25,
2010
.
- ^
"Slipknot bassist Paul Gray found dead in hotel room"
.
News.com.au
. May 24, 2010
. Retrieved
May 24,
2010
.
- ^
"Paul Gray 911 call ? 26/10/2010.wmv"
. YouTube. October 26, 2010.
Archived
from the original on December 21, 2021
. Retrieved
September 24,
2013
.
- ^
"Grey died from an overdose on morphine"
.
USA Today
. May 25, 2010
. Retrieved
May 27,
2010
.
- ^
Crumb, Michael J. (June 21, 2010).
"Slipknot bassist died of an overdose of morphine"
. MSNBC. Associated Press. Archived from
the original
on June 24, 2010
. Retrieved
June 21,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
Montgomery, James (May 25, 2010).
"Slipknot Call Bassist Paul Gray 'The Best Of Us'
"
.
MTV
. Retrieved
May 25,
2010
.
- ^
"SLIPKNOT Paul Gray Press Conference"
.
YouTube
. May 25, 2010.
Archived
from the original on December 21, 2021
. Retrieved
October 22,
2021
.
- ^
"Theft From SLIPKNOT Bassist's Grave"
Archived
November 13, 2010, at the
Wayback Machine
. Blabbermouth.net. November 8, 2010
- ^
Slipknot
(November 8, 2010).
"Theft From Paul's Grave"
Archived
November 13, 2010, at the
Wayback Machine
. MySpace. Retrieved November 8, 2010
- ^
"And the winners are..."
Retrieved
June 30,
2010
.
- ^
"Slipknot honour Paul Gray during Sonisphere headline set | News"
.
Nme.com
. July 10, 2011
. Retrieved
September 24,
2013
.
- ^
"Iowa doctor charged in death of Slipknot bassist Paul Gray acquitted of manslaughter - NY Daily News"
.
New York Daily News
. Archived from
the original
on May 2, 2014
. Retrieved
May 2,
2014
.
- ^
"Slipknot bassist's family gets settlement in overdose lawsuit against doctor, hospital"
.
Desmoinesregister.com
. January 22, 2018.
- ^
"Dr. Daniel Baldi permanently banned from prescribing narcotics"
.
YouTube
. March 23, 2018.
Archived
from the original on December 21, 2021.
- ^
Schaffner, Lauryn (February 5, 2024).
"Photos - Paul Gray's Daughter October Attends 2024 Grammys with Slipknot"
.
Loudwire
(loudwire.com)
. Archived from
the original
on April 29, 2024
. Retrieved
April 29,
2024
.
- ^
"Knotfest announces lineup for 2024 festival"
.
KCCI
. Des Moines. April 29, 2024. Archived from
the original
on April 29, 2024
. Retrieved
April 29,
2024
.
- ^
Leys, Tony (January 22, 2018).
"Slipknot bassist's family gets settlement in overdose lawsuit against doctor, hospital"
.
Des Moines Register
. Archived from
the original
on April 29, 2024
. Retrieved
April 29,
2024
.
- ^
MH400 (August 19, 2010).
"Widow Of Paul Gray Gives Birth: The widow of late Slipknot bassist Paul Gray has given birth to their first child"
.
Ultimate Guitar
(ultimate-guitar.com)
. Archived from
the original
on April 29, 2024
. Retrieved
April 29,
2024
.
{{
cite news
}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link
)
External links
[
edit
]
Wikinews has related news:
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Studio albums
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Live albums
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Compilation albums
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Demo albums
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Extended plays
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Singles
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Promotional singles
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Other songs
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Video albums
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Tours
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Related articles
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