’90s Rockstar Dead at 57: Blackie Onassis Dead at 57

John “Blackie Onassis” Rowan, the former drummer of the ’90s rock band Urge Overkill who played on the band’s remake of “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon” featured in Pulp Fiction, has died, the band confirmed in a statement on its Instagram account. He was 57. According to the County Coroner’s Office, per Deadline, Rowan passed away on Tuesday, June 13 in Los Angeles. A cause of death was not disclosed.

“Urge Overkill is saddened to report that Blackie has passed away. Please respect our privacy at this time. We are sending much love to his family and all his fans. We know he will be missed,” the band shared the heartbreaking news with its fans. The Chicago-based alt-rock trio also posted a photo of Rowan with actor and musician Jack Black, writing, “Thank you for the love and support today. We wanted to share this photo of Blackie, we hope you like it as much as we do.” Responding to the post, Black commented, “Loved Blackie. ‘Supersonic Storybook’. ‘Saturation’. ‘Exit the Dragon’. Some of my favourite albums of all time! He was a wild card and a force of nature. Gonna miss him.”

Born John Rowan on August 27, 1965, Onassis joined Urge Overkill, which emerged from Chicago in the mid-1980s, in 1991 just ahead of the band’s major-label signing to Geffen. He played with the group as they opened for Nirvana’s Nevermind tour in late 1991 and drummed and sang on three of the group’s ’90s albums: The Supersonic Storybook (1991), Saturation (1993) and Exit the Dragon (1995). He also drummed for the band’s cover of Neil Diamond’s “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon,” which was featured in Quentin Tarantino’s Palme d’Or-winning 1994 classic Pulp Fiction. The song peaked at No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Rowan left Urge Overkill in 1996 shortly after the release of the band’s album Exit The Dragon. According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, Rowan was arrested for heroin possession not long after Exit the Dragon‘s debut. Nash Kato and Eddie “King” Roeser later reformed Urge Overkill in 2004 without Rowan.

Amid news of his passing, many Urge Overkill fans have paid tribute to Rowan, one person commenting on the group’s Instagram post, “his drumming was unmistakable, and part of why SSS, Saturation, and ETD were so special.. rip Blackie,” with another person adding, “Love Blackie. He was always so cool and his drum sound was amazing. He is missed.”