Charlie Dominici , the first vocalist of Dream Theater, died at the age of 72. The information was released this Friday, the 17th, in a post shared by drummer Mike Portnoy on his social media. The cause of death was not revealed.
“I’m devastated to share the news of the passing of former Dream Theater vocalist Charlie Dominici,” the drummer wrote. “Charlie was the voice of Dream Theater on our debut album, When Dream And Day Unite , recorded in 1988. Besides being a great singer, he was also an incredibly talented songwriter and a complete musician on both guitar and keyboards.”
He continued: “Although we parted ways with him at the end of 1989, he has always remained a friend… leading the band that played at my wedding in 1994, reuniting with Dream Theater for the 15th anniversary show of When Dream And Day Unite in 2004, opening for Dream Theater in Europe with his solo band in 2007, and coming to see me and John Petrucci on our tour together in 2022.”
“I was messaging him a few weeks ago when he texted me to congratulate me on my return to Dream Theater on the day of the announcement. He was very happy and excited for all of us.”
He concluded by saying, “Charlie’s unexpected passing is a tremendous loss for everyone in the Dream Theater family, and we wish to extend our deepest condolences to the Dominici family during this immensely difficult time.”
Portnoy also mentioned a documentary about Dream Theater's 1988-1989 period called I Can Remember When… Watch it at the end of this article.
Dominici joined DT in 1987, replacing Chris Collins , when the group was still called Majesty .
The musician left the band early in the tour promoting the album When Dream and Day Unite (1989) because he was older than the other members and his vocal style wasn't exactly what they were looking for.
