Jerry Abbott , father of Pantera , drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott , has died at the age of 80.
Abbott's death was confirmed by his friend Danny Wood Sr. in a social media post. He passed away in Denton, Texas, just five days before his 81st birthday. Danny wrote in the post that the family would hold a private funeral with only family and close friends.
Jerry was a professional musician as well as a sound engineer. He was also Pantera's manager, engineer, and producer from the group's formation in 1981 until Philip Anselmo joined when the band secured a contract with a major record label in 1989.
Ten years after Dimebag's death, Jerry released the book Over My Left Shoulder: The Life and Times of Jerry Abbott . Jerry, according to himself, had little contact with his sons from the time they started touring with Cowboys From Hell (1990) until the recording of Far Beyond Driven (1994).
In writing about the end of Pantera, he said that “too much success can breed failure, and often does. I think that’s an accurate assessment of what happened to Pantera. It’s like a marriage that’s too good to believe, and the next thing you know, it’s falling apart.”
He continued: “What happened? Who knows? People drift apart. People have different ideas. People develop physical or mental problems. Alcohol and drugs don’t help the situation, and one unhappy camper can ruin the whole group.”
Jerry Abbott also wrote that after the release of Far Beyond Driven , he “only got to see Vinnie and Dime at Dime’s birthday party in Tunica and around Christmas time in Texas. The rest of the time they were simply ‘on tour’”.
Dimebag was shot and killed along with three other people during a Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, in December 2004.
Vinnie passed away on June 22, 2018, at his home in Las Vegas, at the age of 54. He died of dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, and also severe coronary artery disease. His death was the result of chronic weakening of the heart muscle – basically meaning that his heart was unable to pump blood as well as a healthy heart.