Ty Christopher Longley (September 4, 1971 – February 20, 2003) was an American guitarist. He was born in

Sharon, Pennsylvania Sharon is a city in western Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city, located along the banks of the Shenango River on the state border with Ohio, is about northeast of Youngstown, about southeast of Cleveland and about northwest o ...

, and graduated from Brookfield High School in

Brookfield, Ohio Brookfield Township is one of the twenty-four townships of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 10,020 people in the township, 9,921 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township. Geography Located in the So ...

. He joined the band

Great White Great White is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The band peaked with several albums during the mid-to-late 1980s, including the platinum-selling records '' Once Bitten'' (1987) and '' ...Twice Shy'' (1989), and those albums ...

in 2000, played in

Samantha 7 Samantha 7 was an American rock band founded in 1998 by C.C. DeVille, lead guitarist from the rock band Poison. They released the self-titled album ''Samantha 7'' in 2000 and C.C. Deville performed lead vocals and guitar on the album. The band als ...

, The Bullet Boys, and played in

Nick Menza Nicholas Menza (July 23, 1964 – May 21, 2016) was an American musician best known as the drummer for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1989 to 1998. He recorded drums on four of Megadeth's albums: ''Rust in Peace'' (1990), ''Countdown to Extin ...

's solo project. Longley also did session work for many artists, including

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatra ...

and Maestro Alex Gregory, and performed uncredited on many works of music.

Death

Longley died in

The Station nightclub fire The Station nightclub fire occurred on the evening of February 20, 2003, in West Warwick, Rhode Island, United States, killing 100 people and injuring 230. The fire was caused by pyrotechnics set off by the tour manager of the evening's headlini ...

on February 20, 2003, which claimed a total of 100 lives, reportedly after going back into the building to retrieve his guitar. When the fire started, Longley was performing on the nightclub's stage with the band Great White; he was the only band member to die in the fire. Longley was survived by his girlfriend Heidi (Peralta), who was three months pregnant with the couple's only child. Their son Acey Ty Christopher Longley was born on August 12, 2003. Acey is also a musician, and runs a charity for hospitalized children in his father's memory.

References

External links

Ty Longley Memorial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Longley, Ty 1971 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists Accidental deaths in Rhode Island American heavy metal guitarists Deaths from fire in the United States Filmed deaths of entertainers Great White members Musicians who died on stage People from Sharon, Pennsylvania The Station nightclub fire