Rachel Nagy death: Internet crushed as Detroit Cobras announce loss of "beloved friend"

Rachel Nagy was the frontwoman of garage rock band Detroit Cobras (Image via Twitter/ julzfin)

American musician Rachel Nagy passed away on January 15, 2022. Her Detroit Cobras bandmate Greg Cartwright confirmed Nagy's death on various social media accounts.

Recalling her contribution to the band's success, Cartwright said that the frontwoman of Detroit Cobras was more than just a performer and carried the torch of R&B music to the fans globally.

"She embodied the spirit of the music itself and vaulted it to new heights with her own deeply affecting vocal power. I know that I am not alone when I say that I was inspired by her vitality, her fierce intensity and her vulnerability."

The band members did not reveal the cause of Nagy's death but said that they will keep their fans updated on her future memorial service.

As a result of COVID-19, the Detroit Cobras could not perform at El Club, Michigan, last week. The show has been postponed until February 2021.

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Twitter reacts to Rachel Nagy's death

Moments after Cartwright posted about Nagy's death, Twitterati expressed their grief on the social media platform.

Established in 1994 by Nagy and guitarist Mary Ramirez, the Detroit Cobras have gained a reputation as "Detroit's most renowned cover band." The band released its debut album Mink, Rat, or Rabbit in 1998.

It features guitarist and Detroit photographer Steve Shaw, bassist Jeff Meier, and drummer Damien Lang. They then released Life, Love, and Leaving three years later. The two albums were mainly 1960s covers, including pop hits and lesser-known soul songs by the Ronettes, the Shangri-Las, Irma Thomas, Otis Redding, the Marvelettes, and Ike and Tina Turner, among others.

Detroit Cobras' garage rock version of Motown quickly captured London-based Rough Trade Record's attention. The Detroit Cobras released two EPs on the label: Seven Easy Pieces in 2003 and Baby in 2004, the latter of which features their original song Hot Dog (Watch Me Eat). Their album, Tied & True, came out in 2007. Third Man Records reissued the rock band's first two records in 2016 Third Man Records. They said:

“The inimitable vocals of Rachel Nagy would no-doubt be a template from which folks like Amy Winehouse would work from years later.”

Talking about her band to blog All I Could See, Nagy said that people have a perception that the band is playing covers, so their job is easy.

“That’s the funny thing when people call us a cover band. Usually cover bands are at the corner bar playing Creed and songs everyone knows and wants to sing along with."

Rachel Nagy was deeply inspired by Irma Thomas, who evoked the love for music in the singer's heart.

Calling Thomas her "Beatlemania," Rachel Nagy said she was everything to her.

“At Jazz Fest in New Orleans, that’s when I first understood Beatlemania... Irma walks out onstage and I collapsed and started crying and screaming. That woman, she just destroys me.”

Rachel Nagy is survived by her brother Tony Nagy and her mother, Marge Nagy.