"Just about every rock and roll musician my age can point to one cultural event that inspired him to take up music in the first place: The Beatles on Ed Sullivan.

When Kihn was 17, his mother submitted a tape of one of his original songs to the talent contest of the big local Top 40 radio station, WCAO 600 AM.

Kihn took first prize and won three things that would change his life: a typewriter, a stack of records, and a Vox electric guitar.

The group consisted of Robbie Dunbar (guitar), Steve Wright (bass), and Larry Lynch (drums).

[2] Dunbar, already a member of Earth Quake, was replaced by Dave Carpender in time to record their second album, Greg Kihn Again.

"Jeopardy" received heavy airplay on the fledgling cable music channel and spawned countless imitators.

made a comeback to syndicated nighttime television, Kihn said he was flattered to be parodied, and appeared at the end of the video driving a convertible with the license plate "LOSER.

"[3] (In a radio interview, Kihn commented that he received "a nice check" from Weird Al's record company every month.)

"[1] For most of the 1980s Kihn toured frequently, opening arena-sized shows for groups including Journey, the Grateful Dead, and the Rolling Stones.

Kihn often appeared on TV during this period on shows such as Solid Gold, American Bandstand, and Saturday Night Live.

[citation needed] On May 10, 1981, Kihn and Willie Nile appeared live on the King Biscuit Flower Hour from the Savoy Theater in New York City.

He published many short stories during this period, some appearing in the Hot Blood series of erotic horror fiction.

Kihn was contributing editor to Carved in Rock, a compilation of short fiction by musicians including Pete Townshend, Joan Jett, Ray Davies, and Kinky Friedman.

[citation needed] Kihn died from complications of Alzheimer's disease in the San Francisco Bay Area, on August 13, 2024, at the age of 75.

He was nominated for the 2010 “Man of the Year Award” by the Lymphoma Society and performed for Children's Hospital in Oakland, California, in the fight against cancer.