Bad news... To Lux Interior

The Cramps - Garbage Man

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Cramps frontman Lux Interior died Wednesday at a Glendale, Calif., hospital as the result of a pre-existing heart condition, the band's publicist confirmed to Billboard. He was 52.

The Cramps formed in 1976 and were part of the now legendary downtown New York punk scene. Their lineup shifted over the years but always included Lux and his wife, Poison Ivy. The band's rockabilly-infused punk has been credited as an influence by bands including the White Stripes and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.

Interior, whose real name was Erick Lee Purkhiser, was born October 21, 1946, in Ohio. He met Ivy in 1972 and started the band shortly thereafter.

The Cramps released 14 albums over the course of their career, their latest being 2004's "How To Make a Monster." Their best-selling album, 1984's "Bad Music for Bad People" has sold 95,000 copies.

Reuters/Billboard By Cortney Harding