Benny Mardones, the musician best known for his 1980 hit “Into the Night,” died after a 20-year battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 73 years old.
The singer’s death was confirmed to Billboard by old friend and record producer Joel Diamond, who noted that he died at his home in Menifee, California. He had reportedly been in an assistance center from April to earlier this month when he was reunited with his wife. Jane at home, where he remained in hospice care.
A Twitter account for Diamond noted that Mardones died with Jane by his side.
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Variety reports that he was a Cleveland native and grew up in the Baltimore suburbs. He also served in the US Navy during the Vietnam War. After being released, he worked as a songwriter for Mercury Records before becoming a solo artist in his own right. He released his first album, “Thank God for Girls” in 1978.
Benny Mardones died at 73 years old.
(Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)
However, he would not reach new levels of fame until 1980 when his album “Never Run, Never Hide” debuted along with the song “Into the Night”. According to Syracuse.com, which first reported the news, the singer’s ballad rose to # 20 and reached # 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 twice over a 10-year period. The outlet notes that he entered recovery for substance abuse in the mid-1980s. He moved to Syracuse, New York, shortly after restarting his career.
“When I was addicted to drugs, Syracuse opened my arms to me,” he told the store in 2017. “He brought me back to life. Fans never wavered. Radio stations played my songs.”
Eventually he called Syracuse his “hometown”.
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In 2000, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, but he continued to perform regularly until mid-2010. He is survived by his wife, son Michael, and sister Louise.
