Mark St. John Dies

Former KISS lead guitarist Mark Norton aka Mark St. John, passed away Thursday morning of a cerebral hemorrhage. Mark was 51 years old.

A SoCal native born in Hollywood, Mark attained some noteriety as KISS` shortest serving guitarist. St. John lasted less than eight months with the band only joining them on stage in public three times. Regardless, Mark played on one of KISS' most successful studio albums of the unmasked period, 1984`s Animalize, which became a multi-platinum success.

In later years, St. John formed his own groups, including White Tiger with one-time vocalist for Black Sabbath David Donato, and the Mark St. John Project with former KISS drummer Peter Criss.

Rest In Peace, Mark.