Rich Cronin of boy band LFO dies

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Rich Cronin of the 1990s boy band LFO has died, a bandmate told CNN on Wednesday. Cronin, who had fought a long battle with leukemia, was 36.

The band is best known for its top 10 U.S. hits ‘Girls on TV’ and ‘Summer Girls,’ with Cronin writing the latter.

Cronin was diagnosed with leukemia in 2005 and underwent chemotherapy, said bandmate Brad Fischetti.

The leukemia returned in 2007 or 2008, and doctors treated it with a stem cell transplant, Fischetti said.

Cronin suffered a stroke, a reaction to the treatment, and was left with severe pain in his leg, Fischetti said.

Fischetti said he did not know whether Cronin was battling leukemia again when he died Wednesday in a Massachusetts hospital.

The trio had a monster hit with their debut album, LFO.

‘Summer Girls,’ from the album, was the group’s highest charting song and was nominated for a Billboard Music Award.

In 2009, the trio reunited for a summer tour.

Fischetti said he and their third bandmate, Devin Lima, gave Cronin the large back bedroom of their tour bus so he could rest up for the shows.

‘We had the best time ever,’ Fischetti said. ‘He never thought he’d be on stage again.’

Fischetti chuckled that some media outlets have been reporting Cronin’s age as 33.

‘Rich liked to play with his age,’ he said.

-- CNN [Updated at 6:10 p.m.: Read the full Rich Cronin obituary by The Times.]