{"id":27871,"date":"2025-10-28T13:58:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T13:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=27871"},"modified":"2025-10-28T13:58:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T13:58:06","slug":"with-heavy-hearts-we-announce-the-passing-of-this-rock-metal-icon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=27871","title":{"rendered":"With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of this rock-metal icon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"457\">Rock fans are mourning the loss of <strong data-start=\"35\" data-end=\"50\">Marcie Free<\/strong>, the iconic voice behind <strong data-start=\"76\" data-end=\"90\">King Kobra<\/strong>, <strong data-start=\"92\" data-end=\"102\">Signal<\/strong>, and <strong data-start=\"108\" data-end=\"124\">Unruly Child<\/strong>, who passed away at <strong data-start=\"145\" data-end=\"151\">71<\/strong>. Her longtime friend and drummer <strong data-start=\"185\" data-end=\"201\">Jay Schellen<\/strong> confirmed the news, calling her \u201ca marvel to behold\u201d and \u201ca truly singular talent.\u201d Schellen\u2019s heartfelt tribute captured the grief of bandmates Bruce Gowdy, Guy Allison, and Larry Antonino, all devastated by the loss of their friend and musical sister.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"459\" data-end=\"863\">Born <strong data-start=\"464\" data-end=\"484\">Mark Edward Free<\/strong> in 1954 in Indiana, Marcie began chasing her musical dreams as a teenager. She rose to prominence in the 1980s with <strong data-start=\"601\" data-end=\"615\">King Kobra<\/strong>, lighting up melodic rock with <em data-start=\"647\" data-end=\"664\">Ready to Strike<\/em> and <em data-start=\"669\" data-end=\"691\">Thrill of a Lifetime<\/em>. Later, she fronted <strong data-start=\"712\" data-end=\"722\">Signal<\/strong> and then formed <strong data-start=\"739\" data-end=\"755\">Unruly Child<\/strong> in 1992 \u2014 a group that cemented her reputation as one of the most expressive voices in AOR and hard rock.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"865\" data-end=\"1281\">In 1993, Marcie courageously came out as <strong data-start=\"906\" data-end=\"921\">transgender<\/strong>, a decision she described as one between \u201clife and death.\u201d Though her transition cost her career momentum and industry support, she later found peace, faith, and sobriety before reuniting with Unruly Child in 2009. Her comeback albums \u2014 <em data-start=\"1159\" data-end=\"1175\">Worlds Collide<\/em> and <em data-start=\"1180\" data-end=\"1202\">Down the Rabbit Hole<\/em> \u2014 rekindled her connection with fans who had never stopped believing in her.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1283\" data-end=\"1690\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Tributes have poured in from across the music world, remembering Marcie as both a powerhouse and a pioneer. Her blend of vulnerability, strength, and authenticity redefined what it meant to be an artist. As Schellen wrote, \u201cMarcie was always an Angel \u2014 now you have your wings.\u201d Her voice and courage continue to echo \u2014 a reminder that true greatness lies not just in talent, but in living unapologetically.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2942\" data-end=\"3413\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-40748 lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/dailypositive24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-148658544-scaled-1-696x1024.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dailypositive24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-148658544-scaled-1-696x1024.jpg 696w, https:\/\/dailypositive24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-148658544-scaled-1-204x300.jpg 204w, https:\/\/dailypositive24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-148658544-scaled-1-768x1130.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dailypositive24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-148658544-scaled-1-1044x1536.jpg 1044w, https:\/\/dailypositive24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-148658544-scaled-1-1392x2048.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/dailypositive24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-148658544-scaled-1.jpg 1740w\" alt=\"\" width=\"484\" height=\"712\" data-ll-status=\"loaded\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rock fans are mourning the loss of Marcie Free, the iconic voice behind King Kobra, Signal, and Unruly Child, who passed away at 71. Her longtime friend&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27872,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of this rock-metal icon -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=27871\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of this rock-metal icon -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rock fans are mourning the loss of Marcie Free, the iconic voice behind King Kobra, Signal, and Unruly Child, who passed away at 71. 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