Gary DeCarlo, the lead singer of the band Steam, whose chart-topping hit “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” became a game anthem for Chicago White Sox fans, has died. He was 75.
According to TMZ.com and other reports, DeCarlo succumbed to lung cancer.
The song, which hit No. 1 in 1969, was also used in the film “Remember the Titans.”
Ballpark organist Nancy Faust was credited with making the song a favorite among White Sox fans, beginning in 1976, who chanted along to its catchy refrain when opposing teams’ pitchers were removed from a game.
Paul Leka, who co-wrote the song with DeCarlo, passed away at the age of 68 in 2011, also from lung cancer. (Leka also co-penned the No. hit “Green Tambourine.”)
A 2011 Sun-Times story revealed the “na na” refrain stemmed from the songwriting process, Mr. Leka was quoted as saying in “The Billboard Book of Number One Hits.” “Everything was ‘na-na’ when you didn’t have a lyric,” the book quotes him as saying.
