Paul Gray | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Paul Dedrick Gray |
Also known as |
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Born | April 8, 1972 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Origin | Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. |
Died | May 24, 2010(2010-05-24) (aged 38) Johnston, Iowa, U.S. |
Genres |
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Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
Instruments | Bass, guitar, vocals |
Years active | 1994–2010 |
Labels |
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Associated acts |
Inveigh Catharsis
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Website | slipknot1.com |
Notable instruments | |
Paul Dedrick Gray (April 8, 1972 – May 24, 2010), also known as The Pig or by his number #2, was an American musician best known as the bassist, a backing vocalist, and a songwriter and one of the founding members of the Grammy Award-winning metal band Slipknot.
Paul Dedrick Gray was born in Los Angeles, California. Later his family relocated to Des Moines, Iowa. He played guitar but switched to bass after he relocated to Iowa. In his youth, Gray performed in bands such as Anal Blast, Vexx, Body Pit, The Have Nots and Inveigh Catharsis.
At the time of his death, he was one of three original members of Slipknot remaining in the band, and the only one who had maintained his original role in the band due to Clown’s switch from main drums to custom percussion during the early days.In 2010, Slipknot released the Download 2009 performance on DVD in memory of Gray.
Besides Slipknot, Gray filled in as bassist for Unida during their 2003 tour, appeared on Drop Dead, Gorgeous’ Worse Than a Fairy Tale, toured briefly with Reggie and the Full Effect and appeared on the Roadrunner United project, performing bass on “The Enemy” and “Baptized in the Redemption” from the project’s album The All-Star Sessions.
An award was named after Paul titled “Paul Gray: Best Bassist of the Year”, as a tribute to Paul. Slipknot presented the award to Nikki Sixx, of Mötley Crüe and Sixx A.M..
On May 24, 2010, The Des Moines Register reported that Gray had been found dead in his hotel room. On June 21, 2010, autopsy results were released that stated Gray had died of an overdose of morphine, and had also shown signs of “significant heart disease”.
In September 2012, Gray’s physician Daniel Baldi was charged with involuntary manslaughter relating to Gray’s death, as well as the deaths of at least seven others. He was accused of continually writing high-dose prescription narcotics to Gray, despite him being a known drug addict from December 27, 2005 until his death. The doctor appeared in court on September 27, 2012 to face the charges, to which he pleaded not guilty. On May 1, 2014, jurors found Daniel Baldi not guilty on all seven counts of involuntary manslaughter following two days of deliberation