About Charlie Dominici
Charlie Dominici ( do-mi-NEE-chee; June 16, 1951 – November 17, 2023) was an American singer, best known as the second vocalist for the progressive metal band Dream Theater, having replaced Chris Collins (while the band was called Majesty) and later being replaced by James LaBrie. Dominici fronted his own self-named progressive metal band, that released three albums. == Biography == Charlie Dominici was born in Brooklyn, New York, and soon after moved with his family to the Five Towns region in Nassau County, Long Island. His album debut was with folk duo Billy and Charles (consisting of Dominici and Carly Simon collaborator Billy Mernit) in 1970. Professionally, he came into prominence as a member of Franke and the Knockouts, in which he played guitar and sang backing vocals. He auditioned for Dream Theater in 1987 and was hired for the job in November of that year. Dominici performed on the band's debut album, 1989's When Dream and Day Unite. However, Dominici was older than the rest of the band and there were personal and creative differences at work. It was felt that, despite being a very talented singer, his decidedly "pop" vocal style did not fit in with the distinctive progressive direction that the band's compositions were taking. According to Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, "It was like having Billy Joel singing in Queensrÿche." A good singer in the wrong band, they amicably parted ways shortly thereafter.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.