View source for Lynn Strait

{{Short description|American singer (1968–1998)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Lynn Strait
| image             = Lynn Strait.jpg
| caption           = Strait with his dog, Dobbs
| background        = solo_singer
| birth_name        = James Lynn Strait II<ref>[https://www.independent.com/obits/2025/09/08/james-lynn-strait-3/ James Lynn Strait] independent.com</ref>
| alias             = 
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|1968|8|7}}
| birth_place       = [[Manhasset, New York]], U.S.
| death_date        = {{nowrap|{{Death date and age|1998|12|11|1968|8|7}}}}
| death_place       = US 101, [[Santa Barbara, California]], U.S.
| occupation        = {{flatlist|
* Singer
* songwriter
}}
| genre             = {{flatlist|
* [[Nu metal]]
* [[funk metal]]
* [[hardcore punk]]
}}
| years_active      = 1988–1998
| past_member_of    = {{hlist|[[Snot (band)|Snot]]|Lethal Dose}}
| website           = 
}}

'''James Lynn Strait II''' (August 7, 1968 – December 11, 1998) was an American singer. He was the lead vocalist and lyricist for the [[nu metal]] band [[Snot (band)|Snot]].

== Biography ==
Strait was born on August 7, 1968,<ref name=":1" /> in [[Manhasset, New York|Manhasset]], New York.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |last=Sindell |first=Joshua |date=November 4, 2000 |title=A Life Less Ordinary |magazine=[[Kerrang!]] |location=UK |publisher=[[EMAP]] |issue=826 |pages=26–28}}</ref> His father was in the [[United States Armed Forces|US Armed Forces]], and the Strait family moved around the country throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, before deciding to settle down in [[Santa Barbara, California]], when Lynn was 10 years old.<ref name=":0" /> Although he was not diagnosed with it until he was an adult, Strait had [[Tourette syndrome|Tourette's syndrome]].<ref name=":0" />

As a teenager, Strait embraced the '[[Southern California|SoCal]]' [[Punk subculture|punk scene]]. Prior to his work with [[Snot (band)|Snot]], Strait had played bass in [[Goleta, California|Goleta]]-based [[thrash metal]] band Lethal Dose, but he had never sung in a band.<ref name=":0" /> "I always wanted to because it seemed like a lot of fun. But I wasn't into what most bands were playing."{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} Starting from scratch was an advantage for Strait: "There's nobody to emulate. I won't say what I do is groundbreaking, but some of it is original; there are weird patterns in my vocals, because I got to make up my style as I went along."{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}

Strait was friends with [[Tairrie B]], and Snot played their first show in 1995 opening for Manhole (later known as [[Tura Satana (band)|Tura Satana]]).<ref name=":0" /> He later appeared as a guest vocalist on Manhole's debut album ''[[All Is Not Well]]'' (1996), performing a duet with Tairrie B on the song "Down." Landing a [[recording contract]] was a dream come true for some of his friends, but Strait was apparently not impressed by the development. His response: "Now I can order cheese on my Whopper."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Silver |first=Dan |date=October 1997 |title=Check 'Em Out! |magazine=[[Metal Hammer]] |publisher=[[Dennis Publishing]] |location=UK |page=20}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> While his bandmates were signing the contracts, Strait was completing a month-long sentence in the county jail, where he had spent a year in the early 1990s.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=July 24, 1997 |title=Geffen Records {{!}} Snot {{!}} Biography |url=http://www.geffen.com/snot/bio/ |access-date=June 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970724123020/http://www.geffen.com/snot/bio/ |archive-date=July 24, 1997 }}</ref>

== Death and legacy ==
On December 11, 1998, Strait was traveling from [[Santa Barbara, California]], to Los Angeles and was killed in a [[Traffic collision|six-car crash]]. The crash occurred on a highway [[off-ramp]]. Only one other driver, David Redderson, was injured in the crash, and he was released from Saint Francis Hospital in Santa Barbara. Also killed in the accident was Strait's dog, Dobbs, who was on the cover of the band's 1997 debut album ''[[Get Some (album)|Get Some]]'' and served as the group's mascot.<ref>{{Cite web |author=MTV News Staff |title=Snot's Lynn Strait Dies In Car Crash |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1434320/snots-lynn-strait-dies-in-car-crash/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908081539/http://www.mtv.com/news/1434320/snots-lynn-strait-dies-in-car-crash/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 8, 2014 |access-date=June 30, 2022 |website=MTV News |language=en}}</ref>

The band [[Sevendust]] paid tribute to Strait with the song "[[Angel's Son]]." A tribute album entitled ''[[Strait Up]]'' was released on November 7, 2000, on [[Virgin Records]]/[[Immortal Records]], compiled with the help of members of [[Limp Bizkit]], [[Korn]], [[Slipknot (band)|Slipknot]], [[Sevendust]], [[Hed PE]], [[Coal Chamber]], [[Sugar Ray]], [[System of a Down]], [[Soulfly]], [[Incubus (band)|Incubus]], [[Ozzy Osbourne]], and others. The album contains tributes to Strait with backing from the remaining band. Also on the record was a remixed version of Strait's last recording with Snot, a song titled "Absent," the original version of which was included on the ''[[Strangeland (film)|Strangeland]]'' soundtrack.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Archive-Rob-Mancini |title=Korn's Davis, Limp's Durst, Others Line Up Studio Time For Snot Tribute |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1430952/korns-davis-limps-durst-others-line-up-studio-time-for-snot-tribute/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813033601/http://www.mtv.com/news/1430952/korns-davis-limps-durst-others-line-up-studio-time-for-snot-tribute/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 13, 2020 |access-date=June 30, 2022 |website=MTV News |language=en}}</ref>

On August 7, 1999, fans were encouraged to buy copies of Snot's debut CD ''Get Some'' in an attempt to cause a jump in the charts on what would have been Strait's 31st birthday.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |author=MTV News Staff |title=Snot Fans Plan To Make Chart Noise To Mark Late Singer's Birthday |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1434319/snot-fans-plan-to-make-chart-noise-to-mark-late-singers-birthday/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025072111/http://www.mtv.com/news/1434319/snot-fans-plan-to-make-chart-noise-to-mark-late-singers-birthday/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 25, 2021 |access-date=June 30, 2022 |website=MTV News |language=en}}</ref> The band [[My Ruin]] fronted by [[Tairrie B]] paid tribute to him with a song called "Rockstar." The band [[NOFX]] mentions Strait and Dobbs in their song "Doornails," in which they pay tribute to deceased punk band members. Strait had previously provided backing vocals on their song "The Brews." Punk Rock band [[Lagwagon]] would pay tribute to Lynn with the song “Narrow Straits” in 1999 as the members of the band were all from Goleta and were friends with him. British band [[Reuben (band)|Reuben]] paid tribute to him and [[Kurt Cobain]] in their song "Push."

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{Wikiquote-inline}}

{{Snot}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strait, Lynn}}
[[Category:1968 births]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Manhasset, New York]]
[[Category:American heavy metal singers]]
[[Category:Nu metal singers]]
[[Category:American punk rock singers]]
[[Category:Road incident deaths in California]]
[[Category:Alternative metal musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:Snot (band) members]]
[[Category:People with Tourette syndrome]]