He was a founding member of the hard rock band Kingdom Come and the Scorpions’ longest-serving drummer: The music world mourns James Kottak, ex-drummer of the successful German hard rock band. Kottak died on the morning of January 9th in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky at the age of 61. His foster daughter Tobi first confirmed the death to the US news portal “TMZ”. The exact cause of death is still unclear.
The Scorpions also mourn the loss of their former band member with a post on Instagram. “Very sad news. Our dear friend and drummer of 20 years James Kottak has passed away at the age of 61,” it says under the photo that shows Kottak on stage. “James was a wonderful person, a great musician and loving family man.” He is their “brother from another mother,” the band continues, “(…) Rock’n Roll forever RIP James.”
A former Kingdom Come band member Johnny B. Frank also published a statement on Instagram: “Rock Forever in Peace, Brother James Kottak. James is now in heaven, writes the musician.
Kottak was part of the Scorpions from 1996 to 2016, making him the drummer who has been part of the band the longest. As the band told TMZ, they ultimately parted ways due to Kottak’s drinking problems. Kottak himself said in an interview in 2022 that he had never managed to give up drinking completely. It was an ongoing process that he had not yet been able to renounce.
Kottak is survived by his ex-wife Athena Lee, drummer and sister of well-known musician Tommy Lee, to whom he was married for 14 years. In 2010, after the separation, a custody battle followed over their son Matthew. Kottak also leaves behind his foster children Toni and Miles, whom Lee brought into the marriage from a previous relationship.
Those: Instagram, “TMZ”
