CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Nick Knox, most widely known as drummer of the legendary trash-rock band the Cramps, died Thursday night in Cleveland Clinic. He was 65.

The cause was cardiogenic shock, according to his sister, Jeanne Goldberg.

Knox, born Nicholas Stephanoff, was drummer in the Cleveland punk band Electric Eels before joining the Cramps, formed by Stow native Lux Interior (born Erick Lee Purkhiser) and his wife, Poison Ivy Rorschach (Kristy Wallace), in 1977.

The group performed regularly at such clubs as New York's CBGB and toured Europe extensively. Knox played on four studio albums and became the group's longest-tenured drummer.

The Cramps relocated to Los Angeles in 1980, but at one point, with Knox's cousin Mike Metoff joining on guitar, three-fourths of the band was from Ohio.

Knox left the group in 1991 and returned to Greater Cleveland. The Cramps disbanded after Lux Interior's death in 2009.

A private person who disliked the spotlight, Knox was largely retired "and enjoying his family" in recent years, his sister said. He was most recently serving as a mentor and sometime DJ for the Cleveland band Archie and the Bunkers, who called him "Grandpa Nick."

Survivors, in addition to his sister, include nephews, a niece and cousins.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 20, at the Donald A. Faulhaber Funeral Home, 7915 Broadview Road, with interment in St. Theodosius Cemetery.