John Kilzer through the years

Bob Mehr | Memphis Commercial Appeal

Veteran singer-songwriter, former Memphis State University basketball player and minister John Kilzer has died at age 62.

On Tuesday night, Kilzer’s church, St. John’s United Methodist, released a statement confirming the news.

“It is with tremendous sadness that we announce the sudden death of John Kilzer, our associate pastor of recovery ministries and our friend,” read the statement. “May love and peace be poured over John's loved ones and this community as we grieve the incredible loss of this beloved member of the St. John's Family."

Though St. John’s did not disclose any details about the circumstances of his death, several of Kilzer’s friends and associates confirmed that the musician — who’d battled alcohol issues much of his life but had been sober since 2000 — had been struggling with his addiction again. In recent days, Kilzer had checked into an out-of-state rehab facility, where his body was found on Tuesday, they said.

The news left those who knew Kilzer — in the Memphis music scene, and the church and recovery communities where he was a beloved figure — in a state of shock and sadness.

Jamie Harmon

“John is a person who touched tens of thousands of lives both through his music and his ministry, and even when he played basketball for the Tigers,” said Dr. Scott Morris of Church Health, one of Kilzer’s closest friends.

Morris also had worked extensively with Kilzer as part of Church Health’s recovery programs.

“John’s ability to engage the recovery community was a unique skill he had,” Morris said. “His music came out of his own experience of angst. He believed in using music as a path to recovery. He was able to create hope for people who felt like there was no hope. John was able to lead them out of despair.”

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Added Morris, “He often said we have a hole in our hearts that only God can fill. A lot of people are feeling a big hole in their hearts tonight. I’m not quite sure if that healing can come soon enough.”

A native of Jackson, Tennessee, Kilzer was born in 1957. An All-American high school basketball player, Kilzer came to the Bluff City as a highly touted shooting guard for Memphis State University in 1975, playing four years for the Tigers.

He eventually became an English teacher at his alma mater, and later began a new life as a musician — in part inspired by a chance dorm room encounter with Mabon “Teenie” Hodges, the famed Hi Records guitarist and songwriter. Hodges had come across Kilzer messing around with a guitar, took an instant liking to him and became his mentor. “If he hadn’t walked in the room that night, I wouldn’t be a songwriter,” Kilzer told The Commercial Appeal in 2014.

Kilzer’s musical career took off in the late 1980s, when he was signed to the Geffen label, releasing a pair of roots-rock records for the company, including his 1988 debut, “Memory in the Making,” and 1991’s “Busman’s Holiday.” Kilzer’s songs — including the minor rock radio hit “Red Blue Jeans” — brought him exposure on MTV and television shows like “Melrose Place.” His songs would later be recorded by notable artists including Rosanne Cash, Trace Adkins and Maria Muldaur.

Throughout his life, Kilzer struggled with his drinking, often courting trouble with the law. It was after an arrest in the early ‘90s that he began his path toward finding sobriety and his religious faith.

He would eventually get his Master of Divinity from the Memphis Theological Seminary in 2005 and a Ph.D. from Middlesex University in London in 2010. As part of his mission, Kilzer used music and ministry in developing “The Way,” a weekly recovery-oriented service at St. John’s.

After a long gap in between albums, Kilzer resumed his recording career in 2007 with the release of “Seven.” He followed with two more LPs, including “Scars,” which was released earlier this year and produced by Grammy winner Matt Ross-Spang.

“In the studio, it was amazing to watch John completely open himself up and throw himself into the songs and into the record," Ross-Spang said. "We did it all live, and when he sang the title track, ‘Scars,’ everyone was just teared up by the time we were finished. He was someone who really felt things deeply, as an artist and just as a human being.”

Kilzer played a release show for “Scars” at Crosstown Arts in January, backed by his band, which included his longtime guitarist and collaborator Steve Selvidge.

“Beyond his obvious gifts and talents as a writer, John reached out and helped so many people,” Selvidge said. “It’s often the case that someone who’s troubled or had their own troubles is the best person to help those who are going through the same thing. If John was about anything, he was about love. That’s what he gave to everyone. That was the most important thing to him — love.”