Who Was Mimi Parker? Low Drummer Passes Away Following Cancer Battle

Mimi Parker, popularly known as the drummer and vocalist of the indie rock band Low, has died following a battle with ovarian cancer. She was 55.

Alan Sparhawk, Parker's husband and bandmate, confirmed her death to The Guardian. According to a tweet shared by the band Sunday, Parker died on 5 November, Saturday night.

"Friends, it’s hard to put the universe into language and into a short message," the band wrote on Twitter. "She passed away last night, surrounded by family and love, including yours. Keep her name close and sacred.

"Share this moment with someone who needs you. Love is indeed the most important thing."

Parker is survived by her two children Hollis and Cyrus, as well as Sparhawk.

Who was Mimi Parker?

Parker came from a musical family – her mother was a former aspiring country singer and her sister played the guitar. Parker played the drums throughout middle and high school, she once told in an interview. Parker's association with Low began after being sought out by her musician husband.

"I guess (music) was always kind of a dream, not something I ever thought I’d do, but every once in a while I’d have the thought that playing music would be fun," Parker said. "So Alan and I talked about it and then he and (bassist) John Nichols got together and came up with the idea of the band — slow and quiet."

The band’s debut album, I Could Live in Hope, was released in 1994, and later included in Pitchfork’s 1999 list of the best albums of the 1990s. Over the course of 27 years, they released 13 studio albums.

In January 2022, Parker revealed in an interview on the SHEROE podcast that she had been diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer in December 2020. Between January 2021 and August 2021 — leading right up to the band’s most recent album HEY WHAT — Parker underwent intensive chemotherapy and surgery. Over the summer, Low cancelled a tour scheduled in Europe after “recent developments and changes in treatment” prevented Parker’s ability to travel.

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