Rick Davies, the co-founder, singer, and pianist of the iconic British band Supertramp, has passed away at the age of 81 after a long and courageous battle with cancer, per bbc.com. The band confirmed his death, stating he died on Saturday, September 6, from multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer he had been fighting for over a decade.
Davies, alongside co-founder Roger Hodgson, was the creative force behind Supertramp, co-writing some of the band’s most enduring hits. His distinctive “soulful vocals and unmistakable touch on the Wurlitzer” were the heartbeat of the band’s sound, leaving an indelible mark on rock history. He was the voice behind classics like “Goodbye Stranger” and “The Logical Song,” shaping the sound of a generation.
Formed in 1969, Supertramp rose to global fame with their 1979 album Breakfast in America, which topped charts in the US and Canada, won two Grammy Awards, and sold over 18 million copies. The album featured some of the band’s most beloved songs, including “The Logical Song” and “Give a Little Bit.”
Born in Swindon, England in 1944, Davies’s passion for jazz, blues and rock and roll fuelled his musical journey. Though Hodgson left the band in 1983 and Supertramp disbanded in 1988, Davies revived the group in 1996. The band’s final performance was in Madrid in 2012, cementing their legacy as one of the most influential rock bands of their time.
•Featured image: Rick Davies/Noemi Bruzak/MTI via AP
