Rick Davies, founding member of the group Supertramp, died Saturday at the age of 81.
A statement shared with ABC Audio revealed that Davies passed away “after battling multiple myeloma for over 10 years.”
“As a co-writer, along with partner Roger Hodgson, he was the voice and pianist behind Supertramp’s most iconic songs, leaving an indelible mark on rock music history,” read the statement. “Rick’s music and legacy continue to inspire many and bears testament to the fact that great songs never die, they live on.”
Davies, born in Swindon, England, founded Supertramp with Hodgson, and they released their self-titled debut album in 1970. They had their first commercial breakthrough with 1974’s Crime of the Century, which was their first album to hit the top 40 in the U.S.
Their biggest success was with the 1979 album Breakfast in America, which went to #1 and spawned three hits, including the top-20 hit “Goodbye Stranger,” which Davies wrote and sings lead on. Hodgson wrote and sang the album’s two other hits, “The Logical Song” and “Take the Long Way Home.”
Other Supertramp songs written by Davies include the top-40 hits “Bloody Well Right,” “My Kind of Lady,” and “Cannonball.”
Davies and Hodgson released seven albums together before Hodgson left the band in 1983. Davies continued on with the group, and they released four more albums, their last being 2002’s Slow Motion.
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