Rick Davies, singer and co-founder of Supertramp, has died
Rick Davies, the British musician who founded the prog-pop band Supertramp, died on Sept. 6 at the age of 81. He’d been battling multiple myeloma for over a decade.
Supertramp, which spurred hits like “Give A Little Bit” and “The Logical Song” in the 1970s, shared the news of Davies’ death in social media posts. “His soulful vocals and unmistakable touch on the Wurlitzer became the heartbeat of the bands’ sound,” reads the statement.
Born in Swindon, England in 1944, Davies gravitated towards music from an early age, when he first heard Gene Krupa’s “Drummin’ Man.” He fell in love with the piano and played jazz and blues in the beginning of his career. Then, in 1969, Davies took out an ad in the music magazine Melody Maker looking for bandmates.
He heard back from a posh, Beatles-loving teenager named Roger Hodgson. Together, they went from playing Bob Dylan covers to crafting rock songs that would eventually give way to grandiose saxophone solos, melodic pop hooks and fluttering harmonies. “Davies and Hodgson could not have been more different — working-class grit meets dreamy idealism — but in those differences lay their magic,” reads the band’s biography.
Supertramp’s international commercial breakthrough came in 1977 with the album Even in the Quietest Moments, which rose to No. 16 on the Billboard 200 chart. In 1979, the band struck gold with Breakfast in America, a playful yet sweeping exploration of American excess at the end of a decade defined by idealism and disillusionment. The album landed three singles on Billboard‘s Hot 100, including the Davies-penned “Goodbye Stranger,” which features Davies’ jaded baritone contrasted against Hodgson’s vibrant falsetto and devolves from a snappy sing-along to a roaring guitar solo.
Supertramp released one more studio album called …Famous Last Words… in 1982 before Hodgson left the band. Davies continued playing with several iterations of the group on and off for decades to come. Although Hodgson never returned to the lineup, Supertramp played its final show in Madrid in 2012.
Davies’ cancer diagnosis made it difficult for him to tour, but he kept playing music close to home for several years with a group of friends dubbed Ricky and the Rockets.
Rupert Murdoch buys out 3 of his kids, cementing his conservative media empire
The owner of Fox News, the Wall Street Journal and dozens of other media properties has settled a legal fight with three of his own children over who would control his companies after his death.
Estate of Jeffrey Epstein gives Congress ‘birthday book’ allegedly signed by Trump
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said the book included a tawdry drawing and note that appeared to include President Trump's signature. Trump had previously denied its existence.
DHS launches immigration crackdowns in Chicago, Boston
These announcements by DHS are just the latest escalation of federal action in U.S. cities including Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. — all led by Democrats.
The school shooting industry is worth billions – and it keeps growing
The effort to keep schools safe from mass shooters has ballooned into a multibillion dollar industry. Companies are selling school districts assurance with high-tech products.
New teen thriller ‘Sisters in the Wind’ finds drama in hidden identities
Angeline Boulley, author of the hit Firekeeper's Daughter, writes thrillers set in Native American communities in northern Michigan, like the ones where her family has lived for generations.
Christoph Von Dohnányi, longtime conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, has died
Known for his intellectual and illuminating touch on the podium, the refined conductor was also surprisingly outspoken when it came to politics and his peers.
