Rick Davies, the founder, songwriter, singer, and keyboardist of the English rock band Supertramp, has passed away at the age of 81. He died on September 6th after a long battle with Multiple Myeloma. The Supertramp Partnership shared their sadness in a statement, offering condolences to his wife, Sue Davies.
Born in Swindon, Wiltshire, in 1944, Davies developed a love for music as a child. His parents gave him a secondhand radiogram, which came with records that inspired him, including “Drummin’ Man” by Gene Krupa. A family friend built him a drum kit, and he joined a local band at just 12 years old.
In the late 1950s, he played with a band called Vince and the Vigilantes and later formed his own group, Rick’s Blues. After his father fell ill, he left art school to work in a factory. In 1966, he joined a band called The Lonely Ones, which later became the Joint, finding some success in Germany.
In 1969, Davies placed an ad to form a new band and met Roger Hodgson. They started writing music together, initially calling their project Daddy, but later renamed it Supertramp. Their debut album came out in 1970, but it was their third album, 1974’s Crime of the Century, that brought them major success with hits like “School,” “Dreamer,” and “Bloody Well Right.”
Davies’ contributions to music and Supertramp will be remembered by fans around the world.
