John Walker of The Walker Brothers has died. While the band’s success was limited to mostly a few years in the 1960s, their influence is heard in the music of many groups of the past three decades, including The National, Julian Cope, Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, Mark Eitzel and many more. They were huge stars in Europe and Japan, but sadly ignored in the country where they were born, the USA.
The Guardian UK reports:
John Walker, one of the founders of the Walker Brothers, has died at the age of 67.
The songwriter, vocalist and guitarist, who played a pivotal role in the band, which scored huge commercial success in the 1960s and 1970s with songs such as Make It Easy On Yourself and The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Any More), passed away at his Los Angeles home. He had liver cancer.
Born John Maus, he and the other two unrelated members of the group, Scott Engel and Gary Leeds, adopted the Walker Brothers name after their formation in 1964.
His spokeswoman said: “Sadly John passed away yesterday morning Californian time, after a six-month battle with liver cancer.”
In a mirror image of sorts to the British pop invasion of the US in 1960s, the band’s fame flourished after travelling to the UK during the same decade.
The official John Walker website said it was with “deepest sadness” that it had to report the musician passed away.
“He was a beloved husband, brother, father, grandfather, friend, and artiste,” it added.
On his own website, Gary Walker said in a statement that it was “a very sad day” for himself, John’s family and all of their many fans.
“John was the founder member of the group and lead singer in the early days,” he added.
“He was also a fantastic guitarist which a lot of people didn’t realize. He was a compassionate songwriter and a gentleman with lots of style.”
“The three of us had the most incredible adventure together, all the time not realising that we were part of pop history in the making. His music will live on, and therefore so will John.”
John Walker performs “Kentucky Woman” on German TV show The Beat Club.
The Walker Brothers perform ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore”:
John Walker, 2009. A little ragged around the edges but still plaintive and beautiful