Supertramp co-founder and frontman Rick Davies dies at 81

Rick Davies, the co-founder and frontman of British rock band Supertramp, has died, the band said in a tribute statement on its website.

Rick Davies, the co-founder and frontman of British rock band Supertramp, has died, the band said in a tribute statement on its website.

He was 81.

Davies died on Saturday after a more than 10-year battle with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, the band said.

The musician was born in 1944 in Swindon, England, and fell in love with music as a child by listening to Gene Krupa's "Drummin' Man," which inspired a lifelong appreciation of multiple genres of music, the band said, including jazz, blues and rock 'n roll.

Davies formed Supertramp in 1969 alongside fellow band member Roger Hodgson. Together as co-writers they produced hits including "Goodbye Stranger" and "The Logical Song." The band's 1979 album "Breakfast in America" topped charts in the United States and Canada, won two Grammys and sold over 18 million copies.

Davis was "the voice and pianist behind Supertramp's most iconic songs, leaving an indelible mark on rock music history," the band's statement said. "His soulful vocals and unmistakable touch on the Wurlitzer became the heartbeat of the band's sound."

Hodgson left the band in 1983 and released solo albums. Supertramp disbanded in 1988, though Davies revived it in 1996. The group performed for the last time in Madrid in 2012.

Off the stage, the band said Davies was "known for his warmth, resilience, and devotion to his wife Sue." The couple was together for over 50 years.

Davies faced "serious health challenges," Supertramp said in the statement, which prevented him from continuing to tour with the group, but Davies kept his music career alive by performing with hometown friends as Ricky and the Rockets.

"Rick's music and legacy continue to inspire many and bears testament to the fact that great songs never die, they live on," Supertramp said.

The Associated Press contributed.