Mick Ralphs, of Mott the Hoople and Bad Company, Dies at 81
Mick Ralphs, a British guitarist and songwriter who glittered at the peak of glam rock with Mott the Hoople before joining forces with the vocalist Paul Rodgers to form Bad Company, the hard-rock quartet that rode high in the feathered-hair 1970s with anthems like 'Can't Get Enough' and 'Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy,' has died. He was 81.
His death was announced on Monday in a statement on the official Bad Company site, which noted that he had suffered a stroke days after his final performance with the group in October 2016 and had remained bedridden until his death. The statement did not say where or when he had died, or give a specific cause.
Bad Company, scheduled to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in November, combined muscular stadium rock with infectious hooks to become one of the most commercially successful groups of its era.
Formed in 1973, the group originally consisted of Mr. Ralphs (late of Mott the Hoople, known for the 1972 hit 'All the Young Dudes'); Mr. Rodgers and the drummer Simon Kirke, both previously of Free, whose arena-shaking 'All Right Now' was a No. 4 hit in 1970; and the bassist Boz Burrell, a veteran of King Crimson.
Bad Company became an FM radio force. It sold more than a million copies of its first three albums, starting with its 1974 debut, called simply 'Bad Company,' which hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and featured 'Can't Get Enough,' a bluesy thumper written by Mr. Ralphs that soared to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
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