Legendary musician Arthur Lee, who became a cult name for his band Love, has passed away last Thursday after a lengthy battle with leukemia. He was 61.
His death was announced by his long-time friend and manager Mark Linn, on a Love fan website, "I am very sad to report that Arthur Lee has died. He passed away in the hospital with his wife Diane by his side. This is still very much a shock for me as I had hoped Arthur would recover," he said. ''His death comes as a shock because Arthur had the uncanny ability to bounce back from everything. He was confident that he would be back on stage by the fall.''
Doctors diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia at the beginning of last year and Lee had been battling the cancer ever since.
He had three sessions of painful chemotherapy without any tangible results and his chances of survival remained slim. Even a bone marrow transplant using stem cells from the umbilical cord in May did not produce any success.
Lee was born in Memphis as Arthur Porter Taylor and called himself as "the first so-called black hippie." He soon moved to Los Angeles and formed Love in 1965. 'Forever Changes'' (1968) is regarded as one of the best rock albums ever. Lee recorded three albums with the group's original members. But soon after the band disbanded and Lee never found equal success as a solo artist. But his legacy served as an inspiration for Led Zeppelin to Echo and the Bunnymen.
Lee last played at Park West in 2004 at Chicago. Several benefit concerts were held to pay his medical bills last year.
Mr Lee is survived by Diane, his wife.
