Mick Ralphs, the guitarist, singer, songwriter, and a founding member of the classic British rock band Bad Company as well as Mott the Hoople, has died.
According to a statement on Bad Company’s official website, Ralphs passed away at the age of 81 on Monday.
Ralphs had suffered a stroke in 2016, just days after his last performance with Bad Company at the O2 Arena in London, and had been bedridden since then. The statement did not provide specific details about his passing.
Later this year, he was set to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of Bad Company.
“Our Mick has gone, and my heart just dropped,” said Paul Rogers, the band’s singer, in a statement.
“He left us a legacy of incredible songs and cherished memories. He was not just my friend but also my songwriting partner and an immensely talented guitarist with a wonderful sense of humor.”
Ralphs was behind the 1970s track “Ready For Love” for Mott the Hoople and co-wrote the iconic song “Feel Like Makin’ Love” with Rogers in 1975.
Born in Stoke Lacy, Herefordshire, Ralphs took up blues guitar as a teen and co-founded the Doc Thomas Group in his early twenties in 1966. The band rebranded as Mott the Hoople in 1969, after the title and character from a 1966 Willard Manus novel.
Though the group’s self-titled debut album developed a cult following, their next two records did not fare well commercially or critically. They finally achieved massive success with the glam rock anthem “All the Young Dudes,” penned by David Bowie in 1972. However, Ralphs left the band in 1973 due to creative differences with lead singer Ian Hunter.
Shortly after, he teamed up with Rogers, who himself had left his band.
Initially, they were just making music together, seemingly as a one-off project. But when a drummer named Simon Kirke joined them, they realized they were already forming a band and soon brought in bassist Boz Burrell, a former King Crimson member.
“We didn’t actually plan to create a band,” Ralphs recalled in a 2015 interview with Gibson Guitar. “It was all quite serendipitous. Just good luck, really.”
In a statement on Monday, Kirke expressed, “Mick was a dear friend, a talented songwriter, and an extraordinary guitarist. We will miss him profoundly.”
Bad Company quickly found success, filled with radio-friendly hits and a live sound that resonated perfectly with the arena rock scene of the 1970s.
Their self-titled debut soared to number one on the Billboard album chart. Interestingly, Ralphs is sometimes misquoted as having a song called “Can’t Get Get Of,” which actually features the lyric “I can’t get your love” and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“We recorded it all in one take,” Ralphs shared in an interview with Gibson. “It wasn’t perfect, but he said, ‘Yeah, it’s fantastic; it captures the moment.’ That’s how I like to record.”
Bad Company’s follow-up album, “Straight Shooter,” released in 1975, also made waves, hitting number three on both the US and UK album charts.
Ralphs wrote the opening track “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad,” which was a modest success, while “Feel Makin’ Love” turned into a classic that continues to be played on classic rock stations.
As per a statement from the band, Ralphs is survived by “his one true love,” his wife Susie Chavas, along with two children, three step-children, and his “beloved bandmates” Rogers and Kirke.
“Our last chat just a few days ago ended with us laughing,” Rogers remarked. “But that wasn’t our final interaction.”
