Supertramp's Rick Davies, who sang 'Goodbye Stranger,' dies at 81

"Rick Davies, who with his partner Roger Hodgson co-founded the British rock group Supertramp and served as one of its two lead singers, died Saturday in East Hampton, N.Y. He was 81. His death was announced in a statement on Supertramp's website, which said Davies battled multiple myeloma for more than a decade. The statement described Davies as "the voice and pianist behind Supertramp's most iconic songs" and said his "soulful vocals and unmistakable touch on the Wurlitzer" formed the "heartbeat" of the band's sound."

"Davies' keyboard playing was perhaps best showcased in Supertramp's "Goodbye Stranger," a Top 20 pop hit about an unrepentant drifter that helped drive the band's 1979 album "Breakfast in America" to quadruple-platinum sales in the United States and a Grammy nomination for album of the year. In 1999, the director Paul Thomas Anderson memorably used "Goodbye Stranger" to soundtrack a dramatic scene starring William H. Macy in the movie "Magnolia.""

"Supertramp released its self-titled debut in 1970 and released a follow-up the next year; neither garnered much interest. (Rolling Stone called the band's early prog-rock work "rhythmically underfed" and "lyrically facile.") Yet Supertramp scored a hit with the funky "Bloody Well Right," which Davies wrote for 1974's "Crime of the Century" LP and which prominently featured his electric piano."

Rick Davies died in East Hampton, N.Y., at age 81 after more than a decade battling multiple myeloma. He co-founded Supertramp with Roger Hodgson and served as one of the band's lead singers and pianists, providing soulful vocals and a distinctive Wurlitzer touch. His keyboard work powered hits such as "Goodbye Stranger," which helped make 1979's Breakfast in America a quadruple-platinum album in the U.S. and earned a Grammy nomination. Davies was born in 1944 in Swindon, played with Gilbert O'Sullivan in college, formed Supertramp in 1969, and wrote the hit "Bloody Well Right." Other notable songs include "Give a Little Bit" and "The Logical Song."

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