By Erik Pederson, Deadline | Mick Ralphs, founding guitarist and a key songwriter for rock groups Bad Company and Mott the Hoople who played on hits ranging from “All the Young Dudes and “All the Way From Memphis” to “Can’t Get Enough,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy,” has died. He was 81.
His family issued a statement confirming the news but didn’t not provide a cause, date or place of death. He had a stroke in 2016 and had been living in a nursing home for some years. Bad Company was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year and will be inducted in November. It was the group’s first time on the ballot despite being eligible for more than a quarter-century.
Ralphs co-founded Bad Company with ex-Free singer Paul Rodgers, bassist Boz Burrell and drummer Simon Kirke in 1973. The group had a meteoric rise, becoming the first band signed to Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song Records and scoring a No. 1 LP in the U.S. with its self-titled 1974 set. It also reached No. 3 in the UK and spawned a pair of hit singles with “Can’t Get Enough” and “Movin’ On.”
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Read more about Mr. Ralphs’ life here:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/mick-ralphs-dies-bad-company-mott-the-hoople-guitarist-songwriter-was-81/