Joey Molland, the last surviving original member of the Welsh rock band Badfinger, passed away Saturday at the age of 77, according to the band’s official social media accounts.
A post on Instagram revealed that Molland died after a “3+ months long battle with multiple health issues.”
Badfinger rose to fame in the ’70s, thanks to top 10 hits like “Day After Day,” produced by Beatle George Harrison, which went to #4, and “Come and Get It,” written and produced by Beatle Paul McCartney, which went to #8, as well as “Baby Blue,” produced by Todd Rundgren.
Another one of their songs, “Without You,” became a #1 hit for Harry Nilsson in 1972, and was also covered by Mariah Carey, who took it to #3 on the Billboard chart.
Badfinger recorded several of their albums on The Beatles’ label Apple Records, and Molland wound up appearing on a few of the Fab Four’s solo records, including George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass and The Concert for Bangladesh, and John Lennon’s Imagine.
Molland also released several solo albums throughout his career, his first being After the Pearl, released in 1983.
Molland left Badfinger in 1974 over management issues. In 1978, three years after frontman Peter Ham‘s death by suicide in 1975, Molland and drummer Tom Evans revived the group and released two records before splitting and then each touring with rival bands, both under the name Badfinger.
Evans died by suicide in 1983, while drummer Mike Gibbins died in 2005.
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