[bomp] BBC confirms Arthur Lee's death

[Moparlary@xxxxxxx]

this from the BBC


Love singer Arthur Lee dies at 61 

Arthur  Lee, singer and guitarist of the influential 1960s band Love, has 
died in  Memphis at the age of 61 following a battle with acute myeloid  
leukaemia.  
A Memphis native who called himself the "first so-called black hippie",  Lee 
formed Love in Los Angeles in 1965.  
The multiracial band recorded three groundbreaking albums that fused  rock, 
blues and psychedelia - the self-titled Love, Da Capo and Forever  Changes.  
In the 1990s Lee spent time in prison for illegal possession of a  firearm.  
But the singer made a triumphant comeback in 2002, touring the US and  Europe 
with a new version of his classic band.  
Progressive rock  
  
 


Although  the original members of Love were only together for two years, they 
 typified West Coast progressive rock.  
The excess and bravura of the period is reflected on Da Capo, one side  of 
which was taken up with a single song.  
The album, like its predecessor, was not a commercial success. But  Forever 
Changes, the band's next album, did reach the Top 30 in the UK.  
Considered by many as Lee's bold response to the Beatles' Sgt Pepper  album, 
it remains one of the most enduring records of the period and has  been named 
the 40th greatest album of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.  
After that highpoint the band lost momentum and went through many  changes of 
line-up. Lee also recorded as a solo artist, with little  success.  
His eccentric behaviour and fragile mental health drew comparisons to  late 
Pink Floyd founder member Syd Barrett and led to his arrest and  six-year 
incarceration.  
But his return to the limelight in recent years drew acclaim and  
recognition, his live performances of Forever Changes receiving glowing  reviews. 

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