Dick Wagner dead: Lou Reed and Alice Cooper guitarist dies aged 71
Alice Copper describes the guitarist as 'irreplaceable' as he pays tribute
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Dick Wagner, who played guitar and wrote songs with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, KISS and Aerosmith, has died aged 71.
The musician had contracted a lung infection after heart surgery and passed away in a hospital in Arizona following respiratory failure, Billboard reports.
Just last week, he had posted the following message to fans via his Facebook account: “I love you all very much. I can't wait to play for you all again one day soon. Thank you for all your kind wishes.”
Alice Copper was among the first to pay his respects, describing the guitarist as “irreplaceable”.
“Even though we know it's inevitable, we never expect to suddenly lose close friends and collaborators,” he said.
“Dick Wagner and I shared as many laughs as we did hit records. He was one of a kind. He is irreplaceable.
“His brand of playing and writing is not seen anymore, and there are very few people that I enjoyed working with as much as I enjoyed working with Dick Wagner.
“A lot of my radio success in my solo career had to do with my relationship with Dick Wagner. Not just on stage, but in the studio and writing.
“Some of my biggest singles were ballads what I wrote with Dick Wagner. Most of Welcome to My Nightmare was written with Dick.
“There was just a magic in the way we wrote together. He was always able to find exactly the right chord to match perfectly with what I was doing.
“I think that we always think our friends will be around as long as we are, so to hear of Dick's passing comes as a sudden shock and an enormous loss for me, Rock N Roll and to his family.”
Gene Simmons of KISS described Wagner as “the consummate gentleman axeman” in his tribute.
Wagner’s career got off to a classic start when he became a member of Reed’s band in 1973, playing on Berlin and Rock N Roll Animal.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments