Multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald died Wednesday at age 75. He was a founding member of King Crimson and Foreigner.
His son Maxwell announced his death on social media, saying that his father had been battling cancer.
McDonald first came to renown as an original member of King Crimson, which was founded in January 1969. By July of that year, the band appeared with the Rolling Stones in a concert in Hyde Park, and released its debut album, In The Court Of The Crimson King, that October.
McDonald found work as a session musician and appeared on T. Rex’s 1971 album Electric Warrior and its breakout hit, “Bang a Gong (Get It On).”
In 1976, McDonald co-founded the band Foreigner with guitarist Mick Jones and singer Lou Gramm. Ian appeared on the band’s first three albums, all of which went multi-platinum. McDonald was fired from Foreigner in 1980.
This post first appeared on Rock Confidential.
Foreigner, King Crimson Founder Ian McDonald, Dead At 75
