Shit. Another day, another death. This time it's Free's bassist Andy Fraser, who died yesterday at age 62 in California. The cause of death is not yet known. Fraser began his career playing a short stint with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers before helping to found the group Free; he was just 15 when the band started playing together in 1968. Obviously, Free are best remembered for their MASSIVE rock hit "All Right Now." Their hit notwithstanding, however, they were an exception of a group. There is something about the openness of their songwriting: They conjured some kinda magical groove, which only they could muster. It was a sound they developed during the writing of their second album, Free. Their songs are full of atmosphere—big, almost sprawling, plodding, but soulful and melodic. I reckon it was one of those (ahem) magic confluences of the players being all "in" at the same time. As for his style of playing, Fraser told DMME in 2005, "I never thought of myself as a bass player. I actually only used the bass guitar because the other kids in our school band wanted to be the singer or drummer or guitarist.” God damn, you couldn't tell from his playing he wasn't THAT invested—his riffs and melodies always framed the guitar and vocal lines beautifully.

After Fraser left Free, he formed a band with Chris Spedding called Sharks. They made one LP, and then Fraser left to front his own group, the Andy Fraser Band; though they recorded two albums, within the year the band had split. He followed AFB with an attempt to partner with Frankie Miller, but when that failed, he moved to California and became a songwriter. During the '80s, Fraser faced health issues; he was diagnosed with cancer and was HIV-positive, but he eventually recovered enough to perform with Free vocalist Paul Rodgers at the Woodstock anniversary in 1994. Fraser then entered semi-retirement till in the mid-'00s he returned with two solo albums. Otherwise, it appears he kept busy writing songs and working for a handful of charities.