Richard Swift: The Black Keys and Shins musician dead at 41
- Published
Richard Swift was in The Shins and performed with The Black Keys
Richard Swift, a former member of the Shins and touring bassist with The Black Keys, has died, aged 41.
A Facebook post, external confirmed his death saying: "And all the angels sing 'Que Sera Sera' Richard Ochoa Swift March 16, 1977 - July 3, 2018."
The musician and singer-songwriter was last month admitted to hospital with an undisclosed life-threatening condition.
The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach led tributes with an Instagram post saying: "I will miss you my friend".
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The 39-year-old Black Keys singer shared a picture of him with Swift and said: "Today the world lost one of the most talented musicians I know. He's now with his Mom and Sister."
Others to pay tribute to the US musician include the Kings of Leon's Nathan Followill, who described him as his wife, Jessie Baylin's, "musical soul mate".
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Dave Depper from Death Cab for Cutie also tweeted, calling Swift "the most talented person I've ever met".
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US indie band The Weeks called the news of Swift's death "pure heartbreak".
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Born in California, Swift led a prolific and varied career as a self-taught musician and producer.
Perhaps best known for his role with indie-rock band The Shins between 2011 and 2016, he also toured as a bassist with the Black Keys in 2014.
Swift performing with The Shins in 2013
As a producer, he worked with Foxygen, Guster and Sharon Van Etten among others, and founded National Freedom, a recording studio in Cottage Grove, Oregon.
A collection of his solo work, The Richard Swift Collection Vol. 1, was released in 2005, under Secretly Canadian records.
His last full solo album, the Atlantic Ocean, was released in 2009.
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