Rick Davies, founder and lead singer of rock band Supertramp, passed away on Friday, September 5, 2025 at the age of 81, the band announced in a statement on Monday, September 8. He passed away at his home in Long Island, USA, after a ten-year battle with multiple myeloma. The British musician had lived with his wife Sue for many years. Rick Davies, who founded Supertramp with Roger Hodgson in 1970, leaves behind a considerable musical legacy.
The death of Rick Davies marks the end of an era for British rock. Born in Swindon, England, in 1944, the musician's passion for music began at an early age with Gene Krupa's "Drummin' Man", and he developed a lifelong love of jazz, blues and rock'n'roll. He was the voice and pianist behind some of Supertramp's most iconic songs, leaving an indelible mark on rock history.
Rick Davies was battling multiple myeloma, also known as Kahler's disease, a bone marrow cancer diagnosed in 2015. The disease had forced him to cancel Supertramp 's European tour scheduled for that year, and prevented him from continuing to tour with the band. Despite his health problems, he continued to perform locally with his friends under the name Ricky and the Rockets.
Rick Davies founded Supertramp in 1969 with guitarist Richard Palmer, drummer Robert Millar and singer-bassist Roger Hodgson. The band released its eponymous debut album in 1970, but it was with "Crime of the Century" in 1974 that the band really took off. Along with Roger Hodgson, he is one of Supertramp's two main vocalists, and can be heard on such hits as "Goodbye Stranger" and "Bloody Well Right".
Rick Davies' soulful vocals and incomparable Wurlitzer electric piano playing became the beating heart of the Supertramp sound. In contrast to Roger Hodgson's distinctive, higher voice, Davies possessed a deeper, warmer timbre that characterized tracks like "Goodbye Stranger" and "Bloody Well Right".
Rick Davies penned some of Supertramp's greatest hits. His most famous compositions include"Bloody Well Right", a song with cynical lyrics that helped him make a name for himself in the U.S., becoming his first single to enter the Billboard Hot 100, and"Goodbye Stranger", a hit from the legendary"Breakfast in America" album that reached number 15 on the U.S. Billboard charts.
"Cannonball" took Supertramp back to the top of the international charts in 1985. Written entirely by Rick Davies, whose keyboard is heard extensively, the track was initially seen as a diatribe against Roger Hodgson. Other highlights include"My Kind of Lady","Crime of the Century" and"School", the opening track on the"Crime of the Century" album, which regularly opened the band's concerts.
Although Roger Hodgson composed and sang the band's biggest hits, such as "The Logical Song", "Dreamer", "Give a Little Bit" and "Take the Long Way Home", Rick Davies remained the electric pianist behind these hits. On"The Logical Song", it was Davies who held the characteristic electric piano parts, and he also wrote the answering chorus on the song's final verse.
Supertramp enjoyed worldwide success in the late 1970s with the album"Breakfast in America", which won two Grammy Awards. "Breakfast in America" is one of the world's best-selling records, with over 20 million copies sold. The group has sold a total of over 70 million albums worldwide.
The commercial peak came in 1979 with "Breakfast in America", an album that stayed at number 1 in the U.S. for a month, propelling Supertramp to international superstardom. Unquestionably the band's biggest hit, "The Logical Song" conquered the world in 1979 with its heady melody. Number 1 in Canada, number 2 and certified gold record in France, number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 7 in the UK.
After Roger Hodgson's departure in 1983 following creative and financial tensions, Rick Davies continued to lead Supertramp until 1988, before reforming at the end of the 1990s. The last studio album, "Slow Motion", was released in 2002. "Rick's music and legacy," adds the release, "continue to inspire many people and are a testament to the fact that great songs never die, they live on".
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