Original Beastie Boys member and guitarist John Berry has died aged 52, according to reports.
Berry’s father, John Berry III, confirmed the news to American music magazine Rolling Stone and said his son had been suffering from frontal lobe dementia.
Beastie Boys guitarist John Berry has died https://t.co/i6WvZrOffO pic.twitter.com/6EIgUTnpJU
— Pitchfork (@pitchfork) May 20, 2016
The musician, who is cited as the person who came up with the name for the band, died at a hospice in Danvers, Massachusetts.
READ MORE: 57 famous people we've said goodbye to in 2016
The American rap rock band’s many hits include 1986′s (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right! (To Party!), from their 1986 debut studio album Licensed To Ill.
He was one of the founding members of the first incarnation of the band, called The Young Aborigines, formed in 1978.
🎸 Décès hier à 52 ans de #JohnBerry, membre fondateur des #BeastieBoys pic.twitter.com/D4cEqWGp6z
— B3zero (@B3zero) May 20, 2016
Two years later the band changed its name to the now well-known moniker of The Beastie Boys.
Vocalist Michael Diamond and Berry went to school together in New York, leading to a lifelong friendship rooted in music.
The pair were joined in the band by Adam Yauch and Kate Schellenbach.
We are heartbroken hearing the news of the …
The band’s first EP, Polly Wog Stew, was released in 1982 and Berry left the band shortly after its release.
Schellenbach exited a year later and the new line-up of the band came into being with Yauch and Diamond joined by Adam Horovitz on vocals and guitar.
Yauch died in 2012 following a battle with cancer, at the age of 47.
Fans paid tribute to Berry on Twitter, crediting his – and his band’s – contribution to the music world.
RIP to John Berry of the Beastie Boys. Those dudes started something bigger than music. Rap, rock and musicianship all in one. A new genre.
— Headbanger Bucaman (@BucamanWWE) May 20, 2016
Wouldn't have been the #BeastieBoys without you, RIP John Berry IV. #ripjohnberry #pollywogstew
— Jake Houston Harris (@jhoustonharris) May 20, 2016
RIP John Berry. 2016 has been rough for Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famers.
— The Yankee Fan (@YankeeLiveTweet) May 20, 2016
RIP John Berry, another Beastie Boy gone. At least Ad Yauch has someone to play his riffs now.
— Rafa's Socks (@geordiecookey79) May 20, 2016
Beastie Boys was the staple of my childhood. RIP John Berry.
— caroline✨ (@cvrolineolson) May 20, 2016
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