Andy Fraser, Free’s Bassist, Dies at 62
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSMARCH 18, 2015
Andy Fraser, who co-wrote the rousing rock anthem “All Right Now” as a teenager when he was the bassist for the British rock band Free, died on Monday in Temecula, Calif. He was 62.
His death was confirmed by the Riverside County coroner. The cause was not specified, but Mr. Fraser was known to have had both cancer and AIDS.
Andrew McLan Fraser was born in London on July 3, 1952, and began his music career early. At 15 he was a member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, an influential band that served as a training ground for young British rockers like the guitarists Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor.
Within a year Mr. Fraser had become a founding member of Free, along with the guitarist Paul Kossoff, the drummer Simon Kirke and the singer Paul Rodgers, the band’s best-known member, who would go on to front Bad Company and the Firm.
Free’s biggest hit by far was “All Right Now,” released in 1970 and for decades a mainstay of classic rock radio. In addition to writing the song with Mr. Rodgers, Mr. Fraser co-produced the track with the other members of the band and plays a brief bass solo on it.
“All Right Now,” which reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, was Free’s only Top 40 single in the United States, but the band had a number of hits in Britain and sold several million albums worldwide before breaking up in 1973.
The song is also a staple at college football stadiums. The Stanford University and University of Southern California marching bands each play it at virtually every game.
Mr. Fraser kept playing music for most of his life, but he would never equal the success he had with Free. He and Mr. Rodgers took the stage together to play “All Right Now” at the 25th-anniversity Woodstock festival in 1994.
Survivors include two daughters, two brothers and a sister.
Topic: Andy Fraser, Free’s Bassist, Dies at 62 (Read 2636 times)
