the rix mix

Arthur Lee, singer and guitarist of the influential 1960s band Love, has died in Memphis at the age of 61 following a battle with acute myeloid leukaemia.

A Memphis native who called himself the "first so-called black hippie", Lee formed Love in Los Angeles in 1965. The multiracial band recorded three groundbreaking albums that fused rock, blues and psychedelia - the self-titled Love, Da Capo and Forever Changes.

In the 1990s Lee spent time in prison for illegal possession of a firearm. But the singer made a triumphant comeback in 2002, touring the US and Europe with a new version of his classic band.

I've said a number of times that Forever Changes is "the only rock album I can always listen to all the way through." Which says something about both my regard for that recording & my attention span.