Rick Davies, Supertramp Co-Founder, Dies at 81
Rick Davies, the voice, pianist, and songwriter who helped define Supertramp’s sound, has died at age 81 after a long battle with cancer.
Known for hits like “The Logical Song,” “Goodbye Stranger,” and “Take the Long Way Home,” Davies co-founded Supertramp in 1969 with Roger Hodgson. The pair’s contrasting backgrounds sparked a creative partnership that powered the band to global fame with their 1979 Grammy-nominated album Breakfast in America.
Born in Swindon, England, Davies had a deep love for music early on. His mother once said, “Music was the only thing he was any good at at school.” That passion carried him through decades of success.
Though Hodgson left the band in 1983, Davies continued leading Supertramp into the ’90s. In 2015, a planned tour was canceled after he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Despite his illness, Davies never lost his love for music and later performed locally with Ricky and the Rockets.
Supertramp paid tribute, calling him “the voice and pianist behind the band’s most iconic songs,” and remembering his “soulful vocals” and “unmistakable touch on the Wurlitzer.”