Michael Ward has died aged 57.
His former band, The Wallflowers, which was founded by Bob Dylan’s son Jakob Dylan, posted a tribute to confirm the loss.
In a Facebook post, they celebrated his talent and the ‘crucial part’ he played in their band’s history.
‘With love and gratitude, the Wallflowers say farewell to the great and singular Michael Ward,’ it began.
‘Michael’s role and talents will forever remain a crucial part of the band’s history.’
Ward was part of the band between 1995 and 2001.
They continued: ‘His contributions to music began before his time with the Wallflowers and continued long after his time with the band.
‘Listening to Thin Lizzy on a sorrowful day. Rest now Mike.
‘Much love to his family and his two children.’
His sister Tracy Ward Hartfiel wrote on Facebook: ‘Michael Ward has left this plane.
‘It’s with tremendous sorrow that I let you know complications from diabetes took his life last night.
‘Obviously, we are all in shock and overcome with grief. This is all I can handle writing right now. Please tell the people you love just how much they mean to you,’ she concluded.
Ward was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In his twenties, he was an original member of the alternative rock band School of Fish, managed by Capitol Records. Their hit song 3 Strange Days, was covered numerous times including by Mötley Crüe and Janes Addiction.
Throughout his career, he contributed to 50 studio album recordings including Gavin DeGraw’s Chariot which featured One Tree Hill theme song, I Don’t Wanna Be.
As part of The Wallflowers, he recorded the album Bringing Down the Horse, which sold over five million copies, and Breach. He won a Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal Grammy Award for the song One Headlight.
Speaking about his decision to leave, he told MTV at the time: ‘For me, what music is all about is sitting down and creating songs from scratch. That’s my life, and it’s not really about adding guitar parts to someone else’s music. That’s not really satisfying for me.
‘For a long time, we were writing together, and then that stopped, and that made me pretty unhappy.’
Ward continued performing up until his death, as well as teaching guitar and working as a studio session musician.
According to an Instagram post, Ward, who resided in Los Angeles, was due to perform at Stoney’s Rockin’ Country in Las Vegas tonight (April 5).
Country music singer Stephen Wesley, who is set to perform at the event, commented: ‘RIP, my brother. My heart hurts so bad. You will be missed.’
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