Danny Federici, a long term member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, has died at the age of 58 after suffering from melanoma for three years. According to Springsteen's website, the keyboardist passed away at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center yesterday.
A life long colleague of Springsteen, Federici grew up in New Jersey and started to play accordion when he was seven years old. As his experience grew, his mother booked him into parties, clubs, and radio slots. Towards the end of the 1960s, he formed a band, Child, with future E Street colleague Vini Lopez, and they took Springsteen on as singer. Federici and Springsteen were also to collaborate on projects such as Steel Mill prior to the formation of the E Street band in 1972. During E Street's period of inactivity in the nineties, Federici recorded a solo jazz album, 'Flemington', later released as 'Danny Federici'. In 2004 he released a further solo effort, 'Sweet', reissued as 'Out Of A Dream' in 2005.
In November last year, Federici was forced to withdraw from the band's Magic Tour in order to get treatment for his condition. Bruce Springsteen said at the time: "Danny is one of the pillars of our sound and has played beside me as a great friend for more than 40 years. We all eagerly await his healthy and speedy return". He did return briefly, for one performance in Indianapolis in March. Two upcoming gigs have been cancelled due to Federici's death, and will be rescheduled.