Original Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden has died at the age of 72.
Marsden‘s passing was confirmed by his family in a social media post earlier today (August 25th), writing: “On behalf of his family, it is with deep sadness we announce the death of Bernie Marsden. Bernie died peacefully on Thursday evening with his wife, Fran, and daughters, Charlotte and Olivia, by his side.
Bernie never lost his passion for music, writing and recording new songs until the end.”
Whitesnake singer David Coverdale shared a tribute to his former bandmate on social media.
“I’ve just woken up to the awful news that my old friend and former Snake Bernie Marsden has passed,” he wrote. “My sincere thoughts and prayers to his beloved family, friends and fans. A genuinely funny, gifted man, whom I was honored to know and share a stage with.”
Marsden was one of the U.K.’s foremost rock and blues guitarists, famous for his time in professional bands since 1972 and a founding member of one of the biggest rock acts of all time, the mighty Whitesnake.
But there was a lot more to this man, from his first band UFO to treading the boards of the National Theatre in London, on stage with Ringo Starr in Monaco, playing the Beacon Theatre in New York with The Allman Brothers Band, writing and playing with Joe Bonamassa and Motörhead.
His long-term friendships with so many top names in the guitar business, Billy Gibbons, Steve Lukather, Warren Haynes, as well as rejoining the new Whitesnake lineup of recent years and a solo career kept him both on the road and in the studio. He became interested in guitars as a teenager watching The Beatles, his fascination continued to his final days. Bernie also developed one of the most unique and expansive private guitar collections in the world.
At a rough guesstimate, Marsden’s name appears on a hundred albums — maybe more. In addition to a long-running solo career, the Buckinghamshire-born guitarist had been a recording musician since the early 1970s via membership of such groups as Whitesnake, UFO, Wild Turkey, Babe Ruth, Paice Ashton & Lord, Cozy Powell’s Hammer, Alaska, M3 and many more. Though there’s a tendency to pigeonhole him as a blues-rock guitarist, each of Marsden’s acts had its own individual flavor.
Mardsen released his “inspiration” series album, Chess, on November 26th, 2021, read more details about the album, here.
2 Responses
R.I.P Bernie, you’ve written and played on songs that will forever be played and loved by many around the world.
First of all, condolences to Bernie’s family and friends and all the Whitesnake fans.
I wouldn’t call myself a Whitesnake fan, but I do like some of the bands songs. For the era that Bernie was in, I think that it’s safe to say that most think of songs like Don’t Break My Heart again, Fool for Your Loving and of course the original Here I go Again. But for me, I’ve always liked the riff to Come On more than those songs mentioned.
Here’s a link to the song – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qt0F2BOtq8
RIP Bernie Marsden – I think it’s safe to say you did alright mate.