Saxophonist and longtime touring member, Steve Mackay, has passed away after a fight with sepsis.
Steve Mackay, saxophonist and touring member of the Stooges, died recently after a month-long battle with sepsis at the age 66.
Mackay joined the Michigan-based band in 1970 before laying down the tracks for the group’s second LP Fun House, No. 191 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Mackay’s tenor saxophone is a distinct voice that pairs with the cadence of frontman Iggy Pop, featured in the work of the Stooges’ 2007 comeback The Weirdness and the more recent 2013 release Ready to Die.
Pop posted the following Facebook post on Sunday, Oct. 11:
“Steve was a classic ’60s American guy, full of generosity and love for anyone he met. Overtime he put his sax to his lips and honked, he lightened my road and brightened the whole world. He was a credit to his group and his generation. To know him was to love him.”
Mackay learned he was losing the fight against sepsis—an infection-based disease that attacks vital organs—last month at the Seton Medical Center in Daly City, California.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Steve and [his wife] Patti for the best possible outcome,” guitarist James Williamson said in a statement with Ultimate Classic Rock. “Steve was always an important part of our band’s live sound, and last year I worked with him again when he played on a couple of songs on my solo album. His expression was always unique. It was all his own.”
Mackay is the third member of the band to join the great gig in the sky within the past ten years, trailing behind brothers Ron and Scott Asheton, guitarist and drummer, respectively.
Mackay additionally collaborated with bands such as the Violent Femmes, Snakefinger, Sonny Vincent, Mike Watt and R. Stevie Moore, among others.
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