Guitarist Freddie Salem, who was best known for his involvement in the Southern rock band Outlaws, has died. He was 70 years old.
Salem died of complications from cancer, the Outlaws announced in a Facebook post shared on Monday, September 23.
“It is with a heavy heart that we have to tell Outlaws fans about the passing of our former guitarist Freddie Salem. Freddie died of complications from cancer and will be remembered for his outgoing personality and passion for music,” the band wrote in a statement. “He was an electric performer and a beloved musician and we will miss him.”
His latest group, Freddie Salem & Lonewolf, also shared a statement on Facebook, writing: “This morning the heavens parted for the arrival of a legend. Rock on top, Freddie Salem. See you again.”
Salem first appeared on the Outlaws’ 1978 album Bring him back aliveand appeared on four more albums with the rockers before leaving after the 1982 release Los Hombres Little.
“It was just one of those things,” he once said Akron Beacon Journal of his departure. “Musically and career-wise, I wanted a little more.”
Although Salem was no longer with the group after 1982, he is credited as a songwriter on songs included on their 1986 album. Soldiers of fortuneand their 1993 live album Hittin’ the Road.
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Salem was born in Akron, Ohio, and grew up in Fairlawn and Copley, according to reports Beacon Journal. His father owned a bar, and the jukebox in the bar was what first turned Salem on to the world of rock and roll. He started playing guitar professionally at the age of 16, and joined the Outlaws in 1977, at the age of 23.
His solo project, Freddie Salem & the Wildcats, released an album Cat dance In 1982, and in the early 1990s, he reportedly opened several live music venues in Akron.
According to his website, he was inducted into the RockGodz Hall of Fame in 2016.
“I am deeply saddened by the death of Freddie Salem. He was a good friend, bandmate and human being,” former Outlaws drummer Monte Yoho wrote on Facebook. “We spent years together. I will remember his [sense] humor the most. I love you Freddie! Monte.”
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Source: HIS Education