Andy Fraser, who co-wrote the rousing rock anthem “All Right Now” when he was the teenage bassist for the British rock band Free, has died in California at age 62 from AIDS-related causes.
Fraser had been living in the desert community of Temecula, where he died Monday, the Riverside County coroner said in a statement.
Fraser was born to a single mother in London’s Paddington district in 1952 and showed an aptitude for music at a young age, begging his mother to buy him a piano when he was just five. At twelve he switched to electric guitar, before moving to the bass three years later, quickly becoming one of the brightest young talents on London’s vibrant underground music scene. He was taken under the wing of Alexis Corner, the veteran bluesman and unofficial godfather of many of the most influential British musicians of the era.
Fraser was just 15 when he formed Free in 1967 with three other London teenagers (Paul Rodgers, Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke). Almost at once the band won critical acclaim and a contract with Island Records, although their debut album (Tons Of Sobs) and its eponymous follow-up managed few sales.
Then, in May 1970, Free released the album Fire And Water and the single All Right Now. The former topped the UK album charts, while All Right Now went to No 2 and made No 1 in 20 other countries. The song, co-written by Fraser and Rodgers, has since enjoyed huge exposure not only through airplay but also in films, television series and advertising campaigns.
The song is also a staple of football stadiums. The Stanford University and University of Southern California marching bands each play it at virtually every game.
Fraser kept playing music for most of his life, but he would never equal the success he had as a teen with Free, which broke up in 1972.
He and Rodgers took the stage together to play “All Right Now” at Woodstock ’94, the reboot of the classic music festival.
