Guitarist Jack Sherman, who played on the 1984 self-titled debut album by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, has died at 64.
The cause of his death, reportedly on Aug. 18, was not disclosed.
“He was a unique dude and we thank him for all times good, bad and in between,” read a tweet from the band, which wished Sherman “smooth sailing into the worlds beyond.” It added: “Peace on the boogie platform.”
RHCP frontman Anthony Kiedis wrote in his 2004 autobiography that Sherman “did keep the band afloat for a year, and if he hadn’t, the years to follow probably wouldn’t have."
Sherman, who was born in Miami, replaced founding RHCP guitarist Hillel Slovak at the end of 1983. In addition to playing on the band’s first album, he was part of its first U.S. tour in 1984 and the Peppers’ national television debut – on Canadian actor Alan Thicke’s late night talk show, Thicke of the Night.
Sherman was out when Slovak returned to the band in 1985 but he co-wrote most of the tracks on its sophomore release Freaky Styley and contributed backing vocals on a pair of songs on 1989’s Mother’s Milk.
Sherman played on albums by other artists, including Bob Dylan, George Clinton and Feargal Sharkey.
When RHCP was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, Sherman was not included. “It's really painful to see all this celebrating going on and be excluded,” he told Billboard. “I'm being dishonoured, and it sucks.”