Manny Charlton, founding guitarist with Scottish rock band Nazareth, died Tuesday in Texas. He was 80.
A cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
“Manny was there from the very beginning of Nazareth,” wrote Pete Agnew, the only original member still in the band. “His contribution as a musician was immeasurable.
“We had our ups and downs over the years but we never once disagreed about the music.”
Agnew remembered Charlton as a “team player who loved jamming for hours” and praised his work as a producer, specifically on Nazareth’s 1975 cover of “Love Hurts,” which he described as “one of the best sounding records of all time.”
Born in Spain, Charlton formed Nazareth in 1968 with Agnew on bass, singer Dan McCafferty and drummer Darrell Sweet. Charlton was lead guitarist until 1990.
Charlton was enlisted by Axl Rose to produce songs for what would become Guns N’ Roses’ breakthrough album Appetite For Destruction. He produced more than two dozen demos with the band but was unable to work on the final album due to his Nazareth commitments.
The musician released several solo albums between 1999 and 2016.