ELO bass player Kelly Groucutt dead at 63

[David Paleg]

ELO bass player Kelly Groucutt dead at 63
Feb 20, 10:49 AM (ET)

LONDON (AP) - Kelly Groucutt, former bass player with 1970s rock hitmakers ELO, has died at age 63.

Groucutt's management said the musician died Thursday in Worcester, central England, after having a heart attack.

Formed in Birmingham, England, in 1971 by local musicians Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood, ELO - short for Electric Light Orchestra - combined rock 'n' roll with orchestral arrangements replete with string sections, choirs and symphonic sweep.

Groucutt joined ELO in 1974 after leaving his previous band, Sight and Sound. He played bass and sang during ELO's heyday as one of the world's biggest rock acts. ELO had a string of British and U.S. chart hits during the 1970s and early 1980s, including "Livin' Thing,""Mr. Blue Sky" and "Don't Bring Me Down."

Groucutt left the band in 1983 but later toured with several successor acts, including ELO Part II and The Orchestra.

He is survived by his wife Anna and four children.

Funeral details were not immediately available.

[Scott Reppert]

Never realized he sang as much as he did until recently delving into a lot of ELO concert footage from 1976-1978. He sang a LOT of stuff...at least live...that I always thought Jeff Lynne was singing...