A great American rocker has died---Robert Quine...

[Westegg]

"Guitarist Robert Quine, one of punk rock's most daring soloists, was found dead on Saturday in his New York apartment. He was 61.

According to close friend and guitar maker Rick Kelly, who discovered Quine's body, the musician died of a heroin overdose on Memorial Day weekend. He had been despondent over the recent death of his wife.

Born in Akron, Ohio, Quine was heavily influenced by the Velvet Underground, whose music he recorded obsessively while living in San Francisco. He moved to New York in 1971 and became the lead guitarist for bassist Richard Hell's important group the Voidoids, with whom he recorded two albums.

During the '80s, he recorded and toured frequently with Lou Reed and played on saxophonist/composer John Zorn's best-known albums. Quine made key guest appearances on Tom Waits' Rain Dogs (1985) and Marianne Faithfull's Strange Weather (1987)."