Rick Davies, the co-founder and frontman of British rock band Supertramp, has died, the band said in a tribute statement on its website .

He was 81.

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Davies died on Saturday after a more than 10-year battle with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, the band said.

The musician was born in 1944 in Swindon, England, and fell in love with music as a child by listening to Gene Krupa's "Drummin' Man," which inspired a lifelong appreciation of multiple genres of music, the band said, including jazz, blues and rock 'n roll.

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Davies formed Supertramp in 1969 alongside fellow band member Roger Hodgson. Together as co-writers they produced hits including "Goodbye St

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