Bassist Tetsu Yamauchi, whose career included stints with Free and the Faces , died Dec. 4 at the age of 79.

A statement shared by his family on social media noted that Yamauchi “passed away peacefully, surrounded by family. We sincerely thank everyone who enjoyed Tetsu’s music and offered kind words until now. Those were fun times. It’s a long time, but a short time.”

Born in Fukuoka, Japan, Yamauchi got his start in music in the late ‘60s with the Japanese prog rock group Micky Curtis & the Samurais. The band released a pair of albums in 1971 before Yamauchi was recruited to join Free members Paul Kossoff, Simon Kirke and John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick for a one-off album called Kossoff Kirke Tetsu Rabbit .

When Did Tetsu Yamauchi Join Free?

At the time, Free was splintered, due largel

See Full Page