Brett Tuggle, Keyboardist for Fleetwood Mac & Member of David Lee Roth Band, Dies at 70
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Brett Tuggle, the keyboardist who spent 20 years working with Fleetwood Mac and former member of the David Lee Roth band, died at 70 on Sunday (June 19) from complications stemming from cancer, Rolling Stone confirmed.
“He was loved by his family so much,” his son Matt told the magazine in a statement. “His family was with him throughout the entire time of his illness. He was a lovely father. He gave me music in my life.”
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Outside of Tuggle’s tenure with Fleetwood Mac — which ran from 1997 to 2017 after Mick Fleetwood scouted him to play with his side project Zoo in 1992 — he spent a large portion of his career touring with several notable rock musicians. His career began gaining traction in 1981 as he started working with John Kay & Steppenwolf; the stint would later lead to him meeting Rick Springfield and joining his band in 1982. The keyboardist also played alongside Jimmy Page, David Coverdale, Tommy Shaw, and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels and others.
Tuggle also spent a large portion of his career working and touring with David Lee Roth between 1986 to 1994 (and briefly in 1997) following Roth’s time in Van Halen. Together, the pair wrote Roth’s 1988 hit “Just Like Paradise,” which spent a total of 16 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at No. 6 on the chart in March that same year.
Springfield issued his condolences via Twitter after losing his friend. “Our sweet Brett Tuggle made it home tonight,” he wrote. “God bless his beautiful spirit.”
Tuggle is survived by his two children — son Matt and daughter Michelle.
