Singer Dan McCafferty, founding member of the Scottish rock band Nazareth, passed away this week at the age of 76 according to a note from bassist Pete Agnew on the group's social media channels.
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“This is the saddest announcement I ever had to make,” bassist Pete Agnew told fans in a November 8 post on the group's social channels, adding McCafferty's wife Maryann and his entire family "have lost a wonderful loving husband and father, I have lost my best friend and the world has lost one of the greatest singers who ever lived. Too upset to say anything more at this time.”
Born in Dunfermline, Scotland in 1946, McCafferty fronted the iconic Scottish rock outfit Nazareth -- best known for their hit “Hair of the Dog” and a touching cover of the Everly Brothers’ “Love Hurts” -- from their inception in 1968, recording an impressive 23 albums with the group, until bowing out in 2013 due to breathing complications stemming from a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. McCafferty also released three solo albums over the decades; his 1975 self-titled offering, 1987’s Into The Ring, and his third and final, Last Testament, in 2019.
Nazareth founding guitarist and early producer for Guns N’ Roses, Manny Charlton, passed earlier this year at the age of 80, while founding drummer Darrell Sweet passed in 1999 at the age of 51.
The band's sole remaining founder, 76-year-old bassist Pete Agnew, remains active in the group along with his son Lee Agnew on drums, Jimmy Murrison on guitar, and singer Carl Sentance, and is currently touring with the group overseas.
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