The Buckinghams, Marty Grebb on the far left; Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesMarty Grebb, a multi-instrumentalist, producer and arranger who was a member of the Chicago pop-rock band The Buckinghams from 1966 to 1968, died on January 1 at the age of 73. His passing was announced in a post on his group The Weight Band‘s Facebook page.
No official cause of death was announced, but multiple reports suggest that Grebb, who battled cancer for many years, died by suicide.
Grebb joined The Buckinghams after the band had recorded its debut album and released their chart-topping single “Kind of a Drag,” although he contributed to most of the group’s other big hits, including “Don’t You Care,” “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” “Hey Baby (They’re Playing Our Song)” and “Susan.”
Marty went on to work with Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, Olivia Newton-John, Leon Russell and The Band, among many other artists. In recent years, he played with The Weight Band, a group featuring former members of The Band and Levon Helm‘s solo group.
Grebb also released two solo albums: Smooth Sailin’ in 1999, and High Steppin’ in 2009.
Founding Buckinghams guitarist Carl Giammarese (pr: jee-uh-muh-REE-see) wrote a lengthy tribute to Grebb that has been posted online. He said of Grebb, “His talents in music were innumerable, but he sang, played keyboards, especially the Hammond B-3, saxophone, and guitar; he composed, he was an arranger, and he performed as an integral part of many bands during his career.”
He added, “Marty was better than we were at our instruments, but still he never made us feel inferior about it.”
(The number for the 24-hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.)
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.