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ORIGINAL NAZARETH VOCALIST DAN MCCAFFERTY HAS DIED AT 76
Dan McCafferty, the original and longtime vocalist for Nazareth, has died at the age of 76.
News of the singer's death was shared to Nazareth's social media by bassist Pete Agnew, who is the lone original member of the band that is still with the group. Agnew posted, "Dan died at 12:40 today (Nov. 8). This is the saddest announcement I ever had to make. Maryann and the family have lost a wonderful loving husband and father, I have lost my best friend and the world has lost one of the greatest singer who ever lived. Too upset to say anything more at this time. - Pete."
McCafferty and Agnew were both part of the band's original lineup, which included guitarist Manny Charlton and drummer Darrell Sweet. There would be a wealth of lineup changes over the years, but McCafferty and Agnew remained until the singer exited the band in 2013, revealing he was retiring due to ill health.
He appeared on 23 studio albums, including 2014's Rock 'n' Roll Telephone that was released the year after he left the group. The band enjoyed their greatest success stateside in the '70s and early '80s with a string of charting albums. 1975's Hair of the Dog was their highest charting record, peaking at No. 17, while their 1976 follow-up Close Enough to Rock 'n' Roll hit No. 24.
While the band released a number of singles over the years, their 1974 cover of "Love Hurts" was their biggest song hitting No. 8 in the U.S.
After McCafferty's exit from the band, he released one final solo album, 2019's Last Testament, before his death.
Revisit some of Dan McCafferty's music with Nazareth below.
