Singer Dan Hicks, who began his musical career in San Francisco in the 1960s and founded Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks, has died after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 74.
Gone But Not Forgotten: In Memoriam 2016
Hicks’s wife, CT Hicks, says on his website and his Facebook page that he died Saturday (Feb. 6).
“My darling darling husband left this earth early this morning. He was true blue, one of a kind, and did it all his own way always. To all who loved him, know that he will live forever in the words, songs, and art that he spent his life creating. He worked so hard on each and every detail — they are all pure Dan,” she wrote.
The veteran San Francisco Bay Area singer, songwriter and band leader was diagnosed with throat and liver cancer in 2014.
Dan Hicks formed the Hot Licks after his time with the Charlatans, a pioneering rock band that combined with Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead and others to create the psychedelic “San Francisco sound” in the ’60s.
The Hot Licks produced several successful albums but broke up in 1973, at the height of its popularity.
Although he was undergoing treatment for cancer, Hicks performed a tribute to Fats Waller at SFJazz in 2014, according to SFGate. At the time, The Chronicle quoted him as saying, “You do it, you get through it, especially when you have an obligation, when you made a deal.”
SFGate reports that funeral arrangements are pending.