Guitarist Robert Quine, one of punk rock’s most daring soloists, was found dead Saturday (June 5) in his New York apartment. He was 61.
According to close friend and guitar maker Rick Kelly, who discovered Quine’s body, the musician died of a heroin overdose Memorial Day weekend. Quine was despondent over the recent death of his wife.
Born in Akron, Ohio, Quine was heavily influenced by the Velvet Underground, whose music he recorded obsessively while living in San Francisco. He moved to New York in 1971, and became the lead guitarist for bassist Richard Hell’s important group the Voidoids, with whom he recorded two albums. His skittering, unpredictable work with Hell defined the possibilities of punk guitar.
During the ’80s, he recorded and toured frequently with Lou Reed, and played on saxophonist/composer John Zorn’s best-known albums. Quine made key guest appearances on Tom Waits’ “Rain Dogs” (1985) and Marianne Faithfull’s “Strange Weather” (1987). In 1989, he began a long association with Matthew Sweet; he also worked regularly with Lloyd Cole.
In 2001, Universal released a three-CD box of Quine’s live 1969 recordings of the Velvet Underground, “The Bootleg Series Volume 1: The Quine Tapes.”
In a statement, Reed says of the late guitarist: “Robert Quine was a magnificent guitar player … an extraordinary mixture of taste, intelligence and rock and roll abilities coupled with major technique and a scholar’s memory for every decent guitar lick ever played under the musical sun.”
