Brian Howe, the lead singer of legendary British rock band Bad Company, died Tuesday at age 66, according to his manager, Paul Easton.

Howe went into cardiac arrest at his Florida home and was able to briefly speak to EMTs, but died before arriving at the hospital. Howe’s sister Sandie released a statement saying, “Finding the appropriate words to express the pain in our hearts over losing my brother has been difficult. Our family would like to thank you for your compassion and the outpouring of love we are receiving.”

“I feel we are all put in this world for a reason” Howe’s son Michael stated on behalf of Howe’s children, “The passion for music was my father’s, and I am so happy that his legacy will live on.”

Howe’s first claim to fame was his featured role on Ted Nugent’s 1983 album Penetrator. Years later, he joined Bad Company. While Bad Company was originally formed in 1973 by Paul Rodgers and guitarist Mick Ralphs, Howe is responsible for reviving the band in 1986 when he was brought in as lead singer after Rodgers left to form The Firm with Jimmy Page. Howe performed on four subsequent albums with Bad Company.

The band had already had three platinum-selling albums by the time Howe joined: their self-titled debut, Straight Shooter, and Run With the Pack. It seemed that Bad Company would never rise to their former heights after Rodger’s departure, but Howe helped to steer the band in a different direction, achieving 1990’s Holy Water, which went platinum in the US.

In a 2019 interview, Howe said, “I kind of stamped my foot a little bit and said, ‘Guys, this is a rock’n’roll band! We need to toughen things up a little bit. This is a guitar band, you know! This is a bluesy guitar band, and we need to get back on that.’ And with tremendous resistance, they were finally pushed into it, I guess.”

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