Bad Company vocalist Brian Anthony Howe has passed away at age 66. Howe passed away after suffering from cardiac arrest at his home in Florida on Tuesday, his friend and manager, Paul Easton, said. “It is with deep and profound sadness that we announce the untimely passing of a loving father, friend and musical icon, Brian Howe,” Easton said. “Though EMTs were able to have a short conversation with him, he slipped away, and they were unable to revive him,” the statement continued. Howe’s sister Sandie also reacted to the news in a statement via his manager. “Finding the appropriate words to express the pain in our hearts over losing my brother has been difficult,” Sandie said. “Our family would like to thank you for your compassion and the outpouring of love we are receiving.” The singer-songwriter had previously suffered from a heart attack in 2017. A longtime friend of Howe’s told Fox News on Thursday that he recently was involved in a scooter accident that left him with “broken ribs and a punctured lung.” The friend shared that Howe will be remembered as a “great man with a big heart.” He was also a “huge” animal lover and his loved ones are currently trying to find new homes for his many pets, including five dogs. Just six days ago, the former frontman confirmed he was in pain on his official Facebook account. “Horrible,” Howe responded to a Facebook friend who asked how he was feeling. “Broken ribs are NO fun.” Howe was born in Portsmouth, England. His musical career took off when he was signed to become the lead singer for Ted Nugent’s “Penetrator” album. The album reached No. 56 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart with “Tied Up In Love.” Howe joined Bad Company in the 1980s, replacing original member Paul Rodgers on lead vocals. In October 1986, Howe and original members Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke released “Fame and Fortune.” While original bassist Boz Burrell appears credited as part of the album’s lineup, session player Steve Price played on the album, according to Howe’s official website. Howe formerly spoke out in an interview with News-Press about his eagerness to “toughen things up a little bit” after the 1986 album’s release. After what he says was “tremendous resistance” from bandmates, he got his wish. With Howe as vocalist, the group went on to release the albums “Dangerous Age,” “Here Comes Trouble” and “Holy Water.” The latter album resulted in chart-topping success with the singles “If You Needed Somebody,” “Holy Water,” and “Walk Through Fire.” Howe left the group in 1994 to embark on a solo career. The frontman had been living in Florida at the time of his death but had relayed to the outlet last year his desire in moving to Nashville, Tenn. to possibly kickstart a new musical career. “That would wake me up, I think, musically, and take me down roads that I’m not used to being on,” Howe told News-Press of his interest in embarking on a new musical career in Music City. “And I think that’s healthy for you, too, if you’re an artist. I think you have to have different inputs and listen to other people’s influences and see what happens.”

We’re very sorry to hear of Brian’s passing.   As was mentioned, he took up the mic after original legendary singer Paul Rodgers left Bad Company to go solo.  Paul, of course, is back with Bad Company now and has been for several years now.  But, Brian left an indelible stamp on the band during his time.  Thanks for the tunes, Brian.  R.I.P.

For more on Brian, click on the text above.  And here is a link to the video for Holy Water.   FYI, it’s just girls and fast cars; not the band:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57IpQQ7oDiA