#Bernie Marsden, Former Whitesnake Guitarist, Dead at 72

Former Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden died on Thursday at the age of 72.

Marsden, who rose to fame with the glam metal band in the 1970s and 1980s, died on Thursday with his wife, Fran, and daughters, Charlotte and Olivia, by his side, per a statement posted to his Instagram.

“On behalf of his family, it is with deep sadness we announce the death of Bernie Marsden,” the statement said, alongside a photo of Marsden with his hands clasped. “Bernie died peacefully on Thursday evening with his wife, Fran, and daughters, Charlotte and Olivia, by his side. Bernie never lost his passion for music, writing and recording new songs until the end.”

A cause of death has not yet been revealed.

Born in Buckingham, England, Marsden played with rock groups like UFO and Paice Ashton Lord, with Deep Purple’s Jon Lord and Ian Paice, before he was recruited by Dave Coverdale to join Whitesnake in 1978.

The English rock and blues guitarist is known for writing a handful of the band’s hits, including “Here I Go Again,” “She’s a Woman” and “Fool for Your Loving.” 

Following his death, Coverdale, 71, paid his respects to his late colleague on Instagram.

“Good Morning…I’ve just woken up to the awful news that my old friend & former Snake Bernie Marsden has passed. My sincere thoughts & prayers to his beloved family, friends & fans. A genuinely funny, gifted man, whom I was honored to know & share a stage with
RIP, Bernie XXX 🙏🎸🙏🎸🙏🎸🙏🎸🙏,” he wrote, alongside a black and white photo of Marsden showcasing a set of guitars.

Coverdale also shared a handful of photos and videos of Marsden on Twitter, too.

During his tenure in Whitesnake, he released solo albums in 1979 And About Time Too and Look at Me Now in 1981. After leaving the band in 1981, he formed the groups Alaska and MGM, eventually reuniting with Whitesnake in 2011 to play the Sweden Rock Festival.

According to his website, Marsden took on more “unusual” projects in recent years, working in two Shakespeare productions in 2001 and 2003 at the National Theatre in London for Sir Nickolas Hytner. The musician also appeared in a German TV series called Frankie.

In 2015, he received an honorary Master of Arts degree from The University of Buckingham in 2015.

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Marsden was also an avid guitar collector and his second book, 2018’s Tales of Tone and Volume, was a photographic tribute to his passion. He even had two endorsed guitars in his honor — PRS Guitars made a Bernie Marsden Signature Edition guitar, and Gibson Guitars created a limited-edition Gibson Les Paul electric guitar called “The Beast.”