Jeffrey Foskett, the beloved longtime member of The Beach Boys, has passed away after a long battle with anaplastic thyroid cancer. The American singer-guitarist was 67 years old.
Foskett’s family confirmed his death in a statement shared on Instagram and thanked his friends and fans for their “love and support.”
“We love reading about every show, every tour memory, and every laugh he provided the world,” the statement said. “We are deeply touched to know that Jeff played such an important role in so many people’s lives, as well as ours in yours.
“He was so special and we are so grateful that the world had the chance to experience him,” the message continued. “There really was no one like him, and there never will be.”
The singer-guitarist, who joined the Beach Boys in the eighties and also played in co-founders Brian Wilson and Mike Love’s touring bands, was diagnosed with stage 4 anaplastic thyroid cancer in 2019.
Despite his health problems, he released an album Sounds – Included are covers of songs like The Beach Boys’ hits “I Shall Be Release” and “Good Vibrations” and Neil Sedaka’s “Laughter in the Rain.”
Foskett told rolling stone had a hard time accepting it Sounds It will likely be her last album, and she explains that “it’s very difficult to call it that” because “my voice is my instrument.”
Wilson, 81, paid tribute to Foskett with a heartfelt message shared on Facebook on Monday, December 11.
“Jeff was always there for me when we went on tour and we couldn’t have done it without him,” Wilson, 81, wrote. “Jeff was one of the most talented men I have ever known. He was a great musical leader and guitarist and could sing like an angel.”
He recalled the first time he met Foskett, an avid Beach Boys fan, on his birthday in 1978: “He knocked on my door in Bel Air and I invited him in.”
“We’ve been friends ever since,” Wilson added. “I don’t know what else to say. Love and Compassion to Jeff’s family and friends. We will remember him forever.”
The Beach Boys’ Al Jardine recalled Foskett’s “infectious positive spirit” in a tribute shared on Instagram.
“He was so talented on so many different levels, but it was his wonderful sense of humor that kept him balanced and helped him deal with all the tough blows you face in the music business,” the 81-year-old musician wrote.
“Jeff had an infectiously positive spirit and never lost hope. “God bless his beautiful soul and zest for life, we will truly miss him and cherish all the good times we shared together,” he added. “We keep his wife Diana, daughter, family and fans in our thoughts everywhere.
“Rest in peace Jeff and thank you for always making us smile.”
Born in San Jose, California, Foskett became a fan of The Beach Boys after hearing their song “I Getaround.” A few months after meeting Brian by chance in 1976, he was discovered by Love at the famous Santa Barbara restaurant where Foskett was performing.
Shortly thereafter, Foskett began touring with the singer’s Endless Summer Beach Band.
When Carl Wilson, original member of The Beach Boys, decided to embark on a solo music career, Love invited Foskett to replace him, and the singer asked him to continue even after Carl’s return, which he did until 1990.
“I took a break in 1990 at the request of Michael and Carl,” Foskett previously said. “I was actually doing a lot of work in the Japanese market, writing my own songs. I was making really good money as a solo artist and released six or eight original albums there. They were using them in commercials and television programs. I did very well.
In 1998, he was invited to the Beverly Wilshire Hotel to play guitar with Brian, who was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award. Shortly thereafter, Brian’s wife, Melinda Wilson, asked Foskett to assemble a touring band for her husband’s solo tour.
Foskett also reunited with The Beach Boys for a 50th anniversary tour in 2012, playing approximately 75 shows together.
“This was the most fun tour I have ever been on and I have been on many,” he said. “Then the next year Brian and Jeff Beck got together and went on the Brian and Jeff Beck tour. And this was the most stressful tour I’ve ever been on.
“So I went from most fun to most stressful. “And I thought: ‘I don’t know if I can do this anymore,'” he added.
Upon her diagnosis, Foskett said that anaplastic thyroid cancer was “the scariest cancer in terms of prognosis,” while revealing that she was being treated as part of a clinical trial at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
His last social media post was in March of this year, when Foskett shared a video of himself ringing a bell at the Houston-based institute after completing four years of treatment.
“I don’t post on social media very often, but I thought this milestone was important,” he wrote in his post. “Thank you all for your prayers. They work! I am living proof. I am one of God’s Walking Miracles.”