75-year-old singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rusty Young passed away of a heart attack yesterday in his home in Davisville, Missouri.

Young is viewed as one of the most influential steel guitar players in rock history, having been inducted into Guitar Player Magazine’s “Gallery of Greats” in 1974 and “Steel Guitar Hall of Fame” in 2012.

He was also a founding member and lead singer of the country-rock band Poco. According to No Depression, “Poco is, at its core, an early example of what could be described as Americana… a roots rock band that melded genres in the process of creating something new and exciting.” The group is known by many as playing a vital role in establishing that classic Southern California country-rock sound.

The band was formed with musicians Richie Furay, George Grantham and Jim Messina, also including Randy Meisner, Timothy B. Schmit and Paul cotton over the next several decades. The current group is made up of Jack Sundrud, Rick Lonow and Tom Hampton.

Young was the writer and vocalist behind many of the bands’ songs including “Rose of Cimarron” and smash hit “Crazy Love.” Listen to “Crazy Love” below:

Young released his only solo album, Waitin’ For The Sun in 2017 with Blue Élan Records, having prioritized and poured most of his soul into Poco for the majority of his musical career. He released several more singles with Blue Élan over the next couple of years in addition to a live remake of “Crazy Love,” one of Poco’s most successful hits.

He is survived by his beloved wife Mary, their children Sara and Will, and their three grandchildren Chandler, Ryan and Graham. On Mary’s side he is also survived by her children Joe, Marci and Hallie as well as grandchildren Quentin and Emma.