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Chris Kelly of Kris Kross performs in February 2013.

Kris Kross rapper Chris Kelly's death is being investigated as a possible drug overdose, Cpl. Kay Lester, a spokeswoman for Atlanta's Fulton County police, told NBCNews.com.

Information obtained from family members and others at the scene helped lead the investigation in that direction, but more information won't be known until toxicology results are back from Kelly's autopsy, Lester said.

That autopsy, completed Thursday morning in Atlanta, showed no signs of foul play or trauma, the Fulton County medical examiner's office told NBCNews.com. Toxicology results will be available in approximately three weeks, a spokeswoman said.

Kelly, 34, was discovered unresponsive in his Atlanta home Wednesday and pronounced dead early that evening. Kelly and childhood friend Chris Smith traveled the world as 1990s rap group Kris Kross when they were just 13, and their hit song "Jump" was certified double platinum.

On Thursday, both Chris Smith and Kelly's family issued statements mourning Kelly.

"His legacy will live on through his music, and we will forever love him," said the statement from Kelly's mother, Donna Kelly Pratte, and his record label So So Def.

In his statement, Kelly's musical partner Smith said, "Our friendship began as little boys in first grade. We grew up together. It was a blessing to achieve the success, travel the world and entertain Kris Kross fans all around the world with my best friend."

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Related content:

• Kris Kross rapper found dead in Atlanta

UPDATED Thursday 12:06 p.m. ET: Chris Kelly, one-half of the rap duo Kris Kross — known for making America "Jump" in the 1990s — passed away on Wednesday, Georgia authorities announced. He was 34.

Kelly was discovered unresponsive in his Atlanta home and pronounced dead at Atlanta Medical Center shortly after 5:30 p.m. local time, according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner. 

The  cause of death has not yet been determined. An autopsy is planned for Thursday.

Kelly and fellow Kris Kross member Chris Smith were just 13 in 1991 when they were famously discovered at Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall by well-known rapper and producer Jermaine Dupri, who was just 19 himself.

Kelly went by the nickname "Mac Daddy" and Smith went by "Daddy Mac." 

They were best known for the 1992 hit "Jump" on their debut album "Totally Krossed Out" and their penchant for wearing their clothes backwards.  "Jump" rode the No.1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks, and that same year, the teens toured Europe as part of Michael Jackson's "Dangerous" world tour. Although they would go on to release two more albums, they would never again reach the heights of "Jump."

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Kris Kross in 1992.

The duo also had a video game (ranked one of the 20 worst of all time by Electronic Gaming Monthly) and recorded a rap song for the cartoon "Rugrats." They appeared on the "Cosby Show" spinoff "A Different World" and in the 1993 hip-hop comedy film "Who's the Man?"

In February, Kris Kross performed together once more, performing at the 20th anniversary party for So So Def Recordings, Dupri's Atlanta record label. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted that the two were "all grown up and wearing clothes the right way."

Kelly's mother, Donna Kelly Pratte, and record label So So Def released this statement:

"It is with deep sadness that we announce that our beloved Chris Kelly has passed away on May 1. To millions of fans worldwide, he was the trendsetting, backwards pants-wearing one-half of Kris Kross who loved making music. But to us, he was just Chris -- the kind, generous and fun-loving life of the party. Though he was only with us a short time, we feel blessed to have been able to share some incredible moments with him. His legacy will live on through his music, and we will forever love him."

Chris Smith issued his own statement, grieving over the loss of his one-time bandmate.

"Chris Kelly was my Best Friend," the rapper said in a statement, reported by E! Online. "He was like a brother. I love him and will miss him dearly.

"Our friendship began as little boys in first grade. We grew up together. It was a blessing to achieve the success, travel the world and entertain Kris Kross fans all around the world with my best friend," he continued. "It is what we wanted to do and what brought us happiness. I will always cherish the memories of the C-Connection."

On Wednesday night, rapper LL Cool J tweeted a link to his new song, "Jump On It," with the words, "R.I.P Chris Kelly. This song is now officially dedicated to you. May GOD embrace your soul & lift up your family."

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Folk singer and guitarist Richie Havens, who opened the 1969 Woodstock music festival with a legendary and lengthy set that helped make him famous, died Monday at age 72. 

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Richie Havens in concert in 1973.

His family says Havens died of a heart attack, and that a public memorial will be announced later. A statement on his official website posted before Havens' death says that the singer never fully recovered from kidney surgery he underwent several years ago.

His career spans decades, but he may be most famous for his role as the first performer at Woodstock. He launched the three-day festival with more than two hours of music, even running out of songs and thus improvising the song "Freedom" based on the old spiritual "Motherless Child."

Steve Davidowitz, who co-wrote Havens' 1999 autobiography, "They Can't Hide Us Anymore," tells TODAY that the book title was what Havens said while looking out at the enormous Woodstock crowd.

"The promoters of the event actually appealed to Richie to perform for 20 minutes or so, because no one wanted to be first," Davidowitz told TODAY. "Instead of 20 minutes, the crowd kept him on stage for more than two hours with their cheers and demands for more."

Many Woodstock fans noticed that Havens didn't have his top row of teeth while performing at the festival. After the event, and with the encouragement of Johnny Carson, who had the singer on "The Tonight Show" more than a dozen times, the singer bought dental implants.

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Richie Havens in 2009.

After Woodstock, Havens started his own record label, Stormy Forest. He also worked as an actor, appearing in the London stage version of The Who's "Tommy" and in the 1977 Richard Pryor movie "Greased Lightning," about the first black stock-car driver to win an upper-tier NASCAR race. 

"Richie Havens was gifted with one of the most recognizable voices in popular music," Havens' agent said in a statement. "His fiery, poignant, soulful singing style has remained unique and ageless since his historic appearance at Woodstock in 1969. For four decades, Havens used his music to convey passionate messages of brotherhood and personal freedom."

Havens was always grateful for his fans. "From Woodstock to The Isle of Wight to Glastonbury to the Fillmore Auditorium to Royal Albert Hall to Carnegie Hall, Richie played the most legendary music festivals that ever were, and most of the world’s greatest concert venues," the statement went on to say. "But even when performing in a Greenwich Village coffeehouse or a small club or regional theater, he was eternally grateful that people in any number turned up each time to hear him sing. More than anything, he feels incredibly blessed to have met so many of you along the way."

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Actor Lou Gossett Jr. was Havens’ co-writer on one of his most popular songs, “Handsome Johnny,” which was released in 1967 and was also part of Havens' Woodstock set. In 2001, the song was covered by reggae musician Peter Tosh, and in 2002, by The Flaming Lips.

Havens also had a 1971 hit with his cover of The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun."

"Working with Richie to write his book -- a very good book, one with no curse words, no sexual exploits, but a book that shared how he self-taught himself virtually everything ... was the single most enjoyable professional experience of my life," Davidowitz told TODAY. "Besides that, he was a great friend,  an amazing,  fantastic performer, a truly warmhearted, giving human being. "

After hearing of his death, fans began to share memories of Havens on The Roots Agency's Facebook page.

"His legacy will live on forever," wrote Reese Karlan.

Wrote Robert Rothstein: "Richie Havens was a great ambassador of peace and humanity. His voice was unique."

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Storm Thorgerson stands next to his album cover artwork for Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" at a 2008 art exhibit.

"His ending was peaceful and he was surrounded by family and friends," Thorgerson's family said in a statement. "He had been ill for some time with cancer though he had made a remarkable recovery from his stroke in 2003."

Pink Floyd members remembered him on the band's official website. Drummer Nick Mason described Thorgerson as a "scourge of management, record companies and album sleeve printers; champion of bands, music, great ideas and high, sometimes infuriatingly high, standards."

Mason also described Thorgerson as a "tireless worker right up to the end," saying, "Two days before he passed away, and by then completely exhausted, he was still demanding approval for art work and haranguing his loyal assistants."

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He went on to praise the designer as a "dear friend to all of us, our children, our wives (and the exes). Endlessly intellectual and questioning. Breathtakingly late for appointments and meetings, but once there invaluable for his ideas, humour, and friendship."

Pink Floyd lead singer David Gilmour wrote on the band's site that he first met Thorgerson when the two were young teenagers.

"We would gather at Sheep's Green, a spot by the river in Cambridge, and Storm would always be there holding forth, making the most noise, bursting with ideas and enthusiasm," Gilmour wrote. "Nothing has ever really changed. He has been a constant force in my life, both at work and in private, a shoulder to cry on and a great friend. The artworks that he created for Pink Floyd from 1968 to the present day have been an inseparable part of our work. I will miss him."

His work with Pink Floyd, especially the prism reflecting a rainbow that graces the "Dark Side of the Moon" album cover, was Thorgerson's most famous. But he also created album covers for bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC and Muse.

In 2011, Thorgerson told Rolling Stone that the idea of the prism related to Pink Floyd's traveling light show.

"They hadn’t really celebrated their light show," he told the magazine. "That was one thing. The other thing was the triangle. I think the triangle, which is a symbol of thought and ambition, was very much a subject of Roger (Waters)'s lyrics. 

Thorgerson is survived by his mother, Vanji, his son Bill, his wife Barbie Antonis and her two children Adam and Georgia.

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Richard LeParmentier in 2012.

Actor Richard LeParmentier, whose character was infamously choked by villain Darth Vader in the original "Star Wars" movie, has died at age 66, his representative confirms to TODAY.

LeParmentier died suddenly, his son Tyrone told Derek Maki, who represented the actor. 

LeParmentier's name may be unfamiliar to many, but "Star Wars" fans well know his most famous scene.

"Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Vader," says LeParmentier in his role as General (sometimes described as Admiral) Motti. "Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you clairvoyance enough to find the rebels' hidden fort--"

At that point, LeParmentier's character stops speaking and grabs at his throat as if he was being choked by an invisible hand. Darth Vader (voice of James Earl Jones) then delivers one of his most famous lines, "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

The actor's family noted that LeParmentier, who lived in Bath, England, was visiting his children in Austin, Texas when he died. The family remembered him in a statement that fondly referenced his most famous scene.

"Every time we find someone's lack of faith disturbing, we'll think of him," the family statement said. "At age 66, Richard Le Parmentier is one with the Force."

The statement went on to thanks LeParmentier's friends and fellow "Star Wars" fans, saying it was tributes from those people who gave the family "all the best lines in this message."

LeParmentier, who was also a screenwriter, was still working right up until the end, the family said. "He edited another draft of his latest project two days before death, with its sorcerer's ways, took him from us," the statement noted in another homage to the famed scene. "He has gone to the Stars, and he will be missed. We love you dad, and thank you to everyone. Love, Rhiannon, Stephanie, and Tyrone Le Parmentier." 

LeParmentier also had numerous film and television appearances, though his most famous after "Star Wars" was the role of Lt. Santino in 1988's "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" He also provided the narration for the 2004 video game "Soldiers: Heroes of World War II." 

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Alternative metal bassist Chi Cheng of the Deftones has died, four years after a car accident left him in a coma.

Ethan Miller / Reuters, file

Chi Cheng, right, -- seen with his fellow Deftones (left to right) drummer Abe Cunningham, guitarist Stephen Carpenter, keyboardist Frank Delgado and singer Chino Moreno -- died after a four-year coma following a car accident.

Cheng died on Saturday after being brought to a hospital emergency room, according to a website set up to raise funds for the stricken musician. He was 42.

"I know you will always remember him as a giant of a man on stage with a heart for every one of you," his mother wrote in a statement on the site. "He left this world with me singing songs he liked in his ear."

No cause of death was given on the site. It was not immediately clear where Cheng died.

Cheng was seriously injured during a head-on car collision in Santa Clara, California, in 2008.

Cheng was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle, local media reported at the time.

"Rest in peace Chi Cheng," wrote the band's lead vocalist, Chino Moreno, on his Facebook page, where more than 2,000 messages were left by fans eulogizing Cheng.

The Deftones, an alternative metal band out of Sacramento, California, was founded in 1988. The band won a Grammy for the Best Metal Performance in 2000.

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Anna Nicole Smith, Steve Irwin and Mindy McCready.

Almost since its inception, modern reality television has been plagued by tragedy.

In recent weeks, three people linked to hit series have died. "Buckwild" star Shain Gandee died April 1, the same day Thierry Costa, staff physician for the French version of "Survivor," killed himself. In his suicide note, Costa said "unjust accusations and assumptions" about his medical treatment of contestant Gerald Babin, who suffered a fatal heart attack on the first day of filming, harmed his reputation.

"Survivor" was haunted since its inception. The first contestant voted out of Sweden's "Expedition Robinson," which Mark Burnett adapted for his U.S. "Survivor" franchise, committed suicide weeks after returning home from the Malaysian shoot. 

Dozens of reality stars have passed away in the past few years, but here are nine of the most tragic deaths:

1. Shain Gandee, 'Buckwild'
MTV suspended production of the reality series hours after the body of its 21-year-old star was found, along with his uncle and another man, in his truck in Sissonville, W.Va, April 1. The men died from carbon monoxide poisoning when the Ford Bronco's exhaust pipe became submerged in mud during an off-roading excursion. Gandee and many of his spirited co-stars were filmed "mudding" -- racing and spinning their four-wheelers in the mud -- during the first season of the controversial series, decried by some critics as the "Redneck Jersey Shore."

2. Russell Armstrong, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'
Star Taylor Armstrong discovered the body of her estranged husband, 47, hanging in the bedroom of his Los Angeles home Aug. 15, 2011 -- weeks before the Bravo series' second-season premiere. The couple's marital problems -- including allegations that Armstrong assaulted his wife -- featured prominently in the series.

3. Mindy McCready, 'Celebrity Rehab'
The troubled country-music singer, who committed suicide in early 2013, became the fifth cast member to die after participating in Dr. Drew Pinsky's VH1 series. But Pinsky, an addiction specialist, said the show is not to blame for the deaths of McCready, Rodney King, Jeff Conaway, Mike Starr and Joey Kovar. "These diseases -- advanced addictions -- have the same prognosis as cancer," he said on "The View." "If you don't participate in treatment in an ongoing fashion, the prognosis is really bad." 

4. Joey Kovar, 'The Real World: Hollywood'
The 29-year-old bodybuilder (who also appeared on "Celebrity Rehab") was found dead of a suspected drug overdose in August 2012. He memorably left the 20th season of MTV's reality hit in the middle of filming to enter a 30-day treatment program for substance abuse and alcoholism.

5. Steve Irwin, 'Crocodile Hunter'
The beloved Australian wildlife expert was fatally wounded in 2006 while swimming with a stingray during filming in the Great Barrier Reef for another TV show. After the creature pierced him in the chest with its barbed spine, the 44-year-old Australian icon was pronounced dead at the scene.

6. Phil Harris, 'Deadliest Catch'
The 53-year-old salty sea captain suffered a massive stroke aboard his boat, the Cornelia Marie, Jan. 29, 2010, and died on Feb. 9. The Discovery Channel's hit series, which followed the dangerous exploits of crab fishermen, chronicled Harris' last days during its sixth season. The show suffered a second loss a year later when the body of deckhand Justin Tennison, 34, was found in his Alaska hotel room.

7. Rachel Brown, 'Hell's Kitchen'
The 41-year-old aspiring chef died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 2007 after appearing on the second season of Gordon Ramsay's cooking contest. Three years later, Joseph Cerniglia, 39, who appeared on the harshly critical celebrity chef's "Kitchen Nightmares," leapt to his death from New York City's George Washington Bridge.

8. Paula Goodspeed, 'American Idol'
The Paula Abdul fan, who performed during "Idol's" Texas auditions in 2005, was found dead in her car from a suspected drug overdose near Abdul's home in November 2008. Goodspeed had legally changed her first name as a tribute to the judge. In addition to personalized license plates reading "ABL LV," a photo of Abdul was found hanging from her car's rearview mirror.

9. Anna Nicole Smith, 'The Anna Nicole Show'
The former Playboy Playmate and octogenarian billionaire's widow died at age 39 on Feb. 8, 2007, from a prescription drug overdose. Just five months earlier, her 20-year-old son, Daniel, died from an accidental overdose -- just days after Smith gave birth to daughter Dannielynn. Her E! reality series, which aired for two seasons in 2002-2003, also featured her attorney boyfriend Howard K. Stern, who lost a paternity dispute with Larry Birkhead over Dannielynn and was prosecuted for conspiracy in obtaining illegal prescriptions for Smith. (His conviction was overturned.)

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Richard Griffiths.

Richard Griffiths, the versatile British actor who played the boy wizard's unsympathetic Uncle Vernon in the "Harry Potter" movies, has died. He was 65. 

Agent Simon Beresford announced Friday that Griffiths died a day earlier of complications following heart surgery at University Hospital in Coventry, central England.

He paid tribute to Griffiths as "a remarkable man and one of our greatest and best-loved actors."

Griffiths appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows, but will be most widely remembered as a pair of contrasting uncles — the hero's grudging Muggle guardian in the "Harry Potter" series, and flamboyant Uncle Monty in 1980s cult classic "Withnail and I."

"I was proud to say I knew him," said "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe.

A large man and a huge stage presence, Griffiths was one of Britain's leading theater actors, creating roles including the charismatic teacher Hector at the emotional heart of Alan Bennett's "The History Boys" -- a part he took to Broadway, winning a Tony Award, and repeated for the film adaptation.

National Theatre artistic director Nicholas Hytner, who directed "The History Boys," called Griffiths' performance in that play "a masterpiece of wit, delicacy, mischief and desolation, often simultaneously."

Griffiths also played poet W.H. Auden in Bennett's "The Habit of Art," a hugely persuasive performance despite the lack of physical resemblance between the two men.

Known for his sense of humor, large store of theatrical anecdotes and occasional bursts of temper, Griffiths was renowned for shaming audience members whose cell phones rang during plays by stopping the performance and ordering the offender to leave.

Griffiths' last major stage role was in a West End production of Neil Simon's comedy "The Sunshine Boys" last year opposite Danny DeVito.

In 2007 he appeared in a London production of "Equus" alongside the then 17-year-old Radcliffe.

"Richard was by my side during two of the most important moments of my career," Radcliffe said Friday.

"In August 2000, before official production had even begun on Potter, we filmed a shot outside the Dursleys', which was my first ever shot as Harry. I was nervous and he made me feel at ease.

"Seven years later, we embarked on 'Equus' together. It was my first time doing a play but, terrified as I was, his encouragement, tutelage and humor made it a joy.

"In fact, any room he walked into was made twice as funny and twice as clever just by his presence."

Griffiths is survived by his wife, Heather Gibson.

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Updated 9 a.m. ET: Porn actor Harry Reems, who made his name starring opposite Linda Lovelace in the 1972 movie "Deep Throat", has died at the age of 65, according to his wife Jeanne.

She told the New York Times that her husband died on Tuesday in hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was reported to have been battling multiple health issues, including pancreatic cancer.

Ethan Miller / Getty Images file

Former adult film star Harry Reems, who played the male lead in the 1970's movie "Deep Throat.

His death comes just months before the release of "Lovelace", a biographical film starring Amanda Seyfried in the title role and Adam Brody as Reems which will put the spotlight back on one of the 1970s' most active porn actors.

Reems's rollercoaster life off set reads like a script for a Hollywood movie as he transitioned from the marines to porn movies to alcoholism and then to religion and suburban life.

He was born Herbert Streicher into a Jewish family from Brooklyn, N.Y., and joined the Marine Corps after school.

After leaving the marines, he struggled to make a career as a stage actor in New York so, needing money, worked in a number of pornographic films.

But his breakthrough came when director Gerard Damiano hired him as lighting director on "Deep Throat". The original male lead failed to show up so Reems stepped in, playing a doctor helping Lovelace with a sexually sensitive area in her throat.

"Deep Throat" was the first porn film widely shown in theatres and made an estimated $600 million at the box office -- although Reems claimed he only received $800 for his role.

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Harry Reems, circa 1975.

It also became the nickname for a source who helped Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein investigate the Watergate scandal that led to President Richard Nixon's resignation.

But the film also caused much outrage and Reems was convicted of obscenity in 1976. He admitted that the prospect of a five year jail sentence and trial put him under enormous pressure and set him on a path to alcoholism.

He launched a high-profile appeal backed by celebrities including Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty and the conviction was eventually overturned.

Reems, with a bushy black moustache and hairy chest exposed by his open shirts, went on to star in several other porn movies after "Deep Throat" but demand for his services started to wane by the 1980s as his battles with alcohol increased.

By the mid-1980s he was bankrupt, drinking heavily and homeless. It was not until 1989 that he sobered up, converted to Christianity, obtained a real estate license and married Jeanne in 1990.

In a 2005 interview with the Guardian, Reems described his battle with alcohol, his regret at going into the porn industry and the way his life had changed since he became sober.

"I'm happier today than ever. I saved my own life. I'm content with the way I conduct myself with my marriage, my home, my business," said Reems.

"I live in a small town where everybody knows everybody and nobody thinks of me as a porn actor."

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Bobbie Smith, the lead singer for the 1970s vocal group The Spinners, whose hits include "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" and "Games People Play," has died, the group's manager said.

Smith, 76, passed away on Saturday in Orlando from complications from pneumonia and flu, Nat Burgess said in a statement.

Smith, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in November, had also been undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment. He died due to compromised immunity from the aggressive treatment, Burgess said.

"One of Bobbie Smith's final requests was to make people aware of his cancer, so as to once again bring to the forefront the many dangers of smoking. He will be dearly missed by all of his friends and colleagues in the music world," said Burgess.

The Grammy-nominated Spinners had seven top 10 singles and five gold albums, with hits on both the pop and R&B charts, including "Rubberband Man," "One of a Kind (Love Affair)," "Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me Girl" and "I'll Be Around."

Two other original members of the group had died - Billy Henderson in 2007 and Pervis Jackson in 2008.

The Spinners, including the last remaining original member, Henry Fambrough, and new singers Charlton Washington, Jessie Peck and Marvin Taylor, performed up until last month, when they appeared at a casino in El Cajon, California.

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Jason Molina in 2009.

Jason Molina, the leader of alternative bands Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co., died Saturday night in Indianapolis from organ failure resulting from alcohol consumption. He was 39.

A perennial road dog and prolific songwriter, Molina had battled what his label called "severe alcoholism" for nearly a decade, a struggle that came to light in 2011 with a note posted on Magnolia Electric Company's website soliciting donations to help the uninsured musician pay his growing medical bills. At the time, Molina had finished two years in and out of rehab facilities, and was working on a farm in West Virginia, as well as writing new material.

Photos: Songs: Ohia

"Treatment is good, getting to deal with a lot of things that even the music didn't want to," Molina wrote in a note on the band's site in May 2012. "I have not given up because you, my friends have not given up on me. I do still need your support however that takes shape, good vibes are worth more than you might think. Finally, there are actually some musical projects on the distant radar screen, but for those who understand, I am taking this in much smaller steps than I'm used to. Keep the lamps trimmed and burning!"

Molina's music career began in 1996 with Songs: Ohia, a musical project he helmed that featured a rotating cast of collaborators throughout the band's career. Their last record, 2003's Magnolia Electric Co., was produced by Steve Albini, and provided the name of Molina's next band.

Magnolia Electric Company released three official studio LPs on Secretly Canadian between 2005 and 2009, including an odds-and-ends box set in 2007. His final release as Magnolia Electric Co. was the 2009 LP Josephine. He put out his last album, Autumn Bird Songs, under his own name in 2012 on Graveface.

"We're going to miss Jason," Secretly Canadian said in a statement posted on Magnolia Electric Co.'s website. "He was generous. He was a one of a kind. And he had a voice unlike any other."

In a heartfelt note on Chunklet, the zine's founder Henry Ownings described his friend Molina as an intense writer but a goofball at heart. "But maybe, just maybe, his music was eluding to what was fighting inside him," he wrote. "The demons. The ghosts. The pain. The disease."

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Clive Burr, left, Bruce Dickinson and Janick Gers of Iron Maiden.

Clive Burr, best known for his years drumming in the heavy metal band Iron Maiden, died at his home on March 12 according to a statement on the band's Facebook page. He was 56.

Burr suffered from Multiple Sclerosis, and according to the statement "had suffered poor health for many years." The treatment left him in debt, but the band staged concerts to form the Clive Burr MS Trust Fund, which had raised over $350,000 by 2007 to assist.

He had been a member of the band Samson before joining Iron Maiden in 1979, then played on three of their albums before leaving in 1982. 

Maiden bassist Steve Harris said in the statement, "This is terribly sad news. Clive was a very old friend of all of us. He was a wonderful person and an amazing drummer who made a valuable contribution to Maiden in the early days when we were starting out. This is a sad day for everyone in the band and those around him and our thoughts and condolences are with his partner Mimi and family at this time."

Singer Bruce Dickinson added, "I first met Clive when he was leaving Samson and joining Iron Maiden. He was a great guy and a man who really lived his life to the full. Even during the darkest days of his M.S., Clive never lost his sense of humour or irreverence. This is a terribly sad day and all our thoughts are with Mimi and the family."

Check out Burr and the band performing "Run to the Hills" off the 1982 album "Number of the Beast":

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