Bernie Marsden passed away at age seventy-two, losing his battle against bacterial meningitis, on August 24. Since then, various rock musicians he worked with in the past and his friends paid tribute for him. As being both, Joe Bonamassa shared a post on his IG, with a heartfelt caption. Joe began his words by telling the story of how they met:
“I am truly heartbroken. Bernie was the kindest soul.
I met him on May 4, 2009 at my Royal Albert Hall debut. A big moment for me. After the show he approached me and was the first person to say ‘Great gig… Hi, my name is Bernie Marsden.’ I was in awe of him as I was in awe that entire day.”
He praised Marsden’s merits, and touched upon his musical influences on the Blues rock world:
“There would be many wonderful times with Bernie to come. As our friendship has grown over the past 14 years, I have found Bernie to be a great encourager, a confidant, a brilliant writer and most of all…a dear friend. He was “the best of the best” and championed so many young careers while being such a brilliant musician on his own.”
Bonamassa also mentioned Bernie’s contribution to his fourteenth studio album ‘Royal Tea,’ dated 2020:
“I never saw him happier than the time we camped out at Abbey Road Studios for a month writing music together for what would become the ‘Royal Tea’ album. So much talent wrapped up in such a wonderful human being. Humble, kind and larger than life, I will always cherish my time with him and regret the moments we won’t have together.”
Finally, he emphasised on how losing Marsden affected him, and paid condolences:
“This is such a great loss to me personally and a tremendous loss to the music world. He was a superstar in every imaginable way. My sincerest heartfelt condolences go out to Fran and his family.”
David Coverdale, his former Whitesnake bandmate tweeted:
“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.”
Joe Lynn Turner wrote:
“I am truly saddened by the passing of Bernie Marsden. Bernie was a true talent and a genuinely real person. The world has lost an original Icon and he shall be sorely missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and close loved ones. RIP My friend.”
Glenn Hughes commented on Coast to Coast’s post, a video of Bernie and Glenn’s live performance:
“Love & miss you Bernie. A beautiful soul.”
You can find Joe Bonamassa’s IG post here.
