Who was Ian McDonald? Tributes pour in as 'King Crimson' and 'Foreigner' co-founder dies aged 75

Multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald passed away on February 9 at 75. He was mostly known for his co-founding roles in King Crimson and Foreigner.

The news was confirmed in a press release which stated that Ian passed away peacefully on Wednesday in his home in New York City, surrounded by his family.

McDonald's cause of death remains unknown, and further details are yet to be revealed.

Everything known about Ian McDonald

Born on June 25, 1946, he initially served in the British Army for five years as a bandsman. Ian was an expert in the classical orchestra to dance bands to rock and was originally a member of the rock band King Crimson in 1969.

Ian and drummer Michael Giles later left the band and formed a group that released an album called McDonald and Giles. Although he reappeared in King Crimson in 1974, he failed to rejoin as a full member since another founding member, Robert Fripp, decided to split the band.

McDonald then became a founding member of the rock band Foreigner in 1946 and played guitar, woodwinds, and keyboards. He was a session musician and was featured in the recording of the single by T. Rex, Get It On, and recordings by other artists like Linda Lewis and Christine Harwood.

He then released a solo album called Drivers Eyes in 1999. Ian then played saxophone and flute on songs like Judy Dyble's Talking With Strangers. He made a guest appearance with Asia in July 2009 during their opening set for Yes at Upper Darby's Tower Theater.

The Osterley, Middlesex, native then made guest appearances on An Intimate Evening with Keith Emerson and Greg Lake in May 2010 and played flute alongside sharing lead vocals with Greg Talk on I Talk to the Wind.

He provided saxophone, flute, and percussion textures to Third International's debut album, Beautiful Accident, in 2010.

Ian started working with the directors of New York City's Frog and Peach Theatre Company, Lynnea Benson and her husband Ted Zurkowski, in 2010. He collaborated with Ted and composed and performed guitar and piano in a few Shakespearean productions and readings.

Netizens pay tribute on Twitter

Ian McDonald was an expert in playing different musical instruments because of which he had a huge fan following. The public and other well-known personalities expressed their grief on social media after hearing about his death:

The famous musician is survived by his son Maxwell McDonald. Further details on his personal life are yet to be revealed.

About the author

Anupal is a pop culture writer at Sportskeeda with a degree in Political Science. He developed a keen interest in the lives of celebrities, films, TV shows, and box office collections since an early age. After accumulating significant experience as a content writer across varied fields at companies such as The Indian Wire, DigiStatement, and QuirkyByte Media, he eventually settled on writing about his favorite genre - pop culture.

Anupal believes in conducting in-depth research while writing about any topic and relies on varied sources to ensure he produces holistic articles. He also often glances through content that was published in the 80s and 90s to gain a better understanding of the subject he is covering.

Anupal admires Robert Downey Jr., who played one of his favorite Marvel superheroes, Iron Man. He is inspired by the actor's resilience and the determination in overcoming past struggles to building a successful Hollywood career and admires the way he articulates his thoughts while speaking in interviews.

If Anupal could travel back in time, he would love to experience James Cameron's 2009 film 'Avatar' in a theatre full of fans. When he's not busy working, he binges on the latest OTT titles across languages.

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