Ian McLagan obit

Ian McLagan, Faces and Small Faces Keyboardist, Dead at 69

The charismatic keyboardist who helped define rock classics "Stay With Me" and "Itchycoo Park" succumbs to stroke 

He was not on the list.

IAN MCLAGAN, THE JOVIAL, charismatic keyboardist for the Faces and Small Faces whose versatile, forceful playing defined rock & roll classics like the Faces’ “Stay With Me,” passed away in Austin, Texas on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer confirmed his death to Rolling Stone. He was 69.

“It is with great sadness and eternal admiration that we report the passing of rock and roll icon Ian McLagan,” read the statement. “He died today surrounded by family and friends in his adopted hometown of Austin, Texas due to complications from a stroke suffered the previous day. Ian’s artistry, generosity and warmth of spirit touched countless other musicians and music fans around the world.  His loss will be felt by so many.”

“I am completely devastated by this shocking news and I know this goes for [Faces members] Ronnie [Wood] and Rod [Stewart] also,” said McLagan’s bandmate Kenney Jones.

With the Faces, McLagan co-wrote classics like “Cindy Incidentally” and “You’re So Rude.” But the musician’s defining moment was his Wurlitzer electric piano pounding on “Stay With Me,” one of rock’s most swaggering, stomping barroom epics. “You can’t play ‘Stay With Me’ halfheartedly,” he told Rolling Stone in 2012. “It’s not [gently] ‘Stay with me…’ You have to tell her, ‘Stay with me!'” The Faces were the launching pad for Stewart’s solo success, and McLagan also played on  Stewart classics like “Maggie May” and “You Wear It Well.”