Slim Dunlap obit

Minnesota native Slim Dunlap of The Replacements dies at age 73

 He was not on the list.

The Replacements guitarist Bob “Slim” Dunlap has died at age 73.

Dunlap joined the band in 1987, replacing its original lead guitarist Bob Stinson and earning him the moniker "the replacement Replacement." Dunlap would go on to record two critically acclaimed albums with the band.

He played on The Replacements’ 1989 album “Don't Tell A Soul” and their 1990 album “All Shook Down.”

Bob Mehr, the author of Trouble Boys: The True Story of The Replacements, said Dunlap joined the band at a fragile moment.

“Slim came in and sustained the group for the next four or five years in way no one else could have,” he said. “He was almost a decade older than the other guys in the band. He played a more rootsy style. [He] was not quite the hellion wild man the other guys were and yet he was the perfect guy for their situation.”

Chris Osgood of the punk band The Suicide Commandos played with Dunlap over the years.

“I never think of Bob as a Replacement, even though he added some really great critical parts to those songs and was a great Replacement,” Osgood said. “I think of him more as being a great Telecaster player. I love the way that he played with the thumb pick. And he had a particular style.”

After The Replacements’ breakup in 1991, Dunlap went on to pursue a solo career. He recorded two solo albums in the ‘90s: “The Old New Me” (1993) and “Times Like This” (1996).

In a 2014 interview with NPR, Bruce Springsteen praised Dunlap: “Check out the two Slim Dunlap records because they’re just so beautiful, they’re just beautiful rock ‘n’ roll records. I found them to be deeply touching and emotional.”

In 2012, Dunlap suffered a serious stroke.

“He hung on though his own sheer will and his desire to live,” Mehr said. “He was such a beloved, truly beloved human being. These last 12 years we had with him is a testament to what a survivor, what a fighter he was.”

Family referenced the stroke when confirming his death. They say he died at home Wednesday.

Dunlap was from Plainview.