Andy Fraser, who co-wrote the rock anthem “All Right Now” when he was bassist for the British rock band Free, died at his home in Temecula, CA on March 16, 2015. The cause of death has been determined to be “hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease”, which led to a heart attack, reported the Riverside County Coroner’s Office. Despite rumors that Fraser succumbed to HIV, he had the virus well under control for many years with medication and his viral load was undetectable. Fraser was actually fighting fit and active in many projects, including a planned tour of the UK, at the time of his sudden death.
A survivor of both cancer and AIDS, Fraser had a close brush with death in the 90’s, so he took his health very seriously. “Andy practiced a dedicated daily exercise routine and followed a strict healthy diet, he was in excellent shape. We celebrated with him as he performed onstage just weeks before he passed. Andy was bouncing and jamming, flying high on life right to the end!”, states his daughter Hannah Fraser.
Fraser was born in London, UK on July 3, 1952. A few months shy of turning 16 years old he became a founding member of the band 70’s rock band Free. Fraser enjoyed phenomenal international success throughout the span of his 40+ years career in the music industry. He was honored by BMI’s 4 Million Play Club for writing the monster rock anthem “All Right Now,” and was the songwriter for Robert Palmer’s mega-hit “Every Kinda People”. In addition, he had written and composed for many well known artists including; Rod Stewart, Chaka Khan, Paul Young, Joe Cocker, Paul Carrack, Wilson Pickett, Three Dog Night, Bob Seger, Randy Crawford, Etta James, Frankie Miller, and Ted Nugent.
In his later years Fraser was very active as CEO of his record label/multi-media company Mctrax International, which lead him to sign to his label UK protégé Tobi Earnshaw in 2008. He enjoyed getting back on the road in recent years, touring in the US, UK and Japan, as well as performing on stage playing bass for TOBI. Andy was currently working on a multitude of projects including the Summer release of “Standing At Your Window”, which he co-wrote with Frankie Miller, planning a UK/European Tour that included the Sweden Rock Festival alongside former Free bandmate Simon Kirke in Spike’s Free House, scheduling the release of his autobiography, and the release of “Tears of a Mermaid”, a film he was co-producing with his daughter Hannah “Mermaid” Fraser.
He was also a strong social activist and defender of individual human rights, dedicating much of his time and resources to humanitarian and environmental causes. “Andy was such a passionate musician, such a good man, such an unconditional support to me as a father. He had a burning desire to do good in this world, and he single-mindedly dedicated himself to promoting the causes which he believed in.”, states Jasmine Fraser.
On the news of his death tributes began flooding in from all over the world, Joe Bonamassa dedicated 4 shows at the Apollo Hammersmith in his honor, Gov’t Mule played a tribute to the Free song Little Bit of Love, co-written by Fraser and a show he was slated to perform at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire on May 25th, and many feature articles in Newspapers and Magazines, worldwide.
He leaves behind his daughters, Hannah and Jasmine Fraser and their mother Ri, his sisters Anne Fraser and Gail Fraser, brothers Gavin Fraser and Alex Fraser, and many friends and business collaborators in the entertainment industry.