Alec John Such, the musician who became a founding member of rock band Bon Jovi, has died. He was 70. Frontman and friend Jon Bon Jovi announced Such’s death on social media on Sunday, without mentioning details or a cause of death. “He was an original,” Bon Jovi wrote. “As a founding member of Bon Jovi, Alec was integral to the formation of the band.” Older than most of the other original members, Such was a veteran of New Jersey’s late ’70s rock scene by the time he introduced both drummer Tico Torres and guitarist-songwriter Richie Sambora to Jon Bon Jovi. Such rocked with the group during its long-haired heyday, playing from its foundation in 1983 to 1994. In a 2000 interview, Such blamed his departure on burnout. “It felt like work, and I didn’t want to work,” he told the Asbury Park Press. “The reason I got into a band to begin with is because I didn’t want to work.” Such reunited with Bon Jovi briefly in 2018, joining the band for its induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “Alec was always wild and full of life,” Jon Bon Jovi added on Sunday. “Today these special memories bring a smile to my face and a tear to my eye. We will miss him dearly.”
