Lloyd (second from left) in a 1977 publicity shot for Television.
The music world lost a giant this weekend with the passing of Richard Lloyd, guitarist for the groundbreaking 1970s New York band Television.
Lloyd was 75.
With bandmate and fellow guitarist Tom Verlaine, Lloyd created a unique sound on the 1977 masterpiece Marquee Moon that still resonates today. It was highly influential with Michael Stipe, Jeff Tweedy and a number of other artists hailing the work.
It would easily be an all-time top 5 or top 10 album for me.
Lloyd played solo and with a number of artists over the years, including several albums by Matthew Sweet during his 1990s heyday. That collaboration includes Girlfriend, Sweet’s high-water mark.
I was lucky enough to see Lloyd perform with Verlaine during one of their reunion tours passing through Chicago.
Then later, Lloyd joined the reformed Rocket from the Tombs in the early 2000s, adding his excellent guitar to a blistering set at the now-closed Abbey Pub.
Sadly, I missed his solo appearance at Hideout at the beginning of this year.
Verlaine died in January 2023.
