Andy Johns has died at the age of 61.
The producer and engineer was hospitalised last week, collaborator Stacy Blades told Billboard, partly due to liver problems, though no cause of death has yet been announced.
The younger brother of producer Glyn Johns, Andy Johns was born in 1952. He began studio work as tape operator on The Rolling Stones’ Their Satanic Majesties Request in 1967, before going on to engineer legendary albums such as Led Zeppelin’s II, III and IV and The Rolling Stones’ Exile On Main Street.
Other records he engineered include Free’s Highway, Blind Faith’s self-titled, the Stones’ It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll, Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti, and Joni Mitchell’s Shadows And Light, as well as albums by Mott The Hoople and Jethro Tull.
Johns also carved out a successful career as a producer, working on Television’s Marquee Moon, as well as albums by Steve Miller, Free, Humble Pie, Van Halen, Bobby Whitlock and Ron Wood.
Johns is survived by his wife Anet, as well as his sons Evan, Jesse and Will.