Television’s Richard Lloyd Dead At 75

Richard Lloyd, the former guitarist of the legendary New York art-rock band Television, has died. He was diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma — a bile duct cancer — in March and passed away this morning at his home in Chattanooga. "His loving wife Sheila and his dog Willie Mays were with him at the end," his family said in a statement to Rolling Stone.

His death follows the loss of Television frontman Tom Verlaine in 2023. Richard Lloyd was born in Pittsburgh on October 25, 1951. He attended high school in New York City, where his friend Velvert Turner, who claimed to be a protégé of Jimi Hendrix, taught him guitar.

Lloyd disposed of schoolwork and brought his guitar to classes. Television formed in 1973 with Tom Verlaine, Richard Hell, and Billy Ficca recruiting Lloyd as a second guitarist. Television built a following with frequent shows at the iconic East Village club CBGB and worked with producer Brian Eno while getting approached by many labels.

It was 1977 when their groundbreaking debut Marquee Moon came out on Elektra. They released Adventure the following year and then disbanded. They returned with their final LP Television in 1992.

Lloyd pursued a solo career, releasing his debut solo album Alchemy in 1979. He also worked as guitarist and session musician for artists like Matthew Sweet and X's John Doe, and he went on to teach aspiring guitarists in his studio in New York City. He shared nine solo albums and a memoir in 2018 titled Everything Is Combustible: Television, CBGB's And Five Decades Of Rock And Roll.