Cult folk musician and painter Ed Askew has died. He was 84 years old.
PEOPLE can confirm that Askew had been battling “ongoing health struggles” and he had been in hospice care. However, no cause of death was revealed.
“Ed was a brave gay songwriter from the beginning and I hope more come to know this,” Jay Pluck — Askew’s manager/friend — said in a statement to PEOPLE. “Ed’s music changed the lives of people from many generations and continues to do so.”
News of his death was confirmed on Instagram by Pluck, who wrote that the artist/musician died on Saturday, Jan. 4.
“Rest in Peace, Ed Askew (Dec 1, 1940 – Jan 4, 2025) — we love you forever,” Pluck captioned an Instagram post, which featured a video of Askew performing live and a shot of him standing in front of artwork.
He then quoted lyrics from Askew’s 2013 track “Crazy Angels,” before revealing a memorial will take place in “early spring.”
“Please do reach out to me any time and I will respond as soon as I can,” added Pluck. “More pics to come. Ed was a genius artist and a genius person and I love him.”
Meanwhile, Jerry David DeCicca, who produced Askew’s 2013 LP For the World, paid tribute to the late singer on Instagram, on Sunday, Jan. 5.
“Goodbye, Ed Askew. You were loved and always will be. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life & music. Producing For the World was an honor. ❤️” David wrote on Instagram alongside an image of the late musician’s records and a photo of him with a black dog.
Born in Stamford, Conn., Askew relocated to New Haven to study painting at Yale Art School in 1963.
After he graduated from art school in 1966, Askew was called up for the draft, but instead found a teaching job at a private prep school in Connecticut.
During that time, he began writing songs and acquired his Martin Tiple.
“I must have written 25 songs that semester; all of the material on Unicorn and possibly some stuff on Little Eyes,” he said, per his former record label, Drag City.
In 1967, Askew moved to New York for a few months where he met Bernard Stollman of ESP Disk’, who offered him a contract.
While he resided in New Haven between 1968 and 1986, he performed shows with his band and later, solo. By 1987, he moved to New York City, where he continued to write and record songs, and occasionally perform.
Throughout his career, Askew released 11 albums, including 1968’s Ask the Unicorn, 1999’s These Nights and Days and 2005’s Little Eyes. His final album, London, was released in 2020.
Askew also had a prolific painting career. Throughout the last two years, he exhibited new paintings at Starr Suites in Brooklyn and Xavier Hufkens in Brussels. He was also a poet who performed regularly at Poetry Project and published books.
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