A founding guitarist of Television dies at 75
Richard Lloyd, a founding member and guitarist of the punk band Television, has died at 75, his family confirmed. He died on Saturday morning at his home in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with his wife Sheila and his dog Willie Mays beside him, according to a family statement provided to Rolling Stone. Outlets including Rolling Stone, Vulture, Parade, Hits Daily Double, Yahoo, AOL, inkl and the Guardian reported the death.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7][S8]
The family attributed the death to cholangiocarcinoma, a cancer of the bile ducts that Lloyd had been diagnosed with in March 2026. A crowdfunding effort had disclosed that tumors had formed in his liver, including one that surgeons could not remove.[S1]
Television and the birth of the CBGB scene
Television came together in 1973 and became a central part of the punk movement that clustered around CBGB, the famed former club on the Bowery in New York City. The group was among the first punk bands to take the stage at the downtown venue, which until then had mostly presented country and bluegrass acts.[S1]
Lloyd saw himself as a decisive force in the club's rise. In a 2007 interview he described CBGB as the best-known rock club ever to exist and claimed he had created it, calling himself the unseen power behind it.[S1]
Marquee Moon and a lasting guitar legacy
Television released only two studio albums at its late-1970s peak. The first, Marquee Moon, arrived in 1977 and has since been widely treated as a landmark recording; Rolling Stone placed it at No 107 on its 2023 ranking of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It remains regarded as one of rock's most influential guitar-driven records.[S1]
A 2005 Guardian review captured the reach of his playing, noting that his guitar came through louder in an uneven mix, making it impossible to miss how much ground he covered, with sharp chords, agile fills and cascading solos in the Van Halen manner pouring from his hands.[S1]
