In a Facebook post shared via the musician’s account, the family of Richard Swift has revealed the cause of his death last week at the age of 41.
“Yes, Richard Swift suffered from alcohol addiction, and it’s ultimately what took his life,” said Swift’s family in a joint statement with Swift’s record label Secretly Canadian and Next Wave Management. “Richard had checked himself into rehab for multiple stays over the past two years, but his body gave out before he could overcome the disease.”
In June, Swift was diagnosed with hepatitis and kidney and liver distress, and despite the best efforts of multiple hospitals, he was moved to hospice care per his wishes when his body did not respond to treatment. Swift died in the early hours of July 3. He is survived by his wife and three children.
Swift performed with The Shins, The Black Keys and The Arcs, in addition to his work as a solo artist. Additionally, he produced albums for The Mynabirds, Foxygen, Damien Jurado and Guster.
His last solo album was 2009’s The Atlantic Ocean, but Swift’s family revealed that he was scheduled to release new music in November. “We do not have a timeline for its completion yet, but we hope to share it with you sooner than that.”
Read the family’s full statement (via Facebook) below, beneath Paste vault footage of Swift performing circa 2011.
An update:
We are grateful to the many fans, friends, artists and collaborators who have shared their thoughts, love and support this week. It has been a bracing force for many of us.
A number of questions have come up surrounding Swift’s life, his work and his death, and we’d like to answer some of them candidly, here:
Yes, Richard Swift suffered from alcohol addiction, and it’s ultimately what took his life. With the support of family and friends and the assistance of MusiCares, Richard had checked himself into rehab for multiple stays over the past two years, but his body gave out before he could overcome the disease. He was diagnosed with hepatitis and liver and kidney distress in June. Multiple hospitals worked to help stabilize him over the course of that month, but his body was unable to heal and, per his wishes and with his family’s consent, he was moved to hospice care. Richard passed in the early morning of July 3, 2018 in a hospice facility in Tacoma, WA. He is survived by his wife Shealynn and their three children Madison, Adrian & Kennedy.
Yes, Richard was working on new music, originally planned for release in November of this year. We do not have a timeline for its completion yet, but we hope to share it with you sooner than that.
With love,
The Swift family, Secretly Canadian & Next Wave Management