Joey Molland, the last member of Badfinger’s classic lineup, has died at the age of 77.The news was announced via a post on the Original Badfinger Facebook page, which noted Molland was surrounded by his longtime girlfriend Mary, his two sons and other family members. Molland had been facing health issues, including pneumonia, since last December.Born in Liverpool, England, Molland’s career began alongside Gary Walker, formerly of the Standells and the Walker Brothers. Molland was part of the lineup of Gary Walker and the Rain, a short-lived group whose only album was released in 1968.A year later, Molland was recruited to join the Iveys, which was signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records at the time. His arrival solidified a classic lineup that also featured Pete Ham (vocals), Mike Gibbins (drums) and Tom Evans (bass). The band had recently recorded the song “Come and Get It,” written and produced by Paul McCartney. Released in December 1969, the single became a huge hit for Badfinger (the group changed its name shortly before the song’s release). “Come and Get It” reached No. 7 in the U.S. and No. 4 in the U.K.Molland went on to play on seven Badfinger studio albums: No Dice (1970), Straight Up (1971) Ass (1973), Badfinger (1974), Wish You Were Here (1974), Airwaves (1979) and Say No More (1981). The band enjoyed its commercial peak in the early ‘70s, scoring such memorable hits as “No Matter What,” “Day After Day” and “Baby Blue.”READ MORE: Top 10 Badfinger SongsThrough Badfinger’s association with Apple, Molland also enjoyed further collaborations with the former Beatles members. The guitarist played on George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass and The Concert For Bangladesh, as well as John Lennon’s classic 1971 album, Imagine.Badfinger’s popularity waned by the latter half of the ‘70s, and a move to Warner Bros. did little to help their lagging sales. Turmoil and financial hardship consumed the band, due largely to the embezzlements of their fraudulent manager, Stan Polley.”It was such a great time that I never really paid attention to contracts and stuff and just kind of blindly trusted the business people we had,” Molland recalled decades later. “I wish it would have been different,” he said. “I wish we would have gotten involved with more honest people, more responsible people, but we didn’t.”Things reached a tragic low point when Pete Ham, Badfinger’s lead vocalist and primary songwriter, committed suicide in 1975. The group broke up shortly afterward.What Did Joey Molland Do After Badfinger’s First Breakup?Molland briefly formed the supergroup Natural Gas, featuring members of Humble Pie, Uriah Heep and the prog rock group Aardvark. Natural Gas released a lone, self-titled album before disbanding in 1976.Molland and Evans then opted to revive Badfinger with a new lineup. They released two albums – Airwaves (1979) and Say No More (1981) – but only achieved modest success. Financial woes continued to plague the rockers, and at one point Molland and Evans each had their own rival version of Badfinger on the road.Evans committed suicide in 1983, again briefly bringing Badfinger to an end. But in ‘84, Molland reunited with Gibbins for further touring under the famous moniker, with sporadic performances continuing for years.Molland also embarked on a solo career, releasing six studio albums. His most recent LP, Be True to Yourself, came out in 2020.More recently, Molland has toured as part of star-studded Beatles tributes, joining rockers such as Todd Rundgren, Micky Dolenz and Christopher Cross for performances covering many of the Fab Four’s most celebrated releases.In Memoriam: 2024 DeathsA look at those we lost in 2024.Gallery Credit: Allison Rapp