Richard Lloyd, the guitarist of Television and a core part of the CBGB and the ’70s New York punk rock scene, has died at the age of 75.
His family issued a statement to Rolling Stone, revealing that the guitarist died on Saturday morning at his home in Chattanooga, Tennessee. “His loving wife Sheila and his dog Willie Mays were with him at the end.”
Lloyd was diagnosed with bile duct cancer in March 2026. In August, a GoFundMe was set up to support his treatment and cover medical expenses. At the time, Sean Seymour, who played bass in his solo project, revealed the extent of his condition.
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“He has tumors in his liver, including one located dangerously close to a major blood vessel,” Seymour wrote. “Because of its location, doctors cannot safely operate to remove it at this time.” His health also forced him to stop touring.
“For a working musician, that’s devastating – not only because performing is what he loves, but because touring is his primary source of income.”
Lloyd’s playing was a core part of Television, with the twin-guitar dynamic between Lloyd and frontman Tom Verlaine, along with their genre-blending approach, helping the band stand out from their peers. The band’s debut album, Marquee Moon, released in 1977, is considered one of the defining releases of ’70s rock and the punk era.
Despite their limited output – which consisted of the 1977 release, its follow-up, 1978’s Adventure, and 1992’s Television – the band’s technicality and songwriting prowess, which drew from jazz, art-rock, proto-punk and even jam bands, cemented their legacy.
“I wanted to make a dent in rock history,” Lloyd told Guitar World earlier this year. “That was my goal, and that came true.
“We made a difference with how rock was thought of. I’m proud of that. Tom didn’t want to talk about that… he thought he was above mentioning the past. But I’m extremely proud. I know we made a difference.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 25, 1951, Lloyd initially played drums before his growing fascination with the guitar led him to switch instruments.
“The guitar was a powerful motivator. I began trying to bend strings, and I wanted to go electric right away. I’m not fond of acoustic; it doesn’t suit me. I have one, and I can play. I found it’s a ruthless, uncaring energy that wanted to go through me and evict me from my own body. It caused my arm to buzz for two weeks! So I knew what electricity was, and the guitar and electricity were mighty fine.”
In his teens, Lloyd was an avid music fan and, after meeting a Brooklyn guitarist who claimed to know Hendrix, became a regular at Hendrix shows, as well as those by Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Jeff Beck Group and the Grateful Dead.
After dropping out of high school, Lloyd moved to Boston, where he even ended up playing with John Lee Hooker. After a stint in Los Angeles, he became more deeply involved in New York’s proto-punk scene.
An encounter with a certain Tom Miller – who would later change his last name to Veraline – in the summer of 1973 would mark the start of Television.
“Those are songs we did in our live act,” he said, speaking about Marquee Moon.
“In the beginning, with Richard Hell [on bass], it was very haphazard musically. But when Fred Smith took over after quitting Blondie – which was considered a smart move because Blondie were not well-respected compared to Television – things changed.
“When we went to record, I had these lead parts for the verses at the beginning; I had most of that stuff. But the song Marquee Moon didn’t come until much later. I remember rehearsing it and playing it.”
The band broke up following the release of 1978’s Adventure. In 1979, Lloyd launched his first solo album, Alchemy. Over the course of his career, he released seven more albums, with the latest being 2018’s The Countdown. He also played live and toured regularly until very recently.
“For many years I wouldn’t touch Television songs,” he shared. “But as the last functioning member of the band, I have a responsibility to the fans. I play a number of Television songs, my own songs, and some covers, so everybody has a good time.”
