Pink Floyd Artist Dies: Storm Thorgerson, Album Art Designer, Dead At 69; How Did He Die?

Storm Thorgerson, the artist behind many classic album covers, died on Thursday night. He was 69.

Thorgerson died surrounded by family and friends, and his death was peaceful. He had been suffering for an undisclosed illness, reported by some as cancer, for some time, and had suffered a stroke in 2003.

Native of Middlesex, England, he grew up in Cambridge and attended the same high school as Syd Barret and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd.

After college, Thorgerson joined the art group Hipgnosis, where he designed many famous album covers, including most of Pink Floyd's. From the 70s all through the 00s, he designed many covers for Black Sabbath, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Phish, The Cranberries and Muse.

David Gilmour of Pink Floyd said in a statement that Thorgerson was a "constant force in my life, both at work and private, a shoulder to cry on and a great friend. His artwork was an inseparable part of [Pink Floyd's] work. I will miss him."

Thorgerson was a pure visual artist, and reportedly did not really understand Pink Floyd's importance as a band. "I don't have much to say about music. I like it, I just absorb it. I don't have much to say and they ain't let me say anything anyway. It's my job to reinterpret it."