Television bassist Fred Smith dead at 77

Fred Smith, bassist for the influential band Television, has died at age 77.

"[Smith] was a great running buddy and exactly the guy you wanted around when road life got wearisome," Television guitarist Jimmy Rip writes in an Instagram post published Friday. "His sense of humor, much like his musical voice, was dry, subtle, to the point, hilarious and always left you wanting a more. Yesterday, he left this world, leaving so many who loved him wanting so much more…of him."

Smith joined Television in 1975 following the departure of original bassist Richard Hell. He played on all three Television studio albums, including their seminal debut, 1977's Marquee Moon.

Television's sound helped shape the alternative scenes to come, particularly 2000s indie bands such as The Strokes and Interpol.

"If you are a lover of melodic bass lines and counterpoint, you could go to school on what Fred created so effortlessly," Rip writes. "He was a natural — never flashy, always essential — always serving the song in ways that only the greatest musicians can."

Aside from Television, Smith played in an early incarnation of the band that became Blondie, and on Television frontman Tom Verlaine's solo albums.

Verlaine died in 2023 at age 73. According to Rip, he and Smith had "big plans to play Tom's music live this year."

"But it just wasn't meant to be," Rip writes. "Thankfully, we were able to say goodbye, 'love you' were our last words to each other."