John Renbourn, the Pentangle guitarist has been found dead from a suspected heart attack in his home in Hawick in the Scottish borders by police.
John Renbourn
The discovery was made yesterday morning after colleagues voiced concerns when he failed to turn up to a scheduled show at The Ferry in Glasgow the evening prior.
The musician was most well known for his work with the 'Light Flight' singing folk band but also forged a career as a solo artist, releasing his final studio album 'Palermo Snow' in 2011.
Describing the "great" artist, his manager of 25 years, Dave Smith, said: "He was just larger than life. Game for anything. He was just finishing off a tour with Wizz Jones - and was looking forward to the next. He was a great teacher - he was always putting himself down as a teacher and running weekend workshops all over Europe, where he would have students come and learn from him."
John originally founded Pentangle in 1967 with late friend Bert Jansch, who died in 2011, but Dave continued to say his solo career was just as important as it stretched over such a huge period.
He added: "Obviously that [Pentangle] was what brought him into prominence.
"But his solo career has been a continuous thing. It never got large because it's very specialist music, but he's had an international fan base because of his influential playing style."
Paying tribute to the folk icon on Twitter, DJ and Catatonia musician Cerys Matthews described John as a "lovely, lovely man".
She wrote: "So sorry and sad to hear of John Renbourn's passing. A loving, lovely man. RIP John, it was an honour and pleasure meeting you."