Bobby Whitlock dead: Co-founder of blues-rock band Derek and the Dominos dies aged 77

Rock singer Bobby Whitlock has died at the age of 77, his manager has confirmed. The music legend was a co-founder of Derek & the Dominos and had a chart career that stretch back to the early 1970s.

The star's manager, Carole Kaye, shared the news on Sunday, revealing Bobby had passed away at 1:20am at his home in Texas, USA. His passing came after a battle against cancer.

As well as being a music maker in his own right, Bobby worked as a sessions musician and played with some of the biggest names in modern music history. He played with Beatles legend George Harrison on his album All Things Must Pass.

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And Eric Clapton was his co-star in the band Derek and the Dominos. The duo became close after playing together after Bobby performed in Delaney & Bonnie and Friends.

Born in Memphis, the singer was signed to Stax Records and released his first album in 1972. His most recent solo album was Where There's a Will, There's a Way: The ABC-Dunhill Recordings in 2013.

Bobby's wife, CoCo Carmel Whitlock, shared a heartbreaking tribute following his death on Sunday. TMZ reports her saying: "How do you express in but a few words the grandness of one man who came from abject poverty in the south to heights unimagined in such a short time?

"My love Bobby looked at life as an adventure taking me by the hand leading me through a world of wonderment from music to poetry and painting.."

She added: "I feel his hands that were so intensely expressive and warm on my face and the small of my back whenever I close my eyes, he is there." The couple had been married since 2005 - when they tied-the-knot in a ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee on Christmas Eve.

Derek and the Dominos are considered 'one hit wonders' as they only ever released one album. However, the record, titled Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, is critically acclaimed and is considered one of the greatest rock albums of all time.

Bobby and his wife CoCo worked together - performing Derek and the Dominoes tracks live and recording material. Variety reports: "In the early 2000s, he began doing club shows with his wife, CoCo Carmel Whitlock (who formerly was married to Delaney Bramlett), performing the Layla songs acoustically."

And Bobby told the Austin Chronicle in 2006, “The songs on that album are as new today as they were then. They just never had anyone perform them that had anything to do with them.”

Due to the success of Bobby and CoCo's versions of the tracks, they released a live album in 2003, titled Other Assorted Love Songs.

Bobby is survived by his wife as well as his three children, Ashley Brown, Beau Whitlock and Tim Whitlock Kelly, and his sister Debbie Wade

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