Earlier this week, I found myself perusing Todd Rundgren’s Wikipedia page, going down my usual rock ’n’ roll rabbit hole searching for half-useful trivia tidbits. For example: Did you know Rundgren used to play a psychedelic-painted Gibson SG called “The Fool,” which Eric Clapton used during his time in Cream? The more you know.
Scrolling through Rundgren’s long list of production credits, I was reminded of his work with one of my favorite ‘70s bands: Badfinger. The band behind such hits as “Come and Get It” [1969, #7 US], “No Matter What” [1970, #8 US], “Day After Day” [1971, #4 US], and “Baby Blue” [1972, #14 US], the latter immortalized as the closing song in the final episode of Breaking Bad.
Then I learned something shocking: on March 1st, 2025, Joey Molland, the last surviving member of Badfinger’s classic lineup, passed away due to complications from diabetes. He was 77, and died where he had lived for the last four decades in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. As a fan of classic rock, this hit me hard.
My love for Badfinger goes back to high school, when Sean, Mildly Pleased Editor-in-Chief, acquired a hard drive known as the “Bob Drives,” brimming with albums and songs from all the greats. I can’t overstate how valuable this resource felt back in 2005. There was no Spotify. If you wanted music on your iPod or CD player, you had to buy it at a store, purchase it on iTunes, or brave some sketchy download site and risk being apprehended by the cyber police.
The Bob Drives helped kindle my love for countless rock and roll legends, but none more profoundly than Badfinger. I remember discovering they were behind “Day After Day” and “No Matter What”, songs I knew and loved from classic rock radio, though I’d never known who performed them.
But it was “Come and Get It” that hooked me. “What is this?” I remember thinking. “It’s so catchy. It sounds like the Beatles.” And wouldn’t you know it? The song was written by Sir Paul McCartney himself.
But McCartney didn’t just hand them a hit, he helped launch their career. George Harrison and John Lennon were also instrumental in the band’s story. George Harrison especially had a soft spot for the band, admiring their tight musicianship and harmonies. Badfinger was one of the few successful acts signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records and regularly collaborated on Beatles-related projects.
They played on several tracks on Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, including “My Sweet Lord,” “Isn’t It a Pity,” and “Wah-Wah.” They backed Ringo Starr on his hit “It Don’t Come Easy,” played on a few tracks on John Lennon’s Imagine and played alongside George at the Concert for Bangladesh
All four members; Pete Ham, Tom Evans, Joey Molland, and Mike Gibbins, were talented songwriters and vocalists. Ham and Evans even wrote “Without You,” which became a #1 hit for Harry Nilsson (earning him a Grammy) and later became a #3 hit when it was covered by Mariah Carey in 1994.
But fortune and misfortune are part of the same coin, and Badfinger endured some of the worst misfortune a band could. Their manager, Stan Polley, promised to expand their reach in the U.S., but instead mismanaged their finances through a web of holding companies and shady contracts. Royalties were withheld. Legal entanglements piled up. The band was left broke and bitter despite their success.
Then, in 1975, Pete Ham took his own life at the age of 27. Evans and Molland tried to carry on, reforming the band in 1978 and releasing two more albums, but with little fanfare. By 1983, weighed down by lawsuits and lingering financial ruin, Tom Evans also took his own life at 36.
Joey Molland and drummer Mike Gibbins had a falling out over the years, though Molland says they started talking again not long before Gibbins passed away in 2005. Joey kept the Badfinger name alive, touring as “Joey Molland’s Badfinger”. I was lucky enough to catch this incarnation in 2008, and it remains one of my most cherished concert memories.
Joey was an excellent lead guitarist. His style was punchy and melodic, full of heart and bite. You hear it best in “Baby Blue”, a crisp, hooky riff capped by a short but sweet solo. His own songs, like “Suitcase,” or “Got to Get Out of Here” were rougher-edged, stories of drug busts, burnout, and displacement. If Ham and Evans were the McCartney’s of the group, Molland was their Lennon: raw, honest, and stripped down.
It’s always a surreal feeling when the entire lineup of a band leaves us. But as cliché as it is to say, it is true that, “the music will live on forever”. Thanks for the tunes, Joey. Now let’s say goodbye with one of my favorite Joey Molland Tracks…