Former Scorpions bassist Francis Buchholz has died at age 71. The musician’s family announced the news in a Facebook post on Friday morning (Jan. 23), writing that, “It is with overwhelming sadness and heavy hearts we share the news that our beloved Francis passed away yesterday after a private battle with cancer. He departed this world peacefully, surrounded by love.”

The post, which did not reveal any additional details about the type of cancer Buchholz was diagnosed with, continued, “Our hearts are shattered. Throughout his fight with cancer, we stayed by his side, facing every challenge as a family – exactly the way he taught us. To his fans around the world – we want to thank you for your unwavering loyalty, your love, and the belief you placed in him throughout his incredible journey. You gave him the world, and he gave you his music in return. Though the strings have gone silent, his soul remains in every note he played and in every life he touched.”

Born in Hanover, Germany on Feb. 19, 1954, Buchholz played a number of bands in his hometown before teaming up with future Scorpions guitarist Uli Roth in the group Dawn Road. The Scorpions were originally formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker with three of his high school pals: drummer Wolfgang Dziony, bassist Lothar Hemberg and lead/rhythm guitarist Karl-Heinz Vollmer. After a series of lineup changes, the band released its debut album, Lonesome Crow, in 1972, then broke up a short time later when Rudolf’s younger brother, lead guitarist Michael Schenker, split to join the group UFO.

Rudolf Schenker and Scorpions singer Klaus Meine then jumped ship to join Dawn Road as well, at which point they decided to revert back to the Scorpions name because it had already gained traction with German audiences. The revamped band released the LP Fly to the Rainbow in 1974, followed by In Trance in 1975. And while the controversial image of a nude, pre-pubescent girl on the cover of their fourth album, 1976’s Virgin Killer, stirred outrage and led to alternate covers in some territories, it was 1979’s Love Drive — released on Mercury Records in the U.S. — that finally scored the group their first spot on the Billboard 200 album chart, where it hit No. 55.

During his 18-year stint with the hard rock group — the best-selling band in German history — Buchholz played on 12 albums, including their most commercially successful LPs, such as 1982’s Blackout, featuring the urgent, early MTV hit “No One Like You,” as well as their best-selling album in the U.S., 1984’s No. 6-charting Love At First Sting. That LP blew the band up into international stardom thanks to the driving Billboard Hot 100 No. 25 hit “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” as well as the yearning “Still Loving You” (No. 64).

Buchholz also played on the band’s highest-charting album in the U.S., 1988’s Savage Amusement, which peaked at No. 5 on the album chart and spawned the No. 75 Hot 100-charting “Rhythm of Love.” The Scorpions’ 11th album, 1990’s Crazy World, featured the iconic metal power ballad “Wind of Change,” the Hot 100 No. 4 hit written by Meine after a visit to the Soviet Union as the nation was beginning to emerge from the Cold War thaw; in 2020 Pineapple Street Studios released the podcast Wind of Change, which investigated allegations that the song was was written by or hatched by the CIA as part of an effort to hasten the communist nation’s collapse. That album also contained Buchholz’s only songwriting contribution to the group’s catalog, the hard-charging “Kicks After Six.”

It would also be Buchholz’s final recording with the band, as he was replaced by bassist Ralph Rieckermann on 1993’s Face the Heat. After leaving in 1992, he took some time off from music and wrote the instructional bass guitar book Bass Magic in 1996, then took up with Michael Schenker’s Temple of Rock group in 2012 for a European tour, also joining the band in the studio for Temple of Rock’s 2013 LP Bridge the Gap and 2015 album, Spirit on a Mission.

In a tribute to their late bandmate on Instagram, the Scorpions wrote, “we have just received the very sad news that our longtime friend and bass player, Francis Buchholz, has passed away. His legacy with the band will live on forever, and we will always remember the many good times we have shared together. Our hearts go out to Hella, his family, and friends. R.I.P. Francis.”