John Mellencamp’s Longtime Bassist Toby Myers Dead at 75

Toby Myers, longtime bassist for John Mellencamp and the Todd Rundgren-discovered band Roadmaster, died on Jan. 16 at age 75.

“Sadness has entered the Mellencamp band and John over the passing of a longtime member,” said a note on Mellencamp’s website. “Toby was a great contribution to the music, and the band. We will miss him as a friend, and a fellow musician.”

Born Jeffrey Myers on Sept. 26, 1949, in Indianapolis, Myers developed an interest in music as a child and played bass in a music shop next to the laundromat where his mother did his family’s laundry. In 1971 he joined the Indianapolis college funk band Pure Funk, which changed its name to Roadmaster in 1974. After being discovered by Rundgren, Roadmaster signed to Village / Mercury Records, releasing four albums between 1976 and 1980.

Myers joined Mellencamp’s band in 1982 and performed on multiplatinum albums such as 1983’s Uh-Huh, 1985’s Scarecrow and 1987’s The Lonesome Jubilee. He stayed with Mellencamp until 1999, the same year his son Cash was born, and decided to stop touring in order to be a stay-at-home dad. Myers continued to play music after leaving Mellencamp’s band, performing with the groups No Net, Daisy Chain and, occasionally, the Mellencamp tribute band Mellencougar.

Despite the millions of records sold and many arenas packed during his tenure with Mellencamp, Myers remained nonchalant about his success. “We’re getting a lot of good press on this tour, but what’s it mean?” he said during a 1987 TV interview. “Usually you can pick up one paper and read the exact same thing in the next city.”