Renowned guitarist and session musician Hugh McCracken has passed away. The musician, producer and arranger, who was a fixture of the New York recording scene, was an in-demand player for decades, performing on recordings by Paul Simon, John Lennon, Billy Joel, B.B. King, Kenny Loggins and Steely Dan, to name but a few of an enormous list of credits.

According to Noise11.com, McCracken died of leukemia. In the mid-'60s McCracken played in a North Jersey nightclub band called the Funatics. By the latter part of the decade he had established himself in the studio scene, playing on sessions with Laura Nyro and B.B. King. By 1971 he was playing with Paul McCartney on the sessions for 'Ram,' and in fact, he was so in demand as a studio gun that he turned down McCartney's offer to join a new band he was forming, Wings.

He went on to play on a dizzying array of classic albums including Simon's 'Still Crazy After All These Years' and 'One Trick Pony,' Lennon's 'Double Fantasy,' Joel's 'The Stranger,' and 'Gaucho' by Steely Dan.

Fellow session legend Elliott Randall posted the following message to his Facebook page Friday (March 29):