He rocked his way to America from Athens and wound up staying in Oklahoma and reinventing the local music scene.

Basile Kolliopoulos, who made Oklahoma City his home-base for his rhythm and blues influenced rock sound that went worldwide in the 1980s, died Monday in Oklahoma City at age 59.

A raspy-voiced singer and guitar player of the Fortune Tellers, the Reverb Brothers and the Fensics, his bands were local nightclub favorites from the late '70s to just months before the crooner succumbed to cancer.

A memorial concert is being planned, said drummer Marty Dillon, 48, who played with the Reverb Brothers. “It's going to be a big void in Oklahoma City,” Dillon said.