Jay Bennett passed away in his sleep this past weekend. Since I didn't see a post about it and there didn't seem to be any discussion in the Wilco thread I'm adding this for anyone who didn't hear.

Ex-Wilco member Jay Bennett dies
Posted 8 hours 54 minutes ago

Jay Bennett, the former multi-instrumentalist with the alternative rock band Wilco, died in his sleep in the Illinois town of Urbana on Sunday (local time) aged 45.

The cause of death is unknown pending an autopsy.

Bennett's 2001 departure from Wilco was acrimonious, and earlier this month he filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Wilco lead vocalist/guitarist Jeff Tweedy.

In a statement from Spain, where Wilco is touring, Tweedy said the band was "deeply saddened" by Bennett's death.

"We will miss Jay as we remember him - as a truly unique and gifted human being and one who made welcome and significant contributions to the band's songs and evolution. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends in this very difficult time."

Bennett joined Wilco in 1994 shortly after Tweedy formed it from the ashes of Uncle Tupelo.

He contributed to such albums as 1996's Being There and 1999's Summerteeth, as well as the band's Woody Guthrie-themed albums with Billy Bragg: Mermaid Avenue and Mermaid Avenue, Volume 2.

Bennett's contentious departure from Wilco played out in the public eye.

His lawsuit against Tweedy alleged non-compensation for his appearance in the 2002 Wilco documentary, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, and sought "unpaid royalties" for work throughout his tenure with the band.

The suit was said to be for at least $US50,000.

As seen in the film, Bennett and Tweedy disagreed over Wilco's creative direction.

After leaving the band, Bennett had a tough time finding the levels of success he saw with Wilco.

A recent post to his MySpace blog indicated that he was set to have hip replacement surgery but was currently uninsured and going to pay for it out of pocket.

Bennett also released four albums of his own this decade, most recently 2008's Whatever Happened I Apologised as a free download under a creative commons license.

At the time of his death, he was working on a fifth album, Kicking At The Perfumed Air.

- Reuters

Rest In Peace.

Turns out a ghost was born when they released that album.

Awful news.

Yeah what sad news. Say what you want about the guy he was such a big part of the great music wilco made on those three albums. He seemed really creative and it is too bad he passed at such a young age.

Former Wilco Member Jay Bennett Died Of Overdose, Coroner Rules
6/23/09, 3:40 pm EST

A Champaign County Coroner ruled that the death of former Wilco member Jay Bennett was caused by an overdose of pain killer fentanyl, Billboard.com reports. An investigation is still underway to find out if the overdose was accidental. As Rock Daily previously reported, Bennett was found unresponsive in his home in Urbana, Illinois, on May 24th. Prior to his death, Bennett wrote on his MySpace page that he suffered a serious hip injury and that because he lacked health insurance, he was unable to have a necessary operation. Bennett, who left Wilco in 2001 after feuding with Jeff Tweedy during the recording of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (as documented in the film I Am Trying To Break Your Heart), sued his former bandmates in early May, claiming he was owed royalties from his tenure in the band. Bennett was 45.

So fentanyl treats chronic pain and apparently he had a patch on his back at the time of his death. Supposedly certain patches had been recalled in the past because they were deemed unsafe and leaked or caused tragedies like this.

I thought that there was fentanyl in his blood, that that there was no indication that he had used patches.

Apparently various news sources are reporting different things. Most are saying that the coroner wouldn't confirm whether or not he used any kind of patch, but then there's this:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090624/ap_ ... jO1QMDW7oF

"Toxicology tests showed the 45-year-old musician died from an overdose of fentanyl, Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup said in a brief news release that noted the drug is found in patches commonly prescribed to treat chronic pain.

The release did not indicate whether Bennett had used such a patch but Northrup told The (Champaign) News-Gazette that Bennett had a patch containing fentanyl on his back when he died May 24 after being found unresponsive in his home in Urbana, 110 miles south of Chicago.

Northrup did not return a call from The Associated Press and his office declined to immediately provide a copy of Bennett's autopsy, saying the investigation remains open."

Thanks. What a sad story. It sounds like someone was hushing up the coroner.

A hip replacement costs about $40,000.