Alan Merrill, the co-writer and original singer of the much-covered hit I Love Rock 'n' Roll, has died after contracting coronavirus.
Joan Jett, who made the song famous, is among those paying tribute after the US musician's death was confirmed by daughter Laura on social media.
Merrill, 69, is the second death in the music world due to COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, announced in the past 24 hours.
Grammy-winning country music star Joe Diffie, 61, also died on Sunday, while folk singer-songwriter John Prine, who received a Grammy lifetime achievement award just a few months ago, is critically ill and being treated for coronavirus symptoms, his family have said.
Posting on Facebook about her father's death, Laura Merrill said she had woken up "normally" on Saturday "with the world at my feet and now today I lay here empty".
She continued: "The coronavirus took my father this morning. I was given 2 minutes to say my goodbyes before I was rushed out."
Ms Merrill said her father had "played down the 'cold' he thought he had" and warned people to take the disease seriously.
"If anything can come of this I beg of you to take this seriously. Money doesn't matter. People are dying.
"You don't think It'll happen to you or your strong family. It has.
"Stay home if not for you...for others. For my dad. This thing is real."
Ms Merrill described her father as "the greatest love of my life" and said she would not be able to hug anyone "because I've been exposed and need to self quarantine for two weeks....alone".
Merrill was born in New York and grew up in Switzerland, Los Angeles and Japan before starting his music career in New York.
I Love Rock 'n' Roll was written by Merrill and Jake Hooker and performed by their band, Arrows, in 1975. It became a global hit when it was covered by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts in 1982, and went on to be performed by a range of artists including Britney Spears, Five and "Weird Al" Yankovic.
A parody version for charity, I Love Sausage Rolls, by LadBaby, became Christmas number one in the UK just last year.
Paying tribute on Twitter, Jett said: "I can still remember watching The Arrows on TV in London and being blown away by the song that screamed hit to me.
"With deep gratitude and sadness, wishing him a safe journey to the other side."
Diffie's death was confirmed by his publicist Scott Adkins, who said he died due to complications from the virus.
The 61-year-old, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, had a string of hits in the US in the 1990s, including Honky Tonk Attitude, Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox (If I Die), Bigger Than The Beatles and If The Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets), and had two albums that went platinum.
He won a Grammy in 1999 for best country collaboration for the song Same Old Train with Merle Haggard, Marty Stuart and others.
Diffie is survived by his wife, Theresa Crump, and five children from his four marriages.
The US has the most coronavirus cases in the world, with more than 136,000 suspected and confirmed infections, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the outbreak.
More than 2,400 people who have contracted COVID-19 have died in the US.
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March 30, 2020 at 07:51PM
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Coronavirus: I Love Rock 'n' Roll songwriter Alan Merrill dies after contracting COVID-19 - Sky News
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