War co-founder, bassist, and vocalist Morris “B.B.” Dickerson died on Friday (4/2) at a Long Beach, California hospital, “after a long, undisclosed illness,” reports Billboard. He was 71.

Dickerson’s co-writing and basslines helped define such War classics as “Low Rider,” “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” “The Cisco Kid,” “Summer,” and more, and he contributed lead vocals to their psychedelic soul masterpiece “The World Is A Ghetto.”

Dickerson was in War from the beginning, when they were backing former Animals singer Eric Burdon, and he remained with the band throughout the 1970s before departing in 1979. He later played in the War offshoot Lowrider Band.

Rest in peace, B.B.