The 62 year old passed away on Monday morning (16Mar15) at his home in California after years of battling AIDS and cancer.

Fraser was born in London in 1952 and became a founding member of Free at the age of 15. He also performed with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers.

He was diagnosed with HIV and a form of cancer called Kaposi's Sarcoma in the 1980s.

Fraser produced and co-wrote Free's hit All Right Now with singer Paul Rodgers - the song earned the writers a BMI London Million-Air Award in 2006 to mark over three million radio and television plays of the track.

He quit Free in 1972 and formed the short-lived Sharks with guitarist Chris Spedding and drummer Marty Simon. He also fronted the Andy Fraser Band, but he enjoyed most of his success as a songwriter for the likes of Robert Palmer, Chaka Khan, Rod Stewart and Paul Young, among others. Another big hit was Palmer's 1978 tune Every Kinda People.

Fraser reteamed with his Free songwriting partner Rodgers for 1994's Woodstock festival.

His final release would be 2005's solo album Naked... and Finally Free, but Fraser also wrote and sang the song Obama (Yes We Can), to support the campaign to elect Barack Obama as president of the United States in 2008.