Former Tucsonan and veteran musician Chris Gaffney died Thursday in Orange County, Calif., after a brief fight with liver cancer. He was 57.
The singer-songwriter, who grew up in Arizona, performed both solo and in bands like Chris Gaffney and the Cold Hard Facts and later in the Hacienda Brothers.
Gaffney, who had “Tucson” tattooed on an arm, played accordion, guitar and sang, while developing a style of music that pulled from disparate genres such as country, rock, honky-tonk, Tex-Mex, norteño and soul.
Gaffney was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, not long after the Hacienda Brothers finished recording its fourth album in January at The Cavern Studios in Tucson. The CD, “Arizona Motel,” will be released June 24.
“Plans are in the works for the band to tour in support of the CD in tribute to Chris Gaffney,” said a note posted Friday on the band’s Web site.
To Help
To help offset Gaffney’s medical expenses, his friends set up a fundraising Web site, www.helpgaff.com.
