Lloyd Price, the '50s R&B vocalist whose early singles were among the first to attract attention from the nascent rock 'n' roll audience, died Thursday at the age of 88. According to Variety, Maxwell Entertainment owner Rickey Poppell posted the news on Facebook, saying, "My friend and Lloyd Price's manager, Tom Trapani, just called to let me know that our friend, Lloyd, passed away last night."

He further added, "Those of us close to Lloyd have been keeping his declining health issues to ourselves for the past five years, while Tom kept me up to date along the way. Lloyd was one of the sweetest, caring and kindest man I've ever known, I'll miss him. My prayers go out to his lovely wife, Jackie."