Maurice Gibb, bass guitarist and keyboard player of the iconic disco band the Bee Gees, died at a Miami hospital on Sunday. He was 53.
Gibb underwent emergency abdominal surgery at the Mount Sinai Medical Center on Thursday. After the operation he was listed in critical but stable condition.
No time of death was announced, but the Gibb family released a statement at 1 a.m. ET on Sunday.
"To our extended family, friends and fans with great sadness and sorrow we regretfully announce the passing of Maurice Gibb this morning. His love enthusiasm and energy for life remain an inspiration to all of us. We will all deeply miss him."
In addition, the family said they "would like to thank the media and the Miami Beach police department for their kindness and understanding during this difficult time. Thank you."
Maurice collapsed at his Miami home Wednesday with severe stomach pains and was rushed to the hopital. A spokeswoman confirmed that Gibb had experienced "cardiac arrest" before entering surgery on Thursday. During the procedure doctors found Gibb suffering from intestinal blockage.
"It was completely out of the blue," the musician's manager, Carol Peters, told Reuters on Thursday. "No pains or anything beforehand, just all of a sudden, boom."
According to reports, surgeons had to remove half of Gibb's stomach and most of his intestines.
Gibb emerged from surgery in critical condition, but had "opened his eyes, wiggled his toes and feet, so it's good," said Peters at the time.
His brothers Robin and Barry were with Maurice at the hospital.
Formed as a teen pop-rock group in the late '50s the British-born brothers had a string of soulful U.K. pop hits in the '60s and scored the chart-topping U.S. single "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" in 1971. But they really hit their stride in the '70s when they reinvented themselves as a disco act.
When shimmy-heavy Saturday Night Fever hit theaters, the jive-talkin' Bee Gees were propelled to superstardom. The movie's chart-topping soundtrack album upwards of 40 million copies and yielded the sibling group three number-one singles: "Stayin' Alive," "Night Fever" and "How Deep Is Your Love."
Maurice, who frequently sang back-up and harmony vocals, was known to fans as the "funny one," and distinguished by his hat collection. He also battled an alcohol problem.
Maurice and his brothers had lived in Florida for several years and run a music production company, Middle Ear Music, based in Miami.
Maurice is survived by his twin Robin, older brother Barry, his second wife Yvonne and two children. (He was previously married to British pop singer Lulu.)
A fourth brother, Andy, who had a successful solo career, died in 1988 of a drug-related heart ailment at the age of 30.
The seven-time Grammy-winning Brothers Gibb, sampled by everyone from Celine Dion to Wyclef Jean and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, released their most recent studio album in 2001, This Is Where I Came In.