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Founding member of The Walker Brothers, John Walker, died at his Los Angeles home on Saturday (May 7) after a six-month battle with liver cancer. As a member of The Walker Brothers, Walker had hits with classic tracks such as “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Any More)” and “Make It Easy On Yourself.”

John was born John Maus in New York City on November 12, 1943, but was raised in California. He began his music career playing in the duo, John and Judy, with his sister, before forming The Walker Brothers Trio in 1964 with Scott Engel and Al Schneider. Schneider would be replaced later in the year by Gary Leeds who had been the drummer for The Standells. The group was renamed The Walker Brothers and both Scott and Gary would adopt the surname Walker, even though they were not related to John.

The group secured a recording contract during a trip to England in 1965. Their first hit was “Love Her,” which reached number 20 in the UK, but the real breakthrough was their superb rendition of Bacharach/David song “Make It Easy on Yourself,” which hit number one in the UK and number 16 in the US. Both singles featured Scott on lead vocals.

The Walker Brothers’ second and final UK number one was “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Any More)” in 1966, again with Scott on lead vocals. This was also the group’s biggest hit in the US, peaking at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Walker Brothers disbanded in 1968 and John released the solo albums “If You Go Away” and “This Is John Walker.” The band reformed for three more albums in the 1970s, before breaking up again in 1978.

After taking a break from performing to train as a sound engineer, John released a solo CD in 2000 titled “You” and found himself once again in demand as a live performer. Two albums followed in 2007, “Just For You” and “Songs of Christmas and Inspiration.”

In a statement on his website, former bandmate Gary Walker said: