Greg Brown, Cake founding guitarist, dies suddenly at age 56

Greg Brown, founding guitarist of alt-rock band Cake and the man behind the group’s breakout hit “The Distance,” has died at age 56.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Greg Brown’s passing after a brief illness,” his bandmates announced. “Greg was an integral part of CAKE’s early sound and development. His creative contributions were immense.

Greg Brown performing with Cake on stage. — Guitarist Greg Brown performing on stage with Cake on Nov. 12, 1996.John Atashian/Getty Images

John McCrea and Greg Brown of Cake performing live on stage. — Brown with bandmate John McCrea performing in 1999.Getty Images

“Godspeed, Greg.”

The band did not provide a cause of death but said he suffered a “brief illness.”

Brown helped shape Cake’s quirky, genre-bending sound in the 1990s and penned “The Distance,” the band’s 1996 single that helped launch the Sacramento outfit into the mainstream.

Brown left the group in 1997 before the release of its third album and later co-founded the band Deathray.

In 2023, he released a solo EP, “The End of Something New.”