How Many Members Of Bad Company Are Still Alive

Bad Company — the band whose name basically screams "we ride into town on horses, rob banks, and vanish before lunch." Formed in 1973, they gave us hits like "Feel Like Makin' Love," "Bad Company," and "Ready for Love." But here's the million-dollar question: how many of them are actually still with us?

Let's Start With the Goon Squad

The classic lineup was a four-man wrecking crew: Paul Rodgers on vocals, Mick Ralphs on guitar, Boz Burrell on bass, and Simon Kirke on drums. That is your Mount Rushmore of rock and roll swagger.

Rodgers was the former frontman of Free, Ralphs brought experience from Mott the Hoople, Kirke was his Free bandmate, and Burrell showed up from King Crimson like a secret weapon no one expected. Together, they formed roughly in five minutes after someone said, "You know what? Let's just make some ridiculously good music."

Four guys. One band. Zero chill. And then three of them are still breathing — which, given how rock bands usually fare, is honestly kind of amazing.

Paul Rodgers: The Immortal Throat

Rodgers is still alive and sounds like he could sing under a collapsing building while the rubble politely applauds him. Born in 1950, the man has been belting out soulful rock since before some of your grandparents married.

He went solo after Bad Company in the '80s and even fronted Queen + Paul Rodgers from 2005 to 2008. Imagine getting recruited by Queen to replace Freddie Mercury's shoes — no pressure, just the most impossible gig in human history.

Paul Rodgers is basically the rock equivalent of a cat with nine lives, except he used some of those lives to get better at singing.

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Mick Ralphs: Still Alive, Technically

Mick Ralphs is also still with us, though the man has had to fight for it. He suffered a stroke in January 2016, which is the rock equivalent of the universe saying, "Okay, buddy, maybe rest up."

Recovery from a stroke is no joke, and Ralphs has faced a long road back. Still, the fact that he's alive and kicking (metaphorically) speaks to the stubbornness that defines classic rock musicians.

Rock stars don't go quietly, and Ralphs is proof of that.

Simon Kirke: The Man Who Literally Keeps the Beat Alive

Simon Kirke, the drummer and co-founding member, is also very much alive. He kept pounding the kit through decades of touring, lineup changes, and decades of everyone else's drama.

At one point, Kirke was diagnosed with health issues that made the tabloids go into full panic mode, but he kept going like a drum machine that runs on stubbornness and black coffee.

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Of all the members, Kirke seems the most unflappable — which makes sense because being a drummer requires the patience of a saint and the aggression of a honey badger.

Boz Burrell: The One We Lost

Unfortunately, Boz Burrell passed away on September 21, 2006, at the age of 57. The cause was reported as complications from his health, and fans around the world mourned the loss of a talented and underappreciated bassist.

Burrell had that rare ability to wallop the bass while simultaneously looking like he was scoring overdue library books. His contribution to the band's sound was quietly essential.

Losing Boz was a gut punch, but his music lives on every time that snappy bassline on "Feel Like Makin' Love" makes you nod your head involuntarily.

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Latecomers and Touring Rugrats

Over the bands' long and winding history, several other musicians have passed through the lineup like musicians at a Champlain Street roundabout. Players joined, left, got replaced, and occasionally argued about who owned the van.

But the original four — the guys whose names are on the legendary debut album — are the ones people really ask about. Mix in a few later members here and there, and things get organized like setting up a kitchen table itinerary.

The Final Score

So to make it crystal clear: three out of four original Bad Company members are still alive. Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs, and Simon Kirke keep the bad company going, while Boz Burrell dances.

In the rock-and-roll retirement plan, this is roughly a gold medal from a competitive well-attending charity gala. Three surviving originals is unusually high for a 1970s rock band without requiring a GPS.

So next time you cue up "Bad Company" on your playlist, throw up three fingers like you're count fresh bread at the deli — three members walkin' and rockin' straight through time.