Rocker Alan Merrill, who wrote and recorded the original version of the hit song "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," died on Sunday...
Rocker Alan Merrill, who wrote and recorded the original version of the hit song "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," died on Sunday in New York after being diagnosed with coronavirus, his daughter told CNN.
Merrill, 69, was a big star in Japan in the 1970s and wrote and recorded the anthem "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" in 1975 with his band The Arrows. He wrote the song with bandmate Jake Hooker, who died in 2014.
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts covered the song in 1982 and the single shot to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry of America Association.
Laura Merrill told CNN that her dad was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York on Saturday morning and immediately put on a ventilator because he had a fever and was struggling to breathe.
