Journey co-founding guitarist George Tickner dies aged 76

L-R: Gregg Rolie, Ross Valory, Neal Schon, George Tickner, Aynsley Dunbar
Journey in 1975 (L-R): Gregg Rolie, Ross Valory, Neal Schon, George Tickner, Aynsley Dunbar (Image credit: Gems/Redferns)

Guitarist George Tickner has died at the aged of 76. He was a founding member of Journey and played on the band's 1975 self-titled debut album before Neal Schon took on sole guitar duties. He also had writing credits on their second and third albums.

Before forming the band as a rhythm guitarist, Tickner was a member San Francisco outfit Frumious Bandersnatch where he met bassist Ross Valory, who would co-found the band with Tickner before serving two long tenures with Journey.

Tickner left Journey after the recording of their debut album to attend Standford Medical School but would go on to open The Hive recording studio with Valory and joined with the bassist and drummer Stevie Roseman in VTR with various Journey alumni guesting on their 2005 album, Cinema. 

Schon paid tribute to his former bandmate on Twitter, writing "RIP George you now fly with the angels" and later posted a video of him playing blues on a Strat with the message "Prayers for George". 

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Rob Laing
Reviews Editor, GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars

Rob is the Reviews Editor for GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars, so spends most of his waking hours (and beyond) thinking about and trying the latest gear while making sure our reviews team is giving you thorough and honest tests of it. He's worked for guitar mags and sites as a writer and editor for nearly 20 years but still winces at the thought of restringing anything with a Floyd Rose.