John Sykes, a guitarist who played with Thin Lizzy before joining Whitesnake for its smash 1987 album and later forming Blue Murder, has died of cancer at 65.

John Sykes, a veteran hard-rock guitarist who was a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and the Tygers of Pan Tang, has died, according to a post on his official Facebook page. He had battled cancer for several years;

The English guitarist co-wrote Whitesnake's 'Is This Love,' one of the defining power ballads of late-'80s hard rock.