Brit Turner, the drummer and founding member of the Atlanta-based country rock band Blackberry Smoke, died Sunday. He was 57. Turner was diagnosed with cancer of the brain, glioblastoma, and underwent surgery to remove the tumor in November 2022. The band confirmed his death in a post on social media.
“It is with the deepest sorrow that we inform everyone that our brother @britturner13 has moved on from this life. If you had the privilege of knowing Brit on any level, you know he was the most caring, empathetic, driven and endearing person one could ever hope to meet,” the band wrote. “Brit was Blackberry Smoke’s True North, the compass that instituted the ideology that will continue to guide this band.”
“Brit has battled glioblastoma since his diagnosis in the fall of 2022 and fought every day,” the band wrote.
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“If you had the privilege of knowing Brit on any level, you know he was the most caring, empathetic, driven and endearing person one could ever hope to meet. Brit was Blackberry Smoke’s True North, the compass that instituted the ideology that will continue to guide this band.”
Formed in 2000, Blackberry Smoke revitalized Southern rock with their country music and great guitar licks. George Jones sang on their 2009 album Little Piece of Dixie and the group opened for Guns N’ Roses on a 2019 tour.
