R.E.M.’s long-time touring member, the multi-instrumentalist Scott McCaughey, suffered a stroke recently and fans have raised money to help with his medical costs.
McCaughey toured with the band from 1994 until their split in 2011 and played rhythm guitar, keyboards, provided backing vocals and occasionally contributed lead guitar. He is also the frontman of bands The Young Fresh Fellows and The Minus 5. He was also in a group called The Baseball Project with R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and has played bass for Robyn Hitchcock’s The Venus Three.
His wife informed fans that McCaughey had suffered a major stroke and is currently receiving treatment in San Francisco. She stated: “He is still in ICU and has a long, difficult road ahead to recovery, but with his unsinkable spirit (and with time and hard work) we know that he will come back from this and be back in your town rocking soon.”
McCaughey’s wife set up a GoFundMe account on Monday (Nov. 20), which states that the musician is receiving treatment in San Francisco and that they need help with the costs of his medical bills as well as the extensive therapy that is ahead of him.
She wrote: “As many of you know, Scott McCaughey has suffered a major stroke and is receiving treatment in San Francisco. To all of you who have expressed love and interest in helping him, we have set up this Go Fund Me account to help defray the steep costs of Scott’s medical bills and extensive ongoing physical and speech therapy in the future. “
In the first day of the GoFundMe page being active, fans raised nearly $82,000 (£61,958).
You can donate to McCaughey’s cause here:
https://www.gofundme.com/c3npfr-scott-mccaughey-medical-fund
Article by Valentina Guidi.
He discovered the gem when he was 12 years old and still has it now, claiming it to be why he fell in love with music. He likes to play disc golf when he's not writing about music. He is a one-of-a-kind individual who is always the first to bust out his air guitar on the dance-floor.