Leslie West, a singer and guitarist best known for co-founding the hard rock group Mountain, has died. West’s brother Larry West Weinstein announced Monday that West had been placed on a ventilator and that his heart had briefly stopped. His death was confirmed today in a statement from his longtime sponsor Dean Guitars, which reads, “With a heavy heart, we are saddened hear about the passing of #Dean Artist and part of the Dean family, Leslie West. Legendary and one of a kind. Rest In Peace.” He was 75.

Born Leslie Weinstein in New York City in 1945, he grew up around New York and New Jersey and changed his last name to West after his parents divorced. His Greenwich Village-based R&B-leaning rock band the Vagrants scored some regional hits in the 1960s, which led to a relationship with Cream producer Felix Pappalardi. West and Pappalardi founded Mountain in 1969, the same year Pappalardi produced Cream’s Disraeli Gears. Mountain was also the name of West’s 1969 solo album, which yielded the song “Long Red.” Mountain’s later recording of the song has been widely sampled on tracks including Jay-Z’s “99 Problems,” Eric B. & Rakim’s “Eric B. Is President,” Lana Del Rey’s “Born To Die,” Nas’ “It Ain’t Hard To Tell,” Chance The Rapper’s “Chain Smoker,” Drake’s “Lord Knows,” and multiple tracks on Kanye West’s Graduation.

Mountain scored an early hit with “Mississippi Queen” from their 1970 debut album Climbing!, a riff-driven Southern choogle that became a foundational text for the heavy metal genre. Two more albums, Nantucket Sleighride and Flowers Of Evil, followed in 1971. After Pappalardi’s departure from the band, West and drummer Corky Laing released a string of records with Cream’s Jack Bruce under the name West, Bruce And Laing. West and Al Kooper of Blood, Sweat & Tears also took part in the sessions for the Who’s mammoth Who’s Next, though their contributions emerged later as bonus tracks on various reissues.

Mountain reformed several times in the ensuing years, including a performance at a 2009 Woodstock anniversary concert that preceded West’s wedding to Jenni Maurer after the show. West’s right leg was amputated due to complications from diabetes in 2011. Over the years he worked with artists including Ozzy Osbourne, Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan, and Joe Bonamassa. He was more or less universally worshipped as a guitar hero; if you believe Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider, even Eddie Van Halen bowed down to Leslie West.

Check out some of West’s best-loved material below.