Sterling Morrison, founding member and guitarist of
The Velvet Underground, died in Poughkeepsie, New York, from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, one day after his 53rd birthday. He left the group in August
1971 and rejoined it in
1992 for a European tour. In the 1980s, he became a tugboat captain in Houston. The Velvet Underground were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in
1996.