Beloved American songwriter Tucker Zimmerman has died following a devastating house fire in Belgium. He was 82.
According to local reports, the blaze broke out early Saturday morning at Zimmerman’s home in Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse, near Liège. Neighbors alerted emergency services, but by the time responders arrived, the house was already engulfed in flames. Zimmerman died alongside his wife of 50 years, Marie-Claire Lambert.
Zimmerman was widely admired for his intense, folk-leaning songwriting that first gained attention in the 1960s. After studying composition in Rome in 1966, he moved to London, where he recorded his influential debut album Ten Songswith producer Tony Visconti.
The album earned a devoted fan in David Bowie, who once called it one of his favorites. In a 2003 reflection, Bowie praised Zimmerman’s fierce originality, describing the record as “stern, angry compositions” that he found “enthralling.”
While Zimmerman never became a mainstream star in the U.S., he built a loyal following across mainland Europe. He and Lambert eventually settled in Belgium, where he spent much of the 1980s focused on fiction writing and visual art.
In a surprising late-career resurgence, Zimmerman returned to music in the 21st century. In 2024, he released several new projects, including Dance of Love on 4AD, featuring Big Thief as his backing band. His final release, Music By River Words by Ear, arrived in July 2025.
Visconti paid tribute to his longtime friend, calling the loss “tragic.”
“He was one of my oldest friends,” Visconti said. “David Bowie adored him. If you haven’t heard Tucker’s music, it was like a very dark version of Bob Dylan. I’m all choked up.”
Zimmerman leaves behind a legacy of uncompromising songwriting, rediscovered brilliance, and the quiet respect of some of music’s most influential artists.
😢🙏🙏🙏