The Tractors leader Steve Ripley dead at 69

Grammy-nominated country star Steve Ripley has lost his battle with cancer at the age of 69.
The former leader of the Tractors died on Thursday (03Jan19) at his home in Oklahoma.
The Tractors scored their biggest hit with Baby Likes to Rock It in 1994, and Ripley also enjoyed success as a solo performer.
He also hosted popular radio show Oklahoma Rock & Roll and invented the “stereo guitar”, utilised by Eddie Van Halen and Dweezil Zappa, among others. Ripley also owned Tulsa’s Church Studio and played guitar with Bob Dylan.
Hanson star Isaac Hanson, a fellow Oklahoman, was among the first people to pay tribute to Ripley on Friday – he released a statement, which read: “Knowing and working with Steve was a pleasure. Whether we were recording, mixing or simply sharing our love for great music, Steve was a wealth of knowledge and a source of encouragement. Steve will always be to me, to all of us, a beloved friend, and an immense musical talent gone too soon.”