According to HeraldTribune.com, guitar player Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt, a Bradenton native who founded CAPTAIN BEYOND, died from a respiratory infection Monday at Manatee Memorial Hospital. He was 63.

"He was one of the true American classic rock guitar players, like Michael Monarch of STEPPENWOLF and Mark Farner of GRAND FUNK RAILROAD," said publicist Billy James from Asheville, N.C. "There aren't many of them around anymore."

In the late 1960s, Reinhardt played with Dickey Betts and Berry Oakley before they joined THE ALLMAN BROTHERS band. He signed on with IRON BUTTERFLY in 1969, shortly after their hit song 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vidda'.

Following the group's breakup in 1971, Reinhardt collaborated with Butterfly bassist Lee Dorman, ex-DEEP PURPLE vocalist Rod Evans and Johnny Winter band drummer Bobby Caldwell in Captain Beyond, which enjoyed a five-year run.

Reinhardt continued to perform in multiple Butterfly and Captain Beyond reunions.

В