On March 23rd, 2012 singer-songwriter Eric Lowen passed away following complications with ALS (aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease or motor neurone disease), a condition with which he had lived since 2004.

While Eric’s work as one half of acoustic pop duo Lowen & Navarro (also featuring Dan Navarro, cousin of Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro) may not be so familiar to those outside the US, the duo’s work from the 90s and beyond truly raised the bar with regards to singer-songwriter pop.

Best known for writing ‘We Belong’ (a hit for Pat Benetar), ‘I’ll Set You Free’ (a worldwide hit for The Bangles) and ‘Hammerhead Shark’ (covered by David Lee Roth in 1991), the duo wrote dozens of fantastic songs.

The duo released eight studio albums between (including a yuletide release in 2004 and a covers record in 2006) and a handful of live albums between 1990 and 2008, with their second release, 1993’s ‘Broken Moon’ being one of the most consistent; a near perfect album, which showcases the duo’s effortless skills as both musicians and song writers.

After Eric Lowen became too ill to perform, Dan Navarro continued to perform as a solo artist, while Lowen himself oversaw archive releases from the band’s catalogue.

For those unfamiliar with Eric Lowen’s gift as a songwriter, checking out ‘Broken Moon’ or L&N’s underrated follow up, ‘Pendulum’ is strongly advised. If you already own either of these albums, try and remember Eric by giving them a listen if you’ve not recently done so.

You can find out more about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis by visiting the ALS Association’s official website.

A few highlights from Eric Lowen’s career can be seen below.