Christopher North, founding keyboardist of the Grammy-nominated rock band Ambrosia, has died at the age of 75. The band announced his death in a Facebook statement. They praised North as a "keyboard wizard" who defined a generation of progressive and soft rock. North had been battling throat cancer and had been hospitalized for three weeks before his death due to complications from pneumonia. North was born in San Francisco in 1951 and began playing in bands at age 13. He founded AmbrosIA in 1970 with David Pack, Joe Puerta and Burleigh Drummond, and the group's self-titled debut album came out in 1975.