Daniel Johnston, one of rock's ultimate loners beloved for his earnest if haunting lyricism, died Wednesday of natural causes. He was 58 years old. The enigmatic singer-songwriter and visual artist had been in and out of the hospital in recent months for issues linked to his kidneys, his brother and manager Dick Johnston told AFP. But the death was "unexpected," his brother said, saying "just yesterday his spirits were great and his ankles were swollen and he was looking and feeling really good."

In between stints in psychiatric care for severe manic depression, Johnston gave new meaning to lo-fi with decades' worth of homemade recordings in which he pours out stories of personal pain and unrequited love set to classic, Beatles-inspired pop.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019