LD Beghtol, the Brooklyn songwriter who sang on the Magnetic Fields’ classic LP 69 Love Songs, has died, the band announced. His cause of death was not revealed. Beghtol was 55 years old.
Raised in Clarksville, Tennessee, LD Beghtol moved to New York aged 30. He formed Flare, also known as Flare Acoustic Arts League, with guitarist Damian Costilla in 1997. Two years later, the Magnetic Fields’ released the legendary triple album 69 Love Songs, on which Beghtol collaborated extensively, contributing vocals to beloved tracks including “All My Little Words” and “My Sentimental Melody.” Over the years, he continued to play with Stephin Merritt in side projects including the Three Terrors.
Costilla departed Flare after the band’s debut, BOTTOM, but Beghtol kept the group together to release three more albums. He also played in the bicoastal duo moth wranglers and Brooklyn outfit LD & the New Criticism.
In addition to playing music, Beghtol worked for several years at Village Voice, designing art for the paper and hosting the podcast Uncle LD’s High Bias. As a writer, he covered pop culture for outlets including Time Out New York and, in 2006, published the eclectic 33 ⅓ entry on 69 Love Songs, which mixed studio anecdotes with an array of formal and narrative digressions.