The Easybeats frontman Stevie Wright was an amazing performer and one of Australia's greatest rock'n'roll stars, fellow Australian singers say.
Widely regarded as Australia's first international pop star, Wright has died at the age of 68.
It is an enormous loss, music historian Glenn A Baker said.
"There was something about him that was completely irresistible," Baker told the Nine Network on Monday.
Fellow Australian singer Normie Rowe said Wright was an amazing performer.
"The Easybeats were one of the most remarkable pop bands of their time, and I think probably recorded the definitive pop song of the era in Friday On My Mind," Rowe told ABC radio.
Wright, who was also known as Little Stevie, became ill on Boxing Day and was taken to Moruya Hospital on the NSW south coast where he died on Sunday night, The Noise11 music website reported.
The Easybeats are regarded as the greatest Australian pop band of the 1960s.
Baker said the band arrived at a time when Australia needed them.
"We'd had The Beatles tour and we loved that excitement and what we got in the form of The Easybeats courtesy of Little Stevie was a combination of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones wrapped up in one.
"You saw them on television and they were so enigmatic. They were so extraordinary."
Johnny Young, 1960s singer-songwriter and former Young Talent Time host, said Wright was one of Australia's greatest rock'n'roll stars.
"He could take any audience and absolutely slay them with his energy," Young told ABC radio.
"He lived a pretty rugged life at the end of it.
"Everybody knew he had some serious addictions that he had huge problems with, but I like to remember Steve as he was when he was younger."
The Easybeats were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2005.
Their song Friday On My Mind was a number-one hit in Australia, number six in Britain and made the top 20 in the US.
The song was later covered by David Bowie on his Pin-Ups album.
The Easybeats broke up in 1969 and Wright became a top solo artist with his epic song Evie.
But he went on to battle drug and alcohol addiction for two decades.
He last performed at the Legends of Rock Festival at Byron Bay in 2009.
News of his death prompted tributes on social media.
"Sorry indeed. So much the soundtrack of my youth and so influential on this country's musical path. RIP Stevie," one fan tweeted.
Musician Donna G wrote: "Vale Stevie Wright, a true Australian Rock Icon. Man, we will never forget you. Thank you for everything! Rest in peace, legend."
