Photo: A.M. Saddler / Backstreets.com

Danny Federici, Bruce Springsteen’s longtime keyboardist, died yesterday, April 17, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. The 58-year-old E Street Band member had been fighting melanoma for three years.

Posting about Federici’s death on his website, Springsteen wrote, "Danny and I worked together for 40 years - he was the most wonderfully fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician. I loved him very much…we grew up together."

It was also requested that donations be made in Federici’s memory to the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund.

Federici, who also played the organ and the accordion, began working with Springsteen in local Asbury Park, New Jersey bands in the late 1960s. He was one of the founding members of the E Street Band, and stuck with the group until Springsteen disbanded it in the late 1980s. When Springsteen reunited with the E Streeters in 1999, he was back on board, and remained in the group until taking time off in late 2007 to undergo cancer treatment. Federici’s last performance with the band took place on March 20, 2008 in Indianapolis.

Federici’s playing can be heard on Springsteen classics throughout his career, from Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town through Born in the U.S.A. and Tunnel of Love to The Rising and Magic. He also recorded as a solo artist. Springsteen and the E Street Band have postponed their concerts in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando tonight and tomorrow, but promise to replace them soon.

Springsteen dates:

04-18 Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Bank Atlantic Center
04-19 Orlando, FL - Amway Arena
04-21 Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times Forum
04-25 Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
04-27 Charlotte, NC - Bobcat Arena
04-28 Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum
04-30 Charlottesville, VA - John Paul Jones Arena
05-22 Dublin, Ireland - RDS Arena
05-23 Dublin, Ireland - RDS Arena
05-25 Dublin, Ireland - RDS Arena
05-28 Manchester, England - Old Trafford
05-30 London, England - Emirates Stadium
05-31 London, England - Emirates Stadium
06-14 Cardiff, Wales - Cardiff Millennium Stadium
06-16 Düsseldorf, Germany - LTU Arena
06-18 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Amsterdam Arena
06-21 Hamburg, Germany - HSH Nordbank Arena
06-23 Brussels, Belgium - Sportpaleis d’Anvers
06-25 Milan, Italy - Stadio San Siro
06-27 Paris, France - Parc des Princes
06-29 Copenhagen, Denmark - Parken
07-04 Gothenburg, Sweden - Ullevi
07-05 Gothenburg, Sweden - Ullevi
07-07 Oslo, Norway - Valle Hoven
07-08 Oslo, Norway - Valle Hoven
07-11 Helsinki, Finland - Olympia Stadion
07-15 San Sebastián, Spain - Estadio Anoeta
07-17 Madrid, Spain - Estadio Santiago Bernabeu
07-19 Barcelona, Spain - Camp Nou
07-20 Barcelona, Spain - Camp Nou
07-27 East Rutherford, NJ - Giants Stadium
07-28 East Rutherford, NJ - Giants Stadium
07-31 East Rutherford, NJ - Giants Stadium
08-02 Foxboro, MA - Gillette Stadium