Danny Federici, longtime keyboardist in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, died earlier

Danny Federici, longtime keyboardist in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, died earlier today of cancer at age 58. He’d been battling melanoma for three years, and had taken a leave of absence from the band in November to battle the disease.A posting on Springsteen’s website read as follows:”Danny Federici, for 40 years the E Street Band’s organist and keyboard player, died this afternoon, April 17, 2008 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City after a three year battle with melanoma.The Federici family and the E Street family request that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund. A web site for the Fund is being established and we’ll post its link when it is on line.Bruce Springsteen’s concerts scheduled for Friday in Ft. Lauderdale and Saturday in Orlando performance are being postponed. Replacement dates will be announced shortly.”