Fred Simon, the last living original member of ’70s R&B group The Lost Generation, has passed away at 74. Simon’s wife Diana shared the news in a Facebook announcement she posted the morning of Friday, April 3.
She wrote on the band’s official profile, “It’s taken me a minute to be able to write this post. So with a very heavy heart, my husband Fred Simon, the last original member and one of the founding members of The Lost Generation and New Lost Generation has died.” The group’s other original members included Simon’s brother, lead singer Lowrell Simon, along with Jesse and Leslie Dean and Larry Brownlee. Soul Tracks summed up the band’s early impact by writing, “Few Chicago-based vocal groups of the early 1970s captured the blend of streetwise soul and social consciousness as effectively as The Lost Generation.“
Diana did not mention her husband’s cause of death, and no information regarding it has been publicly released at this time.
She shared a flyer announcing that a Home Going Service for Simon will be held on April 17 at Leaks and Sons Funeral Home in Chicago, Illinois. A viewing will take place on Thursday, April 16 and the interment will follow the Friday funeral at Mt. Glenwood Cemetery South.
Fans Responded to the News of Fred Simon’s Death With Condolences
The Lost Generation was formed in Chicago in 1969, and the group released their first single, “The Sly, The Slick, And The Wicked,” to major nationwide success.
In the comments of Diana’s announcement about Simon’s death, a fan recalled, “Their record was so influential that groups calling themselves Sly, Slick & Wicked after the song and were going around saying they were the Lost Generation.”
Following their breakout success, the group released two more major hits: “Someday” and “Talking the Teenage Language.” After they disbanded in 1974, Simon stayed committed to music, leading to the eventual formation of The New Lost Generation.
Another fan in the Facebook comments called him “a legend and a great man,” before telling Diana, “He will be truly missed. Stay strong.”
Fred Simon Gave One of His Final Performances in October 2025
The band, which rebranded as The New Lost Generation around the turn of the millennium, shared a video of a performance of their 2001 hit “Thinkin’ Bout Cha” the October before Simon’s death. Charles “Sweet Charlie” Jackson, who joined the group around the time they rebranded, was on the mic as the lead vocalist, while backing vocals were performed by Simon and his wife Diana.
Who the f even knows who he/they are??
Christ, the online world has so fked reality.
Bye,My you rest peacefully 😭