Jason Molina of Songs: Ohia, Magnolia Electric Co. dies at 39

By Randy Lewis

March 18, 2013 12 AM PT

Ohio-born indie rock singer and songwriter Jason Molina of the bands Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co. died Saturday at age 39 after a long battle with alcoholism, his record label announced.

“Jason is the cornerstone of Secretly Canadian,” read a statement issued Monday by the Bloomington, Ind.,-based label. “Without him there would be no us -- plain and simple. His singular, stirring body of work is the foundation upon which all else has been constructed. After hearing and falling in love with the mysterious voice on his debut single “Soul” in early 1996, we approached him about releasing a single on our newly formed label. For some reason he said yes.”

Early recordings by Molina were released under the name Songs: Ohia, and then he switched to the name Magnolia Electric Co. after his album of the same name in 2003.

PHOTOS: Notable deaths of 2013

The label’s statement, which attributed his death to natural causes, noted that starting in 1997, “He toured the world every year until he had to stop in 2009 to deal with severe alcoholism. Jason was incredibly humbled by his fans’ support through the years and said that the two most important words he could ever say are ‘Thank you.’ ”

Here’s Molina singing “Farewell Transmission” from the “Magnolia Electric Co.” album, which was produced by Steve Albini.

Update, March 19, 4:30 p.m.: An earlier version of this post mistakenly referred to Molina’s band as Magnetic Electric Co. in the headline and photo caption.