AUGERTIES, N.Y. (AP) — Dick Kniss (photo), a bassist who performed for five decades with the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary and co-wrote the John Denver hit Sunshine on My Shoulders, has died. He was 74.
Kniss died Wednesday of pulmonary disease at a hospital near his home in the Hudson Valley town of Saugerties, his wife, Diane said.
Dick was born in Portland, Ore., and was an original member of Denver’s 1970s band. He also played with jazz greats including Herbie Hancock and Woody Herman.