The music world was saddened this week to learn the news that legendary longtime Beach Boys touring musician Jeffrey Foskett died of cancer at the age of 67, as Fox News reports.

Confirmation of Foskett's passing came from the band's famous co-founder Brian Wilson, who took to social media and described himself as “heartbroken” over the passing of his friend and collaborator.

“Jeff was always there for me when we toured, and we couldn't have done it without him,” Wilson wrote.

Speaking to Foskett's unique gifts, Wilson added, “Jeff was one of the most talented guys I ever knew. He was a great musical leader and guitarist, and he could sing like an angel.”

Though Wilson did not go into specifics about Foskett's cause of death, the New York Post noted that the late band member had been battling anaplastic thyroid cancer for some time.

According to the outlet, Foskett's last known social media post came on March 4 of this year, and it included a video in which he was ringing a bell after completing a course of treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he had spent four years attempting to conquer his illness.

Foskett said at the time, “These people have given me what no one else on earth could have...LIFE...Some of the past four years has been trying (I guess that's why it's called a clinical trial). It tries your body, mind and spirit but it has left me THRIVING and most importantly able to meet my grandson, Domenic.”

Those years, Foskett added, had been the best of his life.

The musician's long and storied association with the Beach Boys began, as he explained to the Los Angeles Times back in 2012, when he first met Wilson, with whom he was able to hang out and play a bit of music, and who then implored Foskett to “stay in touch” -- which he most certainly did.

It was a few years later that Foskett was asked by Beach Boys co-founder Mike Love to join his touring band, Endless Summer.

After a decade touring with that group, Foskett endeavored to launch a solo career, but ultimately rejoined Wilson and resumed touring with his group, eventually also making his way back to Love's band.

Paying tribute to Foskett in addition to Wilson was actor John Stamos, whose close artistic association with the Beach Boys and friendship with the late musician dates back decades.

Writing on Instagram in the wake of Foskett's death, Stamos said, “Today, I lost more than a friend; I lose a part of my soul, my history,” adding, “[t]his morning, when I got the news, uncontrollable tears streamed down my face, a physical manifestation of the heartache within.”

“Jeff taught me that love is a beautiful and necessary part of our lives, but it comes with a cost – the unbearable pain of loss,” Stamos observed, but surely he, Foskett's family, and legions of Beach Boys fans the world over can take comfort in the enduring musical legacy he leaves behind.