Johnny Winter, a legendary blues guitarist who was prominent in the 1960s and 1970s electric blues movement, was found dead at age 70 on Wednesday, July 16, in a hotel room in Zurich, Switzerland.

"His wife, family and bandmates are all saddened by the loss of one of the world's finest guitarists," his publicist Carla Parisi said. "An official statement with more details shall be issued at the appropriate time." According to her, Winter had been on tour in Europe and most recently had played in Wiesen, Austria. Reuters also reported that while the cause of death remains unknown, there was no sign of third-party involvement, and early evidence indicated a medical cause.

The Beaumont, Texas-born artist considered blues as "living music" and "necessity" and released his first LP "The Progressive Blues Experiment" back in 1968. In the following year he made his major-label debut via Columbia Records with a self-titled album.

Winter, who was born with albinism, was undoubtedly passionate about African-American blues tradition, as Rolling Stone previously reported in December 1968.

"If you can imagine a 130-pound, cross-eyed albino with long fleecy hair playing some of the gutsiest, fluid blues guitar you ever heard, then enter Johnny Winter. At 16, [Mike] Bloomfield called him the best white blues guitarist he ever heard. ... No doubt about it, the first name that comes to mind when you ask emigrant Texans about the good musicians that stayed back home is Winter's."

Although the "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" hitmaker influenced Eric Clapton and Michael Bloomfield to bring in traditional blues techniques into classic rock genre, he considered himself more of a blues musician than a rocker, as he enjoyed playing alongside some of the most highly acclaimed blues figures, including B.B. King, Willie Dixon, Sonny Terry, James Cotton and Muddy Waters. He was also inducted to the Blues Foundation's Blues Hall of Fame in 2003.

At this year's South by Southwest festival, the raspy-voiced singer debuted a documentary on his life, "Johnny Winter: Down and Dirty," that deals with his long-term struggle with opiate addiction.

Johnny Winter has released nearly 20 studio LPs including his most recent album "Roots," which came out in 2011. Follow-up "Roots 2," which will feature contributions by Clapton, Ben Harper and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, is set for a release on Sept. 2.