Willy DeVille, who died on 6 August, 2009 was a songwriter, singer and guitarist of eclectic musical styles best known as the front man of Mink DeVille.

The band, though associated with the punk movement due to their residency at the famous CBGB nightclub in New York, were harder to categorise due to the range of styles of they employed.

Their 1977 hit single Spanish Stroll epitomised their approach, combing classic rock'n'roll, the New York cool of Lou Reed and Latin rhythms. They borrowed liberally from the rich musical history of America, covering songs ranging from Moon Martin's rockabilly hit Cadillac Walk to the doo-wop classic Bad Boy in 1980.

With his pencil moustache, wild bouffant hair style and sharp suit, DeVille resembled a city gangster in his heyday, but the music critic Robert Palmer said: “his macho stage presence camouflages an acute musical intelligence; his songs and arrangements are rich in ethnic rhythms and blues echoes, the most disparate stylistic references, yet they flow seamlessly and hang together solidly.”

Born William Borsey he was born in Stamford, Connecticut, but spent most of his youth in New York. In the 1974 he moved to San Francisco and formed Mink DeVille there. The following year they returned to New York where they became one of the main draws at CBGB alongside the likes of the Ramones, Patti Smith, Television, the Talking Heads.

They released their debut album, Cabretta, in 1977 and went on to produce five more records, though members of the original line-up only played on the first two albums. In 1987 he released the first album under the name Willy DeVille, Miracle, a rock and soul hybrid produced by Mark Knopfler.

Over the next decades he worked out of New Orleans, LA and New Mexico, soaking up the local culture in each location. He also toured Europe frequently. Most recently he was seen sporting long hair and playing acoustic guitar, but still continuing to player a wide variety of styles.

He died at the age of 58 in a New York hospital. "The rock world has lost another one of its influential pioneers," said agent Carol Kaye.