Mere days after the music fraternity lost both Beastie Boy Adam Yauch and disco icon Donna Summer to their long battles with cancer, the disease has claimed another beloved musician.

62 year-old founding Bee Gee member Robin Gibb has died.

As a member of the Bee Gees, along with brothers Maurice and Barry, Robin Gibb was seminal in defining the disco sound in the 1970s.

The brothers Gibb were responsible for pivotal tracks like Stayin' Alive, To Love Somebody, Words and I Started a Joke, and wrote songs for the likes of Dionne Warwick and Diana Ross.

The Gibb family became renowned for their resilience, with the loss of brother Andy at the age of 30, and Maurice in 2003.

Gibb suffered from increasingly severe colon cancer in recent years, which was heavily publicised. He was hospitalised for much of his final months.