Kenny Rankin, a former guitarist for Bob Dylan, has passed away at the age of 69.

Rankin died of complications relating to lung cancer. He had been taken ill just a matter of weeks ago, his record label said.

"That he was still at the top of his game is one of the saddest parts of his passing for me," Mark Avenue Records president Denny Stilwell said.

Rankin was one of a series of guitarists who appeared on Dylan's 1965 studio album 'Bringing It All Back Home'.

As well as release his own material, the guitarist also wrote for other artists, and was responsible for Peggy Lee's 'In The Name Of Love'.

In a statement, Stilwell revealed that Rankin had been braced to record a new album before he was taken ill recently.

"He performed the new material in our office over the last few months and his voice was still in its finest form - he sounded absolutely amazing,” Stilwell said.

A funeral for the guitarist is being arranged.

(by Jason Gregory)