Dick Wagner, guitarist who worked with Alice Cooper, Kiss, dies at 71

Dick Wagner, the skilled guitarist who worked with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Kiss and Aerosmith, and also co-wrote many of Cooper's hits, died of respiratory failure Wednesday, his personal manager and business partner said yesterday. He was 71.

Susan Michelson, Wagner's partner in Desert Dreams Productions, said the performer died at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center in Arizona. He had been there for three weeks, Michelson said.

Wagner grew up in Michigan. His website said he went on tour with Reed in 1973 and joined Cooper a year later. He co-wrote the Cooper hits "Only Women Bleed," "You and Me" and "I Never Cry."

Wagner is survived by a daughter and two sons. A memorial in Michigan is being planned. -- AP