Folk rock singer-songwriter P.F. Sloan died Sunday night at his Los Angeles home at 70 years old after a short battle with pancreatic cancer, reported Billboard. Sloan was most known for penning Barry McGuire's 1965 protest song "Eve of Destruction" and Johnny Rivers' 1966 hit "Secret Agent Man."
"Phil was a key element on the music that became the sound of the Sunset Strip. Phil was a true prodigy, signing his first record deal with Aladdin Records when he was 13," said Sloan's representative in a statement obtained by Rolling Stone. "P.F. Sloan's 'Eve Of Destruction' was an anthem for a generation. It is as relevant now as it ever has been."
Sloan, who was born Phillip Schlein, got his start in the music industry during the 1960s-era of the L.A. music scene, according to Billboard. After asking music legend Elvis Presley for a guitar lesson when he was 12 years old, Sloan went on to ink a record deal at Aladdin Records the following year and recorded his debut single "All I Want Is Loving / Little Girl in the Cabin."
At 19, he penned the protest song "Eve of Destruction," which would go on to become one of his most iconic songs. The lyrics spoke of the civil rights movement and anti-war protests that were prevalent in the '60s, according to Rolling Stone. Singer Barry McGuire performed the song, which reached No. 1 on the 1965 Billboard Hot 100 chart. It even earned the attention and respect of folk music hero Bob Dylan.
"There are no more escapes," Bob Dylan once said of the song, as reported by the Guardian. "If you want to find out anything that's happening now, you have to listen to the music. I don't mean the words. Though 'Eve of Destruction' will tell you something about it."
