Andy Paley, Beloved SpongeBob SquarePants Songwriter and Brian Wilson Collaborator, Dies at 72

Andy Paley, an instrumental figure in both the music of SpongeBob Squarepants and the solo career of Brian Wilson, has died. He was 72.

A rep for Paley’s band, Tom Kenny & The Hi-Seas, confirmed the news to PEOPLE. Per Variety and Deadline, Paley died following a brief battle with cancer on Wednesday, Nov. 20.

“We were blessed to have had Andy,” a rep for the Hi-Seas told PEOPLE in a statement. “He truly is the reason all this SpongeBob joy exists in music around the world. He gave us all a purpose and lots of infinite joy that the band will continue to foster in memory of his gift to us and his musical legacy.”

Spending his later years touring alongside the big band fronted by SpongeBob voice actor Tom Kenny, Paley was perhaps best known for his songwriting and production work alongside the likes of Wilson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elton John, Madonna, Patti Smith and others — as well as writing several of the fan-favorite tracks that would go on to define the sound of Bikini Bottom.

In the years since his contributions to SpongeBob, Paley toured extensively alongside his friend Kenny as part of their genre-fusing big band, Tom Kenny & The Hi-Seas. In a statement to Variety, Kenny reflected on his friendship with his longtime bandmate.

“My friendship with Andy and our collaboration — writing songs and my fronting the band that he formed — is one of the greatest true joys I’ve ever experienced,” he told the outlet. “He possessed not only encyclopedic knowledge of all pop music — especially rock ‘n’ roll and girl group — but was also astoundingly astute when it came to art and literature.”

Per the outlet, Paley is survived by his wife Heather Crist Paley, their children Jackson and Charlie, and his four siblings: Sarah, Brewster and Debby and brother Jonathan Paley.