Robert Wayne Birch, a bass player that toured extensively with Rock piano greats Elton John and Billy Joel, apparently took his own life. The musician's body was found Wednesday (8/15) near Los Angeles according to TMZ.  The site reports that the scene yielded no note or evidence that someone other than Birch fired the shot that killed him.  An investigation is underway, but an assistant from the coroner's office reportedly told Reuters the incident is '...being investigated as a possible suicide' - the kind of statement that is unlikely to be issued if anything at the scene indicates another cause of death is involved.
RollingStone.com