Alice Cooper and Lou Reed Guitarist Steve Hunter Hospitalized with Irregular Heartbeat

Guitarist Steve Hunter, an original member of Alice Cooper's band and a critically acclaimed recording artist in his own right, has been admitted to a Phoenix hospital after suffering from an irregular heartbeat.

Bravewords reports that the UK-based Cooper fan site Sick Things broke the story, saying that while Hunter's heartbeat eventually returned to normal, "the doctors have kept him in overnight to allow medication to get his normal heart rhythm back and do tests to discover the cause."

Hunter, who is also legally blind due to pigmentary glaucoma, got his start with Mitch Ryder's Detroit before joining Cooper's band; he'd go on to appear on some of Cooper's most popular albums during the '70s, including such classics as 'Billion Dollar Babies' and 'Welcome to My Nightmare.' While Hunter would stay with Cooper until 2011, he kept incredibly busy on the side -- his guitar was a crucial component of Lou Reed's 'Berlin,' and he surfaced as a studio player on some of the biggest rock records of the ensuing decades, including Peter Gabriel's self-titled 1977 album.

While Hunter remained an in-demand guitarist throughout the '80s and '90s, and even joined David Lee Roth's band for a spell, he continued to focus on his solo career, eventually departing Cooper's touring act last year in order to concentrate on his own music. His most recent solo effort, 'Short Stories,' was released in 2008; here's hoping he finds his way to a speedy recovery and is able to return to the recording studio soon.