Famed bassist Marshall Lytle, who played on the Bill Haley & His Comets track "Rock Around The Clock," died on Saturday at age 79 after being diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year.

Longtime girlfriend Cathy Smith informed The New York Times that his cause of death was lung cancer.

However, Lytle's niece, Shayna Golda, told the Associated Press that he didn't smoke.

"But performing all those years in nightclubs and bars and being on tour buses and all those things, you're exposed," she said. "He had been a musician from the time he was barely able to walk," Golda said.

While a complete medical examination has not been completed, Lytle's loved ones speculate that years of enduring secondhand smoke led to his deteriorating health.

While Lytle's biggest hit was "Rock Around The Clock," the rock 'n' roll legend was also well known for his group's tracks "Shake, Rattle and Roll" and "Crazy, Man, Crazy."

The Pennsylvania native, born September 1st, 1933 in North Carolina, joined the group as a teenager when it was known as Bill Haley and His Saddlemen. The band changed its name to Bill Haley & His Comets in 1952 after receiving increased attention from the music industry.

While Haley passed away in 1981, Lytle reunited with other members of the band and regularly performed at shows until 2009.

"He's known as the father of rock bass by some people," said Michael Jordan Rush, who published a memoir written by Lytle, in an interview with the Associated Press.

Lytle passed away at his home in New Port Richey, Fla. and leaves behind seven children.