The death of John Forté, the Grammy-nominated recording artist who died in January at the age of 50, stemmed from a fatal combination of influenza and a seizure condition, according to state officials.
Brenna Galvin, deputy director of communications at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, said in a statement that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that Forté died from complications of Influenza A. She added that a recent history of seizures was a “contributory factor.”
Forté died suddenly in his Chilmark home just over four months ago and was discovered by a neighbor. His death was a shock to the Island community, especially among friends and musicians.
Forté, who first visited Martha’s Vineyard in 1998 at the invitation of fellow musician Ben Taylor, fell in love with the Island and its sense of community. He moved to the Vineyard around 10 years later and met Lara Fuller, a freelance photographer who would become his wife and the mother of their children, Wren and Haile. He is remembered for his kindness and devotion to his children and developed a close connection with Island artist Carly Simon, who he considered a mentor and “spiritual godmother.”
Born in Brooklyn, where he learned the violin, Forté first came to New England when he was invited to attend Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. He later entered New York University as a music business major but dropped out to work at Rawkus Records.
He has multiple albums under his name and his celebrated career kicked off through his work with the Fugees, a musical group he was introduced to in the early 1990s. He co-wrote and produced several songs on the Fugees’ multi-plantinum and Grammy-winning 1996 album “The Score.” Forté was nominated for a Grammy for his work on the album at the age of 21.
His final album, “Vessels, Angels & Ancestors,” was released in 2021, and in a 2024 interview for Arts & Ideas, a magazine published by The Martha’s Vineyard Times, Forté was asked about the long journey of his music and how all of the talented musicians he had had a chance to perform with impacted what he was currently working on. In his response, Forté’s love for his children shaped his answer.
“It’s mind-blowing. It really is. But the music that I think of most recently, its purpose — it feels like a time capsule for my children. I make music now that I really want my kids to like, when they’re able to receive it,” he said in the interview.
A memorial service celebrating Forté’s life, which featured the recording artists Lauryn Hill, Wycliff Jean of The Fugees and Carly Simon among other performers and dear friends from every corner of his life, was held at the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury in March.