DANIEL JOHNSTON, whose guileless, homemade recordings inspired dozens of musicians from KURT COBAIN to LANA DEL REY, has died at the age of 58.

A statement by the family of the songwriter and artist says he “passed away of natural causes” at his home in Texas.

He was mourned online by those he inspired, including musician, BECK and film star, ELIJAH WOOD, who called him “a gentle, beautiful treasure”.

 Producer, JACK ANTONOFF praised the way JOHNSTON had “shared fearlessly”.

 Born in California in 1961 and raised in West Virginia, JOHNSTON became known as a songwriter after moving to Austin, Texas.

 His reputation in the city grew after he started handing out cassette tapes of his no-frills home recordings to people in the street.

 A cult figure on the local music scene, he gained wider exposure when MTV filmed a programme on the Austin music scene in 1985 for its series, “The Cutting Edge”.