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Influential rocker who helped define garage punk has died: ‘Left an indelible mark’
Brian LinderMon, February 16, 2026 at 4:30 AM CST
Wayne Proctor, an influential guitarist and songwriter with the band We the People, has died.
While the band did not find overwhelming fame, it did have an impact on the music world.
“His songwriting helped define garage punk,” WORJ posted on Facebook.
The station wrote that Proctor’s wife, Valerie, wrote on Facebook that she and her husband went shopping and had lunch on Friday before he “suffered a coronary event that happened quickly, and without notice.”
“Looking for him while doing yardwork, I discovered him collapsed, not breathing, no pulse,” she wrote according to WORJ. “That moment ended my world. Destroyed, shattered into a million tiny razor sharp shards. It wasn’t supposed to end this way, not today, not this soon.”
The station said his wife wrote that “those that knew Wayne, loved Wayne.”
Proctor was a native of Leesburg, Florida. His obituary said his musical journey began at a young age, and he became a pivotal figure in Orlando’s music scene.
It credited him with crafting many of We The People’s iconic songs including “My Brother, The Man” and “Mirror Of Your Mind.”
Proctor left We The People in 1967 for college to avoid the Vietnam War but he remained active in music for the rest of his life.
“Wayne Proctor’s legacy is that of a true architect of garage rock, whose raw energy and distinctive songwriting left an indelible mark on the genre,” his obit read. “His music continues to inspire and resonate with new generations of listeners, cementing his place in the annals of American rock and roll.”
