Gary Rossington

LYNYRD SKYNYRD guitarist Gary Rossington has died. The 71-year-old musician's passing was announced by his surviving bandmates earlier today (Sunday, ...

Despite “101 strange things happening," Rossington said that he was happy to know that LYNYRD SKYNYRD's music is still connecting with people. "The notes are the same, and the songs are the same. "I look out and don't see the original band — it's strange. Last December, Rossington told Rolling Stone magazine about LYNYRD SKYNYRD's enduring relevance: "It's a tribute band right now, and everybody knows it's not the original. I don't want to just say, 'Well, we're never going to end,' because I don't want to die and then it end that way — which is a heavy thing to talk about, but I have to." "That's why I was calling it a farewell tour.

Gary Rossington, songwriter, and guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd, has died a the age of 71, the band confirmed on their Facebook page.

"Sweet Home Alabama" musician Gary Rossington died Sunday. The Lynyrd Skynyrd original band member was one of more than a dozen people to survive 1977 plane ...

20, 1977, LYNYRD SKYNYRD BANDMATES KILLED IN HORRIFIC PLANE CRASH](https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/this-day-history-oct-20-1977-lynyrd-skynyrd-bandmates-killed-plane-crash) [emergency heart procedure in 2019](https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/lynyrd-skynyrd-gary-rossington-emergency-heart). Gary was not only a friend, but a collaborator that wrote songs with me and played guitar with me in studio recordings and onstage so many times. Travis Tritt wrote, "I just learned that my dear friend, Gary Rossington passed away today. My heart goes out to Dale and the girls. "'It's all right now, keep on singin' loud.

A year later, Rossington survived a plane crash that took the lives of several band members, including singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and ...

He was also part of The Rossington Band and The Rossington Collins Band. Speaking about the crash to Rolling Stone in 2006, Rossington said, “I’ve talked about it here and there, but I don’t like to. The cause of his death has yet to be given, though he did

The guitarist, who provided the slide guitar lead of “Free Bird,” was hospitalized due to heart problems in recent years.

[Lynyrd Skynyrd](https://pitchfork.com/artists/22962-lynyrd-skynyrd/), has died, the band announced. Rossington has been hospitalized multiple times due to heart problems in recent years, and in 2021, left the band, citing how travel was negatively impacting his blood oxygen levels. “It is with our deepest sympathy and sadness that we have to advise, that we lost our brother, friend, family member, songwriter and guitarist, Gary Rossington, today,” the band announced on

The guitarist had been dealing with health issues over the past couple of decades.

Prayers to Dale and the rest of his family.” “I’m the last one here, so to be able to tell their story and make sure they’re remembered, I’m blessed to be able to do that. In 2016 Krantz-Rossington noted that she and her husband had agreed that continuing to play music was the best thing for him. Skynyrd is, in fact, planning to join forces with ZZ Top for The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour starting July 21 in West Palm Beach, Fla. Tributes to Rossington began hitting social media immediately after the band’s announcement. Signer Ronnie Van Zant, who played on a rival baseball team, jammed with the team after one of their games, playing the Rolling Stones’ “Time Is on My Side,” and the rest was history. Skynyrd, meanwhile reformed in 1987, ostensibly to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the plane crash; the band has continued ever since, recording nine more studio albums and going through a number of number of lineup changes. “We were a little bit of everything, really,” Rossington said of the burgeoning band’s approach. The group continued to build a following through hard touring and tracks such as “Sweet Home Alabama” — its answer to Neil Young’s “Southern Man.” Rossington co-wrote that track as well as other Skynyrd favorites such as “I Ain’t the One,” “Things Goin’ On,” “Don’t Ask Me No Questions,” “Gimme Back My Bullets” and “What’s Your Name.” The first phase of Skynyrd ended on Oct. [wrote that](https://www.facebook.com/LynyrdSkynyrd/posts/765593788258088), “It is without deepest sympathy and sadness that we have to advise, that we lost our brother, friend, family member, songwriter and guitarist, Gary Rossington today. Please keep Dale, Mary and Annie and the entire Rossington family in your prayers and respect the family’s privacy at this time.”

Gary Rossington, founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, has died. "Gary is now with his Skynyrd brothers and family in heaven," the band's statement read.

Drummer Burns left the band in 1974 and was [replaced by Artimus Pyle](https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2017/08/29/judge-lynyrd-skynyrd-film-violates-3-decade-old-agreement/105078536/). “We had a dream back in the day to be in a big band and make it and then it was taken away from (some of) them real quick. [If I leave here tomorrow: Highlights of Lynyrd Skynyrd documentary](https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2018/08/17/what-things-we-learned-lynyrd-skynyrd-documentary/1005540002/) Of Rossington’s innumerable contributions to Lynyrd Skynyrd, his slide guitar work in the everlasting opus “Free Bird” underscores his importance to the band’s sound. Just being able to talk about Ronnie and Allen (Collins, who died in 1990) and share their music with the audience,” Rossington said. (Those who died in the plane crash), they didn’t get a chance to see how Skynyrd developed, how ‘Free Bird’ became an anthem. The band was inducted into the "Gary is now with his Skynyrd brothers and family in heaven and playing it pretty, like he always does." "It is with our deepest sympathy and sadness that we have to advise, that we lost our brother, friend, family member, songwriter and guitarist, Gary Rossington, today," the statement said. [Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.](https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/lynyrd-skynyrd) [The roots: Lynyrd Skynyrd's history in Jacksonville](https://stories.usatodaynetwork.com/lynyrdskynyrd/) [guitarist Ed King](https://www.tennessean.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/music/2018/08/23/ed-king-of-lynyrd-skynyrd-over-the-years/37578693/) (who left in 1975 and was replaced by Steve Gaines in 1976; Gaines and his sister Cassie died in the plane crash). The tour’s name was both a nod to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ill-fated 1977 “Street Survivors Tour” (which was changed to “Tour of the Survivors” following the devastating plane crash) and the realization that the band’s road tenure was likely sunsetting.

Gary Rossington, Lynyrd Skynyrd's last surviving original member who also helped to found the group, died Sunday at the age of 71. No cause of death was ...

“I don’t think of it as tragedy — I think of it as life,” he said upon the group’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2006. Adopting Lynyrd Skynyrd as the group’s name — both a reference to a similarly named sports coach at Rossington’s high school and to a character in the 1963 novelty hit “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh” — the band released their debut album (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ’Skin-’nérd) in 1973. “It is with our deepest sympathy and sadness that we have to advise, that we lost our brother, friend, family member, songwriter and guitarist, Gary Rossington, today,” the band wrote on Facebook.

Guitarist Gary Rossington, the last remaining original member of US rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, has died at the age of 71. One of the band's founding members, ...

[In a post on Facebook,](https://www.facebook.com/davidellefson/posts/pfbid02YQJJJMtJQ5CLkyVHAyDqF4NGivtV4TsfPCJ5TdpojMHXUPiG4PhCd7VoME4sapEHl) former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson detailed his friendship with Rossington, recalling: "It seemed Gary kept his world small to the outside world but he always let me in it and trusted me as a music buddy... To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. Rossington, who was severely injured, had to learn to play again with steel rods in his arm. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read "It was a devastating thing. "Singles are only two, three minutes at the most, and five is lucky. [Skip instagram post by metallica](#end-of-instagram-content-1) You guys are crazy'." [said he was "heartbroken"](https://twitter.com/Travistritt/status/1632563769078435841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw), adding: "Gary was not only a friend, but a collaborator that wrote songs with me and played guitar with me in studio recordings and onstage so many times. The lyrics cautioned that "tomorrow might not be here for you" and "the smell of death surrounds you". [A statement on the band's Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/LynyrdSkynyrd/posts/pfbid02jkWSTqfygP7cVGb4dWBge5ggpWTQRf6MmVwozNhaWQ8McgqTHEs4sWKYdwwswyrCl) said: "It is with our deepest sympathy and sadness that we have to advise, that we lost our brother, friend, family member, songwriter and guitarist, Gary Rossington, today.

Gary Rossington, Lynyrd Skynyrd's last surviving original member who also helped to found the group, died Sunday at the age of 71.

“I don’t think of it as tragedy — I think of it as life,” he said upon the group’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2006. Adopting Lynyrd Skynyrd as the group’s name — both a reference to a similarly named sports coach at Rossington’s high school and to a character in the 1963 novelty hit “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh” — the band released their debut album (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-’nérd) in 1973. “It is with our deepest sympathy and sadness that we have to advise, that we lost our brother, friend, family member, songwriter and guitarist, Gary Rossington, today,” the band wrote on Facebook.

The only member of the US rock band to appear on all of its albums, Rossington survived the 1977 plane crash that killed several of his bandmates.

Twenty people on the plane survived, including Rossington, who was knocked unconscious; he awoke with the plane’s door on top of him. Johnny Van Zant – Ronnie’s brother and Skynyrd’s frontman since 1977 – once said: “I don’t think you can have Lynyrd Skynyrd without Gary Rossington.” Skinner had a zero-tolerance policy for boys with long hair – like Rossington, who was suspended and soon dropped out of school. Rossington co-wrote Sweet Home Alabama, a hit from their second album, as well as several other Skynyrd tracks, including I Ain’t The One, Things Goin’ On, Don’t Ask Me No Questions and Gimme Back My Bullets. Gary is now with his Skynyrd brothers and family in heaven and playing it pretty, like he always does.” “I’m just an old guitar player, and we’ve spent our whole lives and the 10,000 hours of working to understand how to play and do it.

Rossington was the last survivor among the original three musicians who founded what would become the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd in the 1960s.

It was set to appear at a festival in Florida next week, though it was not immediately clear whether the death of Mr. “We wanted to do the guys who aren’t with us any more proud — and keep the name proud, too.” The band still tours. The long-haired musicians named the band, in part, after a physical education teacher, Leonard Skinner, who prohibited boys from having long hair. After meeting while playing on rival baseball teams in Jacksonville, Fla., an “impromptu afternoon jam session” spurred them to start a band, first under the name My Backyard, then the Noble Five — Allen Collins and Larry Junstrom had joined by then — and the One Percent, before they finally became Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1969. [died in 2015 in a crash](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/robert-burns-jr-original-drummer-for-lynyrd-skynyrd-dies-at-64/2015/04/04/df123318-daf7-11e4-ba28-f2a685dc7f89_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_6) after his vehicle struck a tree.

Guitarist Gary Rossington, the last surviving founding member of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, has died, the band announced on their official Facebook ...

Soon, the trio was joined by guitarist Allen Collins and bassist Larry Junstrom, and the crew performed under a handful of names before landing on Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1969. “Gary is now with his Skynyrd brothers and family in heaven and playing it pretty, like he always does. [inducted](https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/lynyrd-skynyrd) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 and contributed to many of the group’s most iconic songs, including “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird.”

Gary Rossington, the last surviving original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the guitarist and co-writer of rock classics like "Free Bird," has died.

Rossington further acknowledged the severity of his heart problems but said, “I don’t know how to do anything else but play… The songs and the music. “I don’t want to just say, ‘Well, we’re never going to end,’ because I don’t want to die and then it end that way. I took a screwdriver, of all things, and stuck it under the strings up at the nut, so it would raise the strings up like a steel guitar. In the 21st century, the group took on more of an image as politically right-leaning, between playing for a Republican convention event, putting out a 2009 album titled “God and Guns” and, as they had since the beginning, displaying the Confederate flag on stage. With the group having booked two tours since then, the “farewell” tag would seem to have been hasty. Then, I tuned the B string down to G — so the G and the B strings were both tuned to G. “I think the good outweighs the bad.” “I think a lot of bands are just copying us,” he told My Backyard spent five years touring bars and small venues throughout the South, with Rossington’s instrument of choice being a 1959 Gibson Les Paul named “Berniece” (in honor of his mother). “Me, Allen [Collins] and Ronnie started this band with a dream of making it big, and that dream came true. A week ago, in response to online fan queries about when or whether the guitarist would be returning to the touring lineup, the official Skynyrd Facebook account replied: “Gary will come to shows for guest appearances as he is feeling well and able.

Rossington's evocative slide playing on his Gibson SG helped make “Free Bird” the group's calling card. Lynyrd Skynyrd Guitarist Gary Rossington Dies.

“I don’t think of it as tragedy — I think of it as life,” he said upon the group’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2006. Adopting Lynyrd Skynyrd as the group’s name — both a reference to a similarly named sports coach at Rossington’s high school and to a character in the 1963 novelty hit “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh” — the band released their debut album (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ’Skin-’nérd) in 1973. “It is with our deepest sympathy and sadness that we have to advise, that we lost our brother, friend, family member, songwriter and guitarist, Gary Rossington, today,” the band wrote on Facebook.

Rossington was the last surviving original founding member of the Southern rock band, known for its anthemic "Free Bird," among many other hit songs.

"I don't think of it as tragedy — I think of it as life," he said upon the group's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2006. A collection of country-tinged blues-rock and Southern soul, the album included now-classics like "Tuesday's Gone," "Simple Man" and "Gimme Three Steps," but it was the closing track, the nearly 10-minute "Free Bird," that became the group's calling card, due in no small part to Rossington's evocative slide playing on his Gibson SG. "It was a devastating thing," he told Rolling Stone in 2006. According to Rolling Stone, it was during a fateful Little League game, Ronnie Van Zant hit a line drive into the shoulder blades of opposing player Bob Burns and met his future bandmates. He survived a car accident in 1976 in which he drove his Ford Torino into a tree, inspiring the band's cautionary song "That Smell." "It is with our deepest sympathy and sadness that we have to advise, that we lost our brother, friend, family member, songwriter and guitarist, Gary Rossington, today," the band wrote on Facebook.

Guitarist Gary Rossington, the last remaining original member of US rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, has died at the age of 71. One of the band's founding members, he appeared on all of their albums and co-wrote the 1974 hit Sweet Home Alabama.

[In a post on Facebook,](https://www.facebook.com/davidellefson/posts/pfbid02YQJJJMtJQ5CLkyVHAyDqF4NGivtV4TsfPCJ5TdpojMHXUPiG4PhCd7VoME4sapEHl) former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson detailed his friendship with Rossington, recalling: "It seemed Gary kept his world small to the outside world but he always let me in it and trusted me as a music buddy... To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. Rossington, who was severely injured, had to learn to play again with steel rods in his arm. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read "It was a devastating thing. "Singles are only two, three minutes at the most, and five is lucky. [Skip instagram post by metallica](#end-of-instagram-content-1) You guys are crazy'." [said he was "heartbroken"](https://twitter.com/Travistritt/status/1632563769078435841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw), adding: "Gary was not only a friend, but a collaborator that wrote songs with me and played guitar with me in studio recordings and onstage so many times. The lyrics cautioned that "tomorrow might not be here for you" and "the smell of death surrounds you". [A statement on the band's Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/LynyrdSkynyrd/posts/pfbid02jkWSTqfygP7cVGb4dWBge5ggpWTQRf6MmVwozNhaWQ8McgqTHEs4sWKYdwwswyrCl) said: "It is with our deepest sympathy and sadness that we have to advise, that we lost our brother, friend, family member, songwriter and guitarist, Gary Rossington, today.

'Sweet Home Alabama' guitarist was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

[Wayfair Coupon - 20% Off Sitewide](https://www.wsj.com/coupons/wayfair) No cause of death was given. Rossington, who was 71 years old, died on Sunday, the group said in a Facebook post.

Gary Rossington, the guitarist of Lynyrd Skynyrd, has died at 71. Rossington was the last surviving original member of the band, outlasting an infamous 1977 ...

After being signed by Blood, Sweat & Tears’ Al Kooper in 1972, Skynyrd released their debut, (Pronounced ‘Leh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd), in 1973, cementing their legacy as one of southern rock’s biggest bands with hits like “Simple Man” and “Gimme Three Steps.” Most notably, that album featured (As part of a settlement with the widows of two original members, Rossington was required to be a member of any future iterations of Skynyrd.) Since reuniting, Skynyrd has continued to record and tour through today. Rossington broke two arms and a leg and punctured multiple organs in the crash, and was left to carry on his band’s legacy when they reformed in 1987, as one of the only pre-crash members and the only original one.

Gary Rossington, the last surviving original member and original guitarist for the rock band Lynard Skynard, passed away at the age of 71 yesterday.

RIP Gary Rossington, God Bless the Lynyrd Gary was not only a friend, but a collaborator that wrote songs with me and played guitar with me in studio recordings and onstage so many times. Photo via Lynard Skynard Official Facebook Page

Gary Rossington, el último miembro original sobreviviente de Lynyrd Skynyrd y que también ayudó a fundar el grupo, ha muerto.

Rossington dijo a Rolling Stone que nunca había considerado a Skynyrd como una banda trágica, pese al drama y la muerte en torno al grupo. El disco, una colección de blues rock con toques de country y soul sureño, incluía temas que se convirtieron en clásicos, como “Tuesday’s Gone”, “Simple Man” y “Gimme Three Steps”. Llamaron a su grupo Lynyrd Skynyrd, una referencia a un entrenador deportivo de nombre similar en la escuela secundaria de Rossington y a un personaje del éxito de 1963 “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh”, y publicaron su álbum debut en 1973.

Luis Ernesto Quintana Barney. (CNN) — Gary Rossington, guitarrista de la banda de rock estadounidense Lynyrd Skynyrd, ha muerto, anunció la banda en su ...

“Gary ahora está con sus hermanos y su familia Skynyrd en el cielo y tocando maravilosamente, como siempre lo hizo. Mantengan a Dale, Mary, Annie y toda la familia Rossington en sus oraciones y respeten la privacidad de la familia en este momento difícil”, continuó la declaración. (CNN) — Gary Rossington, guitarrista de la banda de rock estadounidense Lynyrd Skynyrd, ha muerto, anunció la banda en su página oficial de Facebook el domingo por la noche.

“Con la mayor de las tristezas tenemos que anunciar que hoy hemos pedido a nuestro hermano, amigo, familiar, compositor y guitarrista Gary Rossington”, se lee ...

El artista había sobrevivido un choque automovilístico un año antes del fatídico accidente aéreo en 1977 que cobró la vida del vocalista Ronnie Van Zant, el guitarrista Steve Gaines y la corista Cassie Gaines. El músico regresó a Lynyrd Skynyrd para su reunión en 1987 y permaneció con el grupo desde 1991 hasta el momento de su muerte. Rossington batalló con una serie de problemas de salud que lo obligaron a someterse a diferentes cirugías.

Charlie Starr, of Southern rock band Blackberry Smoke remembers Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington, who died at 71.

That’s another hook to the song. It’s another verse to the song. Think about Ronnie saying, “Play it pretty for Atlanta” [during “Free Bird” at the Fox Theatre in 1976]. The song is not “Free Bird” without that part. We asked Starr to explain Lynyrd Skynyrd’s impact, dissect Rossington’s approach to his instrument, and unravel the mysteries of the guitarist’s signature slide intro to [“Free Bird.”](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/lynyrd-skynyrd-first-show-back-free-bird-1180286/) “I said, ‘What does he want me to play?’ She said, ‘He said to play the blues.’ And I got that because that’s where Gary came from,” Starr says, calling from Zurich, Switzerland, where Blackberry Smoke are about to perform. When you listen to “Free Bird,” his playing sounds like a bird singing to you. “After they walked down the aisle, Gary yelled over to me, ‘OK, play the blues now!’ and so I did. Listen to the solo for “Don’t Ask Me No Questions,” too. “I’ll carry that with me forever.” They were all so different, starting with And those songs are like Beatles and Stones songs — they’re accessible.