After a lifetime of achieving musical notoriety, the creator and lead guitarist of legendary Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gary Rossington has passed away at 71. With him gone, we are left to remember his legacy as one that has firmly cemented its place in music history.
“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.
On Sunday, the band sorrowfully shared the news of his passing without revealing its cause.
“Gary is now with his Skynyrd brothers and family in heaven and playing it pretty like he always does,” the band wrote a plea to their devoted fans, requesting their prayers for the Rossington family.
As the sole remaining original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, he leaves behind a legacy for his wife Dale Krantz, and two beloved daughters.
On December 4, 1951, in Jacksonville, Florida, Rossington was born into a single-parent home after his father sadly passed away during childbirth. Raised by his devoted mother alone thereafter, he grew up to be an extraordinary individual.
When Rossington encountered Bob Burns and Larry Junstorm in 1964, the trio bonded over their shared love for music and baseball.
It all began when, at a Little League baseball game in the same year, singer Ronnie Van Zant smashed an impressive line drive right into Burns’ shoulder – and thus came to life the world-renowned Rolling Stone band.
Fueled by their rock ‘n’ roll ambition, Rossington, Burns, Van Zant, and guitarist Allen Collins decided to convene at Burns’ Jacksonville home in the afternoon to cover The Rolling Stones’s classic “Time Is On My Side.”
After much deliberation, the boys decided to go with Lynyrd Skynyrd–as a tribute to their high school coach (whose name was similar) and after a character in the 1963 novelty hit “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp).” Consequently, they were ready for their next chapter as musicians.
In 1973, Lynyrd Skynyrd gifted the world with their incredibly successful debut album “Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd.” Included on this classic record were timeless hits such as “Simple Man”, “Tuesday’s Gone” and of course, their most renowned song – the immortal “Free Bird”.
The guitarist’s characteristic slide guitar created a timeless fan-favorite in the tune “Free Bird,” as Rolling Stone reported, and he had miraculously escaped danger multiple times.
In 1976, Rossington miraculously survived a catastrophic car accident in which his Ford Torino collided with a tree. This harrowing incident motivated the creation of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s song “That Smell”. An even more unbelievable twist occurred just one year later when he endured another fatal plane catastrophe that caused the death of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and backup vocalist Cassie Gaines – yet here Rossington stands today as a true testament to survival against all odds.
Rossington broke both arms and a leg and punctured his stomach and liver as a result of the plane crash.
“It was a devastating thing,” he said in 2006. “You can’t just talk about it real casual and not have feelings about it.”
A full ten years after their line-up had drastically changed, Rossington rejoined the band upon Johnny Van Zant’s restructuring of it.
In 2003, the guitarist experienced a quintuple bypass surgery and then had another heart attack in 2015 that required multiple surgeries. As of July 2021, he is no longer part of the band due to his health issues.
Despite the multitude of hardships Lynyrd Skynyrd endured, Rossington never viewed them as a tragically doomed group — despite what their fans may have thought.
“I don’t think of it as a tragedy – I think of it as life,” during the band’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, he shared with Rolling Stone. “I think the good outweighs the bad.”
