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Farewell to Gary Rossington: the historic founder of Lynyrd Skynyrd has died at the age 71
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Farewell to Gary Rossington, historic founder of the Lynyrd Skynyrd
Gary Rossington was born in Jacksonville on Dec. 4, 1951 and was the last remaining original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Gary began playing guitar at age of 10 and in the summer of 1964, along with some friends from Jacksonville (Ronnie Van Zant, Larry Junstrom, Allen Collins and Bob Burns), founded what would later become the future Lynyrd Skynyrd. Gary Rossington died Sunday and the announcement was made on Facebook.
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The announcement came from the other members of the band
This is the statement with which the current Lynyrd Skynyrd made official the death of Rossington: "It is with immense sadness that we must report that today we lost our brother, friend, family member, songwriter and guitarist, Gary Rossington. Gary is now with his siblings Skynyrd and family in heaven and he is playing it well, as always."
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Gary Rossington was the last surviving member of the original group
The Lynyrd Skynyrd were founded in 1964 in Florida thanks to Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins , Bob Burns and Larry Junstrom. Van Zant died in 1977 in a tragic and famous plane crash along with guitarist Steve Gaines and backing vocalist Cassie Gaines (in the crash Rossington managed to save himself), while Collins, Burns and Junstrom died in 1990, 2015 and 2019, so the band has renewed its membership over the years.
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From Sweet Home Alabama to Free bird
There are many songs that have made Lynyrd Skynyrd one of the most famous bands in the world. In particular, giving the band and Rossington worldwide fame were the songs Sweet Home Alabama and Free Bird, a song with an unforgettable guitar solo. Incidentally, Lynyrd Skynyrd were also planning a 22-city tour, with the first dates in July 2023.
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The cause of the guitarist's death is not yet fully known
The official statement did not mention the cause of Rossington's death, but he had undergone many heart operations, the last one in July 2021. In 2019, the guitarist had also undergone heart surgery, but despite his health problems, he still performed several times on stage. Previously, the musician's heart problems forced him to have a quintuple bypass operation in 2003 and he also had a heart attack in 2015.
