Gary Rossington, the final surviving authentic member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, has died on the age of 71. No reason for dying was offered, although the guitarist had been coping with well being points over the previous couple of many years, together with a coronary heart assault in 2015 and emergency coronary heart surgical procedure in 2021.
“It’s with our deepest sympathy and disappointment that we now have to advise, that we misplaced our brother, buddy, member of the family, songwriter and guitarist, Gary Rossington, right this moment,” the band wrote on Fb. “Gary is now along with his Skynyrd brothers and household in heaven and enjoying it fairly, like he all the time does. Please hold Dale, Mary, Annie and all the Rossington household in your prayers and respect the household’s privateness at this troublesome time.”
In a 2016 interview with Billboard, Rossington talked about his choice to maintain enjoying regardless of his well being struggles. “It’s simply in my blood, y’know?,” he stated. “I’m simply an previous guitar participant, and we’ve spent our entire loves and the ten,000 hours of working to know how one can play and do it. So I feel when you’ve bought one thing going for your self you need to stick with it and hold your craft going. If you retire, what’s subsequent? I prefer to fish, however how a lot of that may you do, proper? So I wish to hold doing what I do now.”
Born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1951, Rossington was a member of the band when it was a trio named Me, You, and Him, alongside bassist Larry Junstrom and drummer Bob Burns. After competing on rival baseball groups, they met singer Ronnie Van Zant and jammed collectively, forming a canopy band referred to as My Yard. In 1969, the band turned Lynyrd Skynyrd, whose debut album (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Pores and skin-‘nérd) got here out on MCA Data in 1973. It included the hits ‘Gimme Three Steps’, ‘Easy Man’, and ‘Tuesday’s Gone’, although Rossington’s most well-known contribution was the slide guitar on the nearly-10 minute ‘Free Fowl’. He additionally co-wrote classics corresponding to ‘Candy House Alabama’, in addition to ‘I Ain’t the One’, ‘Issues Goin’ On’, ‘Don’t Ask Me No Questions’, and ‘Gimme Again My Bullets’.
Rossington is survived by his spouse, singer Dale Krantz-Rossington, and his two daughters, Mary and Annie.
