Last founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd dies

FLORIDA, March 7 – Guitarist Gary Rossington, the last remaining original member of American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, has died at the age of 71.

One of the founding members of the band, he appeared on all of their albums and co-wrote the 1974 hit “Sweet Home Alabama.”

He was also one of the survivors of a 1977 plane crash that killed several of his bandmates.

Although he had suffered from heart problems in recent years, Rossington had been playing in February.

A statement on the band’s Facebook page mentioned his death.

No cause of death was reported, but Rossington underwent heart surgery in 2021, according to a band post at the time.

Rossington was born in 1951 in Florida, founding the first iteration of Lynyrd Skynyrd, called Me, You, and Him, in 1964 with drummer Bob Burns and bassist Larry Junstrom.

They added singer Ronnie Van Zant later that summer and settled on the name Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The band is famous for their Blues Rock songs and their songs like “Simple Man”, “Mississippi Kid” and “Free Bird” are still as popular as they were then.

(source: BBC)