Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington passed away at 71 and was the last surviving member of the original lineup. Lynyrd Skynyrd was formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964 and rose to fame with hits like “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird”.
Rossington had suffered health issues in the past. In 2015, the guitarist suffered a heart attack leaving the band to cancel shows. Gary also had a heart valve repaired in 2019 and had to undergo emergency heart surgery in 2021 during the Big Wheels Keep On Turnin’ tour.
Rossington was one of the few Skynyrd members to survive the horrific 1997 plane crash that killed multiple members of the band. The crash happened three days after the band released their fifth studio album “Street Survivors” which became the band’s second platinum album.
The band went on a 10 year hiatus after the tragedy as members dealt with the grief of their former bandmates. The band would then feature Ronnie Van Zandt’s younger brother Johnny on vocals, with many members changes and death’s over the years.
The band was set to perform their farewell tour called “The Last of the Street Survivors” tour from 2018-2020, which ended up getting rescheuled due to the pandemic. During this downtime the band decided to continue touring and will be on a coheadlining tour this summer called “The Sharp Dressed Simple Man” tour.
You can find the official statement on Gary’s death from the band below:
ROCK REPORT 