Gary Rossington, 1951-2023. RIP

Gary Rossington, the last surviving founding member of Southern Rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, died on March 5, 2023.  

I'd got the news on Twitter this morning from Brion McClanahan.

Yesterday marked the end of 1970s Southern rock. RIP Gary Rossington. Skynyrd, Allmans, Hatchet, Caldwell/Marshall Tucker, CDB, Outlaws--all Ghost Riders in the Sky.

— Brion McClanahan (@BrionMcClanahan) March 6, 2023

Then found this photo of him with Allen Collins.  

Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington has died at 71. He survived the band’s 1977 plane crash and led a full life. His ever amazing slide guitar made “Free Bird” the anthem of a generation. https://t.co/pABFxRaOlb. (Allen Collins & Gary Rossington 1976) pic.twitter.com/qiuMSuML4l

— Jeff Hullinger (@11hullinger) March 6, 2023

The end of an epoch.  It's one thing to endure the loss of a loved one or family member.  You carry on in their name.  But when the soul and voice of your youth is silenced, your heart and spirit take a hit.  Will never forget my friend, Sean Moore, gushed when he'd hear Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" on the radio.  

One of my favorites of theirs was "Simple Man."  And though I'd heard it through the years, it was only when Ted Palmer passed in 2017 and his daughter produced a video memorial of Ted with Simple Man as the single track on that video that I'd listened to it with any intent.  Beautiful.

 

You might enjoy this article on the Southern Revival of the 70s by Jeff Rogers of the Abbeville Institute titled "Ronnie Van Zant."