who died from lynyrd skynyrd plane crash

#Who died from lynyrd skynyrd plane crash free

Rossington outlived several of his fellow Skynyrd guitarists, including Allen Collins, Ed King and Hughie Thomasson. Johnny Van Zant – Ronnie’s brother and Skynyrd’s frontman since 1977 – once said: “I don’t think you can have Lynyrd Skynyrd without Gary Rossington.” Skynyrd disbanded but reformed in 1987 and has continued ever since with several lineup changes, but Rossington was the only member of the band to appear on all of its albums. “We were a brotherhood and when you lose your brothers you can’t just go on.” “We couldn’t imagine going on after something like that,” he once said. Though he broke both of his arms, legs, wrists and ankles and his pelvis, Rossington fully recovered but battled a drug addiction for years, which began with his heavy dependence on pain medication during his recovery. Gary Rossington performing with Rickey Medlocke and Johnny Van Zant in 2009. Twenty people on the plane survived, including Rossington, who was knocked unconscious he awoke with the plane’s door on top of him. In 1977, a plane carrying the band crashed in Mississippi, killing Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, his sister and backup singer Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick and both pilots. Rossington co-wrote Sweet Home Alabama, a hit from their second album, as well as several other Skynyrd tracks, including I Ain’t The One, Things Goin’ On, Don’t Ask Me No Questions and Gimme Back My Bullets.

#Who died from lynyrd skynyrd plane crash free

The band’s debut album was released in 1973, and featured the nine-minute track Free Bird, which became one of Skynyrd’s most famous songs.

Skinner had a zero-tolerance policy for boys with long hair – like Rossington, who was suspended and soon dropped out of school. Rossington wanted to be a baseball player, but after hearing the Rolling Stones, turned to music instead.īaseball led to Lynyrd Skynyrd, however: Rossington, Burns and Junstrom met singer Ronnie Van Zant, who played on a rival baseball team, at a game and they jammed together in the carport of Burns’s parents’ house.Īfter a few name changes, they eventually settled on Lynyrd Skynyrd, named for Leonard Skinner, a strict teacher at 16-year-old Rossington’s school. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1951, Rossington has been in the band since 1964, when it was a trio named Me, You, and Him, with bassist Larry Junstrom and drummer Bob Burns.