R.I.P. Gary Rossington Co-Founder of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

[mawnansmiff]

I remember at the Penthouse rock club I used to visit in Sheffield back in the 1980's, the last record played of the evening was always Free Bird.

I have their greatest hits on CD which I'll be playing loud tonight.

Gary Rossington: Lynyrd Skynyrd's last founding member dies aged 71

Guitarist Gary Rossington had survived a 1977 air crash that killed several of his bandmates.

www.bbc.co.uk

Regards,

Jay.

 

[ADKPiper]

Sad news.
I guess that given that the song "That Smell" was written about Gary he outlived all early expectations. A real rocker.
Truly one of the greatest ever.
My head is bowed

 

[blackpowderpiper]

Sad news.
I guess that given that the song "That Smell" was written about Gary he outlived all early expectations. A real rocker.
Truly one of the greatest ever.
My head is bowed

That's a song that I seem to never get tired of hearing.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

What an amazing life.
I only saw Skynyrd once technically- in 1996 with both Rossington and Ed King on guitar. In hindsight I feel lucky to have seen two of the original Big 3 on guitar.

By this time, Allen Collins had long been wheelchair bound from his drunk accident in 1986 I think.

I did lights for .38 Special once (with Donny Van Zant on vocals). Of course, little brother Johnny has done vocals for Skynyrd since '87.
Neither can touch the voice of oldest brother Ronnie.

Anyway, RIP to the man in the black hat.

 

[ADKPiper]

That's a song that I seem to never get tired of hearing.

Yup. Among others.
Some of the covers from the "One More For that Fans" shows are also great.
Warren Haynes does an awesome job with it.

 

[ADKPiper]

Gary's solos were in my opinion the most melodic in rock.
Top 10 Gary Rossington solos.

 

[Bengel]

I had just turned 17, good days!

 

[shermnatman]

Everyone of the original members: Ronnie, Allen, Leon, Billy, Bob Burns, Ed King, and now, Gary - all gone.

Everyone on the front cover of Pronounced - their first album - is no longer here.

Sad to think about. - Sherm Natman

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

I agree with the comments of @ADKPiper in the other, closed thread.

The band is an entity and revenue generator for the active members and families of the deceased. The initialy agreement was that the band could continue with 3 members. Once the band was down to two members, Van Zant's widow waived the requirement.

It seems like a tribute tour would generate lots of revenue for all those involved. Yes, it could be seen as a cash grab. But I think the band touched a lot of people who would want to pay tribute at least one more time.

 

[Briar Tuck]

Sad news. My band covers several Skynyrd songs. One we don't cover is Free Bird, although as you can imagine we get a lot of requests for it.

 

[kcghost]

R.I.P. I usually hate it when just about anybody dies but I have trouble with the adoration you guys' heap on rock stars.

 

[Sobrbiker]

Damn, they’re all gone.

Be a good day to watch “If I Leave Here Tomorrow” again.
If the news of Gary’s passing means anything to you, and you haven’t seen it, you NEED to watch it (avail on Netflix, or many TV providers).

 

[ADKPiper]

I agree with the comments of @ADKPiper in the other, closed thread.

The band is an entity and revenue generator for the active members and families of the deceased. The initialy agreement was that the band could continue with 3 members. Once the band was down to two members, Van Zant's widow waived the requirement.

It seems like a tribute tour would generate lots of revenue for all those involved. Yes, it could be seen as a cash grab. But I think the band touched a lot of people who would want to pay tribute at least one more time.

Agreed.
I'm generally critical of bands that use the name with no remaining members.
But in the case of Skynyrd I'm fine with it.
Many of the current members have long standing relationships with the band. And beside that they are still great and do the legacy proud. I hope they go on as long as the fans are showing up.

 

[blackpowderpiper]

I can tell you first hand that Rickey Medlocke is still going strong! That man is a force of nature. And Johnny is still putting on a great show/vocal performance as always.

 

[georged]

R.I.P. I usually hate it when just about anybody dies but I have trouble with the adoration you guys' heap on rock stars.

Hey.

Are you suggesting that how engagingly a guy plays guitar (when not blotzo-blitzed on drugs, no less) isn't more valuable and worthy of adoration than, say, a household name like Maurice Hilleman?

'Cuz what that guy did was so teeny-tiny-small you couldn't even SEE it, never mind listen to it on the radio.