Gary Rossington, the last living original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, passed away on March 5th, reuniting with his six bandmates in the Great Beyond. Lynyrd Skynyrd have long been among my favorite bands (I have even made the pilgrimage to the crash site). The news of his death came as somewhat of a surprise even though I knew Gary had been in failing health for awhile now.
I first saw Lynyrd Skynyrd play live when they reunited in 1987 for the 10th Anniversary of the plane crash that killed Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines. Initially billed as a Tribute Tour, the band would go on to continue in some form until the present day. In that initial reunion there were four founding members (Gary, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson, and Ed King), one other classic member/crash survivor (Artimus Pyle), and they were joined on vocals by Ronnie's younger brother Johnny. Original lead guitarist Allen Collins would occasionally appear onstage to wave at an audience or say a few words, but he had been crippled in a car accident a few years before the reunion and was unable to participate in the playing. His spot on axe was filled by newcomer Randall Hall.
I saw that initial reunion lineup five times. But the time that really stands out to me is the day I declared Gary Rossington the MVP of the live stage. It was a show at Legend Valley in Thornville, Ohio, also known as Buckeye Lake Music Center. Legend Valley was then known for staging mini-Rock festivals in a daytime setting every summer. In June of 1988 a co-headline bill of Hank Williams Jr. and Lynyrd Skynyrd, supported by The Rossington Band (formerly Rossington Collins but with a shortened moniker due to Allen no longer being able to play) took place, and my sister bought me tickets to celebrate my 20th birthday.
Rossington Band took the stage before noon, playing a forty-five minute opening set. Skynyrd then played second, and turned in their usual two-hour headline length set. Now, one classic song they had left off their setlist was "Tuesday's Gone." This was because Hank had recorded a cover version for his most recent album Wild Streak, and he would play it in his set, joined by Rossington, King, Powell, and Wilkeson. This was very early in his show, third or fourth song in. Afterwards, the rest of the Skynyrd guys left the stage but Gary stayed on, sitting in for the rest of Bocephus's marathon set. Hank was on fire that day and played for nearly three hours. By the time the day was over, Gary Rossington had been on stage playing guitar for over five and a half hours. To this day I have never seen anyone top that. The man simply loved to play.
I would go on to see Gary many more times over the years, watching the Skynyrd lineup dilute itself of original and classic members, until Gary was the only one left. In recent years even he began to take a backseat, sitting out most shows and letting Damon Johnson play in his stead. This lineup will still be playing somewhere near you this very summer. Gary may be gone, but the music he made will never die.
One of my fondest Rock memories happened a few years ago, when some friends in Jacksonville, Florida took me to see many of the legendary Skynyrd sites. We saw their high school, the baseball field where the band formed, the bar called The Jug that inspired the song "Gimme Three Steps," gravesites for the members who had passed, and more. But perhaps a bit morbidly, my favorite thing that day was seeing the very tree that Gary once crashed his car into, nearly killing himself and inspiring Ronnie Van Zant to write the lyrics for "That Smell." Ronnie also coined a nickname for Gary in that classic song, one I will use to say...
Rest In Peace, Prince Charming.
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