Gary Rossington, the lead guitarist and the final surviving founding member of the rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd, passed away on March 5. He was 71.
The group was well-known for songs like “Free Bird” and “Sweet Home Alabama,” which helped popularize the sound of the South.
Agent Ken Levitan, who was unable to identify the cause of death or the location, confirmed his passing.
READ ALSO: Actor Tom Sizemore dead at 61 after brain aneurysm
The band said in a statement posted on social media that “our brother, friend, family member, songwriter and guitarist … is now with his Skynyrd brothers and family in heaven and playing it pretty, like he always does.”
One of the original three who started Lynyrd Skynyrd in the 1960s, Robert Burns Jr., died in a collision in 2015 after his car hit a tree.
In 1977, an aircraft disaster claimed the lives of guitarist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines, and another founding member, Ronnie Van Zant. Although being hurt in the collision, Mr. Rossington lived.
According to the band’s website, Messrs. Rossington, Burns, and Van Zant met during the summer of 1964. An “impromptu afternoon jam session” inspired them to form a band after they met while competing on opposing baseball teams in Jacksonville, Florida.
They first went by the names My Backyard, Noble Five (to which Allen Collins and Larry Junstrom had since been added), and One Percent before becoming Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1969.
The band’s name was partially inspired by Leonard Skinner, a physical education instructor who forbade boys from having long hair.
The group is still on tour. It was scheduled to play at a festival in Florida the following week, but it wasn’t immediately apparent whether Mr. Rossington’s passing who was still an active member, would cause that concert to be postponed.
“We’re still standing, still keeping the music going,” Mr. Rossington was quoted as saying on the band’s website. “We wanted to do the guys who aren’t with us any more proud — and keep the name proud, too.”