Co-founding Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington died on March 5, 2023, at age 71. Rossington, who had struggled with heart issues for several years before his passing, was the last surviving original member of the famed Southern rock band.
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Throughout his long career with Lynyrd Skynyrd, he co-wrote many of the band’s songs and contributed memorable slide-guitar licks to some of the group’s best-known tunes. The Jacksonville, Florida native also found some success with the Skynyrd spinoff groups The Rossington Collins Band and The Rossington Band.
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Here’s a look at five fascinating facts about Rossington.
Rossington Loved Baseball
Before forming the band that would become Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rossington loved baseball and had aspirations to one day play for the New York Yankees.
In fact, baseball was a factor in the group’s formation. Rossington had become acquainted with future Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Ronnie Van Zandt and drummer Bob Burns while the three were playing baseball on different teams in Jacksonville.
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As Rossington recalled, one day while playing ball during the summer of 1964 at Criswell Park in Jacksonville, Van Zant hit a foul ball that conked Burns in the head and knocked him out. The three then went over to Burns’ house and decided to jam together. After playing a version of The Rolling Stones’ “Time Is on My Side,” they liked what they heard and decided to form a rock band.
The Lynyrd Skynyrd Song “That Smell” Was Partly Inspired by Rossington
“That Smell” was one of the more popular songs featured on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1977 studio album Street Survivors. Frontman Ronnie Van Zant, who co-wrote the song with guitarist Allen Collins, was inspired to write the lyrics because of the drug and alcohol issues many members of the band were experiencing at the time.
In particular, Rossington had gotten into a serious car crash while under the influence of drugs and alcohol in 1976, forcing the group to temporarily postpone a tour. Van Zant reflected on the bad effects the excesses were having on him and his bandmates, and worried about the possible consequences of abusing drugs and alcohol. As Van Zant sang in the tune, “Ooh, that smell / The smell of death surrounds you.”
Ironically, three days after the Street Survivors album’s release, Van Zant, Skynyrd guitarist Steve Gaines, and backing singer Cassie Gaines were killed in the infamous plane crash that also injured the rest of the band and claimed three other lives.
Rossington Sustained Serious Injuries in the Skynyrd Crash
The aforementioned crash took place on October 20, 1977, as the band was traveling in a private plane between shows in Greenville, South Carolina, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Rossington broke both of his arms and both of his legs, and his recovery took many months. Metal rods had to be placed in his right arm and his right leg.
Rossington subsequently suffered addiction issues, in large part because of the painkillers he took while recovering from his injuries.
Rossington Married the Rossington Collins Band’s Lead Singer
After the plane crash, Rossington co-founded the Rossington Collins Band with three of his Skynyrd bandmates—Collins, keyboardist Billy Powell, and bassist Leon Wilkeson. Rossington began a romance with the group’s frontwoman, Dale Krantz, and the couple married in 1982. The Rossington Collins Band broke up in 1982 after releasing two albums. Rossington then formed The Rossington Band with Krantz. That group also released a pair of albums during the 1980s.
When Lynyrd Skynyrd reformed in 1987, Krantz became a touring backing vocalist with the band, and she continues to sing with the group.
The final studio album Rossington released was a Rossington Band project called Take It on Faith, which came out in 2016. Rossington and Krantz have two daughters, Mary and Annie.
Rossington Was Inducted into the Rock Hall with Skynyrd
In 2006, Rossington was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
During his acceptance speech, Gary acknowledged his bandmates who had passed away and the other members who were in attendance.
“I really would like to thank Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, and Leon Wilkeson and Steve Gaines for all the great songs they wrote that allows me to be here, and all these guys,” he said. “It’s an honor to have known them and played with them, and them being our friends.”
He added, “I really would like to thank the fans, and that’s not enough. God bless y’all from the bottom of our hearts, and each and every one of you, I wish to thank you so, so much for helping me and all my brothers and sisters keep the name …
Lynyrd Skynyrd alive.”
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