Don't Misunderstand Me | 3:56
Rossington Collins Band - Topic | 1.86K subscribers | 57,198 views | July 30, 2018
Posted on 03/06/2023 11:14:44 AM PST by MtnClimber
The founding member and guitarist, who provided the seagull-like slide guitar leads to Skynyrd’s signature “Free Bird,” survived the band’s infamous 1977 plane crash.
GARY ROSSINGTON, A founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd whose ethereal slide guitar helped make the Southern rock band’s song “Free Bird” an indelible anthem, died Sunday at the age of 71.
“It is with our deepest sympathy and sadness that we have to advise, that we lost our brother, friend, family member, songwriter and guitarist, Gary Rossington, today,” the band wrote on Facebook. “Gary is now with his Skynyrd brothers and family in heaven and playing it pretty, like he always does. Please keep Dale, Mary, Annie and the entire Rossington family in your prayers and respect the family’s privacy at this difficult time.”
Rossington was Lynyrd Skynyrd’s last surviving original member, a stoic figure who preferred to let his guitar do the talking and who cheated death more than once. He survived a brutal car accident in 1976 in which he drove his Ford Torino into a tree, inspiring the band’s cautionary song “That Smell.” A year later, he emerged from the infamous 1977 plane crash that killed singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backing vocalist Cassie Gaines with two broken arms, a broken leg, and a punctured stomach and liver.
(Excerpt) Read more at rollingstone.com ...
Sad to hear. I saw the original band play 5 times including their second to last show (Lakeland, FL Civic Center) before the plane crash.
man..talk about a “star-crossed” band. They seemed to have a black cloud over them from the start. Great “live” band....
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird - 7/2/1977 - Oakland Coliseum Stadium (Official)
I was at that Lakeland show. It was only 4 days before the plane crash. I still have the ticket stub. Also believe they would have ended up being America’s greatest rock band if not for the crash.
I heard a girl play the freebird solo on bagpipes on Reddit
It was pretty good
Gary was just to the right, when facing the stage, of Ronnie Van Zant (lead singer) in this video. Gary wearing a black and white pattern shirt and playing slide guitar.
So sad! Those old rockers from my teen years are elderly now - Mick Jagger will be 80 this year.
I remember hearing about the plane crash that killed Ronnie Van Zandt (age 29) - along with bandmates Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray. Another day the music died.
The song “Freebird” and “Sweet Home Alabama” are as fresh today as when they were released in the 70s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx5gdTtBq90&t=113s
I was at this show in 1976.
They burned the house down.
It changed my perspective on modern music.
The Lakeland show was on a Saturday night. The crash was after a Sunday show the next day in South Carolina. So the crash was probably just over 24 hours after the Lakeland show. I was driving to class in my first year of college on Monday morning when it was announced on the radio. There were no details announced, just that there had been a crash.
Saw them in Corpus Christi TX in ‘77 I think (pre-Steve Gaines). You never think you are watching history. For my money, Second Helping was their best effort. That album made an indelible mark on my soul during high school years. The guitar lick from “Needle and the Spoon” was just playing through my head this morning before I heard this news.
RIP to Gary and all other members who have passed on.
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Tuesday's Gone - 3/7/1976 - Winterland (Official)
RIP ...
Mr. Breeze
My favorite.
Don't Misunderstand Me | 3:56
Rossington Collins Band - Topic | 1.86K subscribers | 57,198 views | July 30, 2018
Ah. Thanks for that memory jog.
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