Gary Rossington

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Image:Garyrossington.jpg Gary Rossington (born December 4, 1951 in Jacksonville, Florida) is a founding member of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He plays lead and rhythm guitar.

Rossington formed the band as a teenager with friends Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Larry Junstrom and Bob Burns in the summer of 1964. Skynyrd gained national exposure starting in 1973 with the release of their first album Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd and hit single Free Bird. They disbanded in 1977 when a plane crash killed 3 band members.

Rossington's rhythm and lead duties in the band have yielded many memorable guitar parts, including the lead work on Tuesday's Gone and the slide guitar for Free Bird. Rossington also provided the guitar work for the popular Simple Man.

In 1980, Rossington cofounded The Rossington-Collins Band with Allen Collins. The band released two albums, but disbanded in 1986 after Collins had a car accident that killed his girlfriend and left him paralyzed.

Gary Rossington still plays with a reformed Lynyrd Skynyrd. Gary and keyboardist Billy Powell are the only two original band mates left in the reformed band.

Gary and Dale Krantz-Rossington have had two daughters, Mary & Annie. Their side project, the Rossington Band, opened for Lynyrd Skynyrd during their 1987-88 reunion tour.