FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Gary Robert Rossington (December 4, 1951 – March 5, 2023) was an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as a founding member of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, in which he played lead and rhythm guitar. He was also the last living founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Rossington was also a founding member of the Rossington Collins Band, along with former bandmate Allen Collins.

CAREER

Rossington’s instrument of choice was a 1959 Gibson Les Paul which he had purchased from a woman whose boyfriend had left her and left behind his guitar. He named it “Berniece” in honor of his mother, whom he was extremely close to after the death of his father. Rossington played lead guitar on “Tuesday’s Gone” and the slide guitar for “Free Bird“. Along with Collins, Rossington also provided the guitar work for “Simple Man”. Besides the Les Paul, he used various other Gibson Guitars including Gibson SGs. Gibson also released a Gary Rossington SG/Les Paul in their Custom Shop. For most of his career, he played through Marshall and Peavey amplifiers.

PERSONAL LIFE AND DEATH

Rossington and Dale Krantz-Rossington were married in 1982 and had two daughters. Rossington suffered a heart attack on October 8, 2015, after which two Lynyrd Skynyrd concerts had to be canceled. In July 2021, he underwent emergency heart surgery.

Rossington died on March 5, 2023, at age 71. The cause of his death was not revealed.