Gary Robert Rossington is a well-known American musician who was born on December 4, 1951.He is best known for being a founding member of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
In addition to that, he was one of the founding members of The Rossington-Collins Band alongside his old bandmate Allen Collins from Lynyrd Skynyrd.
As of 2016, Rossington is the only founding member who is still performing with the band.
Gary Rossington, the last surviving original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, died on Sunday (March 5), at the age of 71, nearly four months before the band was planning to set out on its next tour.
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Table of Contents
Gary Robert Rossington: Early Life
In 1964, when he was still a teenager, he and some of his buddies established the band known as The Noble Five.1
Before settling on Lynyrd Skynyrd as its permanent moniker, the band went under the name The One Perfect. Since 1991, the band has released a total of 14 studio albums and has amassed sales of over 20 million CDs.
The songs “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird” are considered to be their most well-known works. In 1977, while the band was at the pinnacle of their fame, three of its members were tragically killed in an aviation accident.
Rossington was able to survive the attack, although he suffered multiple fractures, including in both arms, both legs, both ankles, both wrists, and his pelvis.
The pain medicine that he first required as a result of his injuries ultimately led to his developing an addiction to drugs.
Gary Robert Rossington: Bio
- In the summer of 1964, while Rossington was still a teenager, he and his pals Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Larry Junstrom, and Bob Burns created the band that would become known as “The Noble Five.” Later on, before becoming Lynyrd Skynyrd, they played under the name “The One Percent,” which was a name change from their previous moniker.
- According to an article published in The New York Times, Lacy Van Zant, the patriarch of the Van Zant family, once went to West Jacksonville’s Robert E. Lee High School to plead Rossington’s case to school administrators after the fatherless Rossington was suspended for having long hair.
- The reason for Rossington’s suspension was because of the length of his hair. Lacy Van Zant told the assistant principal that Rossington’s mother needed the money that Rossington made playing in his band because Rossington’s father had passed away shortly after Rossington was born and had passed away while serving in the Army.
- Rossington’s mother died shortly after Rossington was born. Lacy Van Zant went on to explain that, just like his own kids, the members of the band were working men, and having long hair was a requirement of their occupation.
- Rossington’s preferred instrument was a 1959 Gibson Les Paul that he purchased from a woman whose lover had abandoned her and left behind his guitar.
- The boyfriend had taken the guitar with him when he left. After the passing of his father, he became incredibly close to his mother and decided to memorialise her with the name Berniece for his new dog.
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Gary Robert Rossington: More Details
- For the song “Tuesday’s Gone,” Rossington was the lead guitarist, and on the song “Free Bird,” he was the slide guitarist.2
- Rossington contributed guitar work to the track “Simple Man,” in addition to Collins’s contributions.
- Both Rossington and fellow Skynyrd guitarist Allen Collins were involved in separate car accidents in their hometown of Jacksonville over the Labor Day weekend in 1976.
- While Rossington was under the influence of alcohol and other substances, he wrecked his brand-new Ford Torino that he had just purchased by colliding with an oak tree.
- In a matter of days, the band was scheduled to embark on a tour; but, due to Rossington’s accident, the band was forced to postpone this tour.
- The other members of the band were quite upset with Rossington, and they decided to penalise him with a fee of $5,000 because he was responsible for delaying the band’s performance schedule.
- Van Zant and Collins composed the song “That Smell” based on the accident, as well as Rossington’s state of intoxication at the time, which was caused by a combination of narcotics and alcohol.
- Specifically, the lyrics that refer to the wreck are as follows: “Oak tree, you are preventing me from getting to the whisky bottles and brand new cars. There’s an excessive amount of both smoke and cocaine here.”
- Rossington was one of only six members of the band to survive the plane accident that occurred on October 20, 1977 in Gillsburg, Mississippi.
- The tragedy claimed the lives of five other members of the band, including Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and two others.
- Rossington would eventually heal from his injuries and be able to perform on stage once more, despite the fact that he broke both arms, both legs, both wrists, both ankles, and his pelvis (albeit with steel rods in his right arm and one of his legs).
- During the subsequent years, he struggled with a severe addiction to drugs, which was in part caused by the fact that he had become extremely dependent on the medication he had been taking while he was recovering from the plane crash.
- In 1980, Rossington and Collins established themselves as bandmates under the name The Rossington Collins Band.
- The band was able to put out two albums before breaking up in 1982, the same year that Collins’ wife, Kathy, passed away.
- After that, he and his wife, Dale Krantz-Rossington, founded a band called The Rossington Band. The Rossington Band issued two albums, one in 1986 and the other in 1988.
- The most recent Lynyrd Skynyrd lineup includes Rossington as a member of the band. As Billy Powell, the band’s keyboardist, passed away on January 28, 2009, Rossington is the only original member of the band that is still active in the reunited band.
Gary Robert Rossington: Wife
Mary and Annie Rossington are the two girls that were born to Gary Rossington and his wife, Dale Krantz-Rossington.3
Because of the plane crash that occurred in 1977, he suffers from a recurrent condition that causes him to experience pain in his legs on occasion.
In the past, he had a heart condition that was successfully treated by surgery, but he still has episodes of leg pain that are severe enough to force him to miss shows.
Rossington is a die-hard supporter of the Jacksonville Jaguars football team. Together with the other members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, he made a film that is currently being shown on the video board at Everbank Field during all Jacksonville Jaguars home games.
On October 8, 2015, Rossington suffered a heart attack, which resulted in the cancellation of two upcoming performances by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
When the pimp’s in the crib ma, drop it like it’s hot. Nothing like a smoke break with @SnoopDogg pic.twitter.com/JXrrK8Zi29
— Lynyrd Skynyrd (@Skynyrd) October 17, 2019
Gary Robert Rossington: Mother
His mother Berniece (for whom the song by Lynyrd Skynyrd is named for as a tribute by Rossington) recalled that Gary had a childhood interest in baseball and aspired to become a New York Yankee.
Gary himself recalled that he was a “good ball player” until he heard The Rolling Stones, at which point he gave up his baseball career and became interested in music instead.
Gary Robert Rossington: Private life
Rossington and Dale Krantz-Rossington tied the knot in 1982 and went on to have two daughters together after their union.
On October 8, 2015, Rossington suffered a heart attack, and as a result, Lynyrd Skynyrd was forced to postpone two of their upcoming performances.
In July of 2021, he was rushed to the hospital for unexpected heart surgery.
On March 5, 2023, reports surfaced from a variety of different sites stating that Rossington had passed away. He was 71.
Gary Robert Rossington: Net Worth 2023
Gary Rossington is a well-known musician from the United States who is estimated to have a net worth of $40 million at the present time.4
Gary Robert Rossington was born in the month of December in the city of Jacksonville, Florida. The fact that he was a founding member of the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd is the primary reason for his widespread notoriety.
Gary Robert Rossington: Rossington-Collins Band
In 1980, Gary was a co-founder of the Rossington-Collins Band, which eventually went on to record two albums.
Rossington is the only original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd still actively performing with the band, and he continues to perform with the group today. Edward King, the band’s original guitarist, is still around today.
He was one of the band’s founding members. But King will not be going on tour with the band in its current incarnation at this time.
Two of Gary Rossington’s children were born to him and his wife, Dale Krantz-Rossington. In addition to that, they were involved in a side project known as the Rossington Band, which resulted in the production of two CDs.
In 2006, Rossington was recognised for his contributions to the music industry by being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Facts
Ranked on the list of most popular Guitarist. Also ranked in the elit list of famous celebrity born in United States. Gary Rossington celebrates birthday on December 4 of every year.
Rossington and Dale Krantz-Rossington married in 1982 and have two daughters.
What happened to Gary Rossington?
In 2019, Skynyrd revealed that Rossington had been experiencing fatigue and other symptoms related to a leaky heart valve. He underwent a procedure that summer to repair the valve. On October 8, 2015, Rossington, then 63, suffered a heart attack.
Is Gary Rossington a good guitar player?
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Gary Rossington is one of the most fiercely respected guitar players in the Southern rock pantheon, a constant force to be reckoned with both as a musician and as a founding member of one of the greatest bands to walk the planet.
After nearly a year, Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington is tentatively set to return to action at the band’s concert in Fort Campbell, Ky., on May 21. Rossington, the last remaining founding member of the legendary group, exited the road in July 2021 after having emergency heart surgery.
Were does Gary Rossington live?
While guitarist Gary Rossington, the band’s sole remaining original member, now lives north of Atlanta, singer Johnny Van Zant still lives in Jacksonville, while guitarist Rickey Medlocke lives near Fort Myers.
As of 2018, Rossington still plays in Lynyrd Skynyrd and with the death of keyboardist Billy Powell (January 28, 2009), is the last remaining original member in the band.
Similarly, with the death of Larry Junstrom (October 6, 2019), he is the last surviving original member of the band.
In 2009, he became the last original member still in the band and in 2019, the last one that is still alive.
Rossington suffered a heart attack on October 8, 2015, after which two Lynyrd Skynyrd concerts had to be cancelled.
