The guitaristās brawny Les Paul tones helped create the Lynyrd Skynyrd legacy on hits like āFree Birdā and āThat Smell,ā and made him a 6-string hero in his own right.
Gary Rossingtonāthe guitarist who inspired Lynyrd Skynyrdās song āThat Smellā and then played the hell out of it, with sailing, melodramatic feedback and a corpulent, grizzly-bear tone decorated by squealing pinch harmonicsādied on Sunday, March 5, after at least a decade of coronary issues, including bypass surgeries and a reported heart attack in 2015. Rossington, who held the reins of Skynyrd ātil the end, was the bandās last surviving original member.
The 71-year-old was also the primary slide guitarist in the foundational version of the Jacksonville, Florida-birthed group, playing the distinctive chirping introduction to their iconic āFree Bird,ā as well as the muscular solos on ā Simple Man,ā āCominā Home,ā āTuesdayās Gone,ā āCall Me the Breeze,ā āGimme Three Steps,ā ā Cry for the Bad Man,ā āWorkinā for MCA,ā āOn the Hunt,ā and their version of the Jimmie Rodgers classic āT for Texas,ā among many other memorable, influential performances.
Rossingtonās tone was always like a boxerās fistāstrong, calculated, consistentāregardless of the gear he played, but the core of his sonic formula was a GibsonĀ Les Paul Standard plugged into 160 watts of Peavey Mace or 100 watts of Marshall. In fact, Rossington boasted in a 2017 PG interview with journalist Joe Charupakorn that he played his 1959 Les Paul on every Skynyrd recording and show from the bandās inception until 1977. (Although live videos of the band in the mid ā70s also show him with a two-humbucker SG slung around his shoulders.)
In Skynyrdās nascent years, that Les Paul was his sole instrument. āEarly on, we didnāt have the time to change tunings onstage, plus I only had one guitar back then, so I learned to play slide in standard,ā he told me in 2015. To raise the action for his glass slide, Rossington would insert a pencil above the first fret on his guitarās neck. He was proud that āmy ā59 Les Paul, Bernice, is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame sitting right next to Duaneās and Claptonās guitars. They were my two biggest idols coming up, so having my guitar right between theirs is great!ā
Rossington onstage at New York Cityās Beacon Theatre in 1976, the year of his infamous auto wreck and the success of the live One More from the Road and āFree Bird.ā
Photo by Frank White
Over the decades and the trialsābrawls with Skynyrdās mercurial leader Ronnie Van Zant that once left him with glass-shredded hands in the middle of a European tour; the terrible October 1977 plane crash in Mississippi that killed Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, singer Cassie Gaines, and three others, and left Rossington badly injured; the booze-and-drugs-fueled car crash that inspired āThat Smellā; the challenges of addiction and recovery; and the rising and falling tides of the music businessāRossington survived with his everyman charisma and chops intact.
He was born in Jacksonville in 1951, and his father died in the Army soon after. Initially, Rossington, who was inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 as a member of Skynyrd, wanted to be a baseball player, but that changed with the arrival of the Rolling Stones and when he fell in with Van Zant, who became a father figure. They formed their first band together in 1964 and evolved into Skynyrd in 1969. The debut, Pronounced āLÄh-ānĆ©rd āSkin-ānĆ©rd, was released in 1973 and contained āGimme Three Steps,ā āSimple Man,ā āTuesdayās Gone,ā and āFree Bird,ā although the latter did not become a hit until the 11-minutes-plus version on 1976ās One More from the Road was released to FM radioāforever launching āPlay āFree Birdāā as a call for Skynyrd fans and wiseasses alike.
Rossingtonās tone was always like a boxerās fistāstrong, calculated, consistentāregardless of the gear he played.ā
I grew up listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd and had tickets for their Street Survivors tour at the New Haven Coliseum. It would have been my first time hearing the band live, and I was thrilled. I was also crushed when the news of the plane crash spread four days after the albumās October 17 release. I did catch the Rossington-Collins Band, which Rossington formed with fellow Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Allen Collins in 1979, along with Skynyrdās bassist Leon Wilkeson and pianist Billy Powell, in 1980 at the Springfield (Massachusetts) Civic Center, but Rossington had broken his leg the day before and the vibe was, understandably, off. Seven years later, after Skynyrd reformed with Johnny Van Zant as vocalist, I caught their fiery, inspiring performance at the Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts. Hearing the tones and visceral playing that Rossington evoked from his guitar, I immediately decided to buy my first Les Paul.
Almost 20 years later, when I was able to interview Rossington for the first time, I was inspired againāthis time by his candor, humor, and humility.
When we spoke about recording āThat Smell,ā still one of my favorite rock songs, Rossington seemed delighted recalling that day in the studio. āIt was perfect,ā he said. āMy guitar sound was hot, with the feedback. It was everything I wanted.ā
Rossington takes part in a Lynyrd Skynyrd tradition, trading licks, with one of the current lineupās other guitarists, Ricky Medlocke, who is the former frontman of Blackfoot and was the drummer for Skynyrd in their earlier days.
Photo by Steve Kalinsky
He also talked about the experience that inspired Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins to write the song. āI was out of control,ā he said of hitting an oak tree and a house with his brand new Ford Torino while on a bender in 1976. āI did get in a car wreck, but we got a good song out of it.ā Rossington was so wild that there were times when his bandmates, no slouches in indulgence themselves, were sure heād kill himself.
āEventually, I learned that drugs are just horrible for you,ā Rossington observed, ābut thatās the way it was in rock ānā roll in our time. I canāt do any of that stuff now. Iām not in such great health. Iāve had some heart problems, and Iām on the straight and narrow. Itās a lot better than being fucked up all the time, and I thank God I made it through those days.ā
āWe loved Cream and Claptonās style, and all the guitar players with the British bandsāJeff Beck, Jimmy Page and also Hendrix.āāGary Rossington
Decades later, the plane crash still hung over Rossingtonās conversations about Lynyrd Skynyrd like a specter. He rarely mentioned it directly, preferring to complete relevant sentences with terms like, āuntil, well, you knowā¦ā or simply pausing to skip a beat.
But the guitar hero was delighted to talk about his own guitar heroes, who profoundly influenced him and generations of players, just as Rossington would influence generations in his own lifetime. āWe loved Cream and Claptonās style, and all the guitar players with the British bandsāJeff Beck, Jimmy Page and also Hendrix,ā he recalled. āBut mostly it was Clapton, because he was so good, and he played more of the kind of blues we were raised on. I grew up listening to him and hoping to be that good one day. Of course, I never made it, and I never got near Hendrix, either. I donāt know if anybody will ever be as good as Hendrix again.
āAnd Duane and Gregg were big deals to us. They inspired us before they were the Allman Brothers. We would go see all the bands they were in while we were growing up. The Allman Joys played a lot in town, at clubs and teenage dances. Duane and Gregg were already great even then, and you could see Duane get better on guitar every week or two. Plus, they were older than us doing exactly what we wanted to doā they were driving and smoking and had long hair and were out of school. They were as cool as sliced bread!ā
His current Lynyrd Skynyrd bandmates offered this announcement of Rossingtonās death, on social media. āIt 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. Gary is now with his Skynyrd brothers and family in heaven and playing it pretty, like he always does.ā
Based on your eyeballs, here are the most-watched episodes of the year.
Honorable Mention #2: G.E. Smith
Few guitarists have had a more illustrious career then G.E. Smith. From his run with Hall & Oates to his decade of leading the Saturday Night Live band, Smith has played with nearly everyone including Mick Jagger, Tina Tuner, Eddie Van Halen, Buddy Guy, Al Green, and Bob Dylan. Smith hung out with Premier Guitarās John Bohlinger after soundcheck before a recent show at Nashvilleās City Winery during the Masters of Telecaster tour and gave an up-close look at his killer, old-school rig.The Southern rock guitar army of cofounder Gary Rossington and longtimers Rickey Medlocke and Mark Matejka tells the stories behind their vintage guitars, high-powered amps, and classic approach to tone.
Skynyrdās three-guitar army of original member Gary Rossington, Rickey Medlocke and Mark Matejka takes PGās John Bohlinger through their cadre of vintage guitars, high-powered amps, subtle effects, and the stories behind their legendary run.
Click to subscribe to our weekly Rig Rundown podcast: