Gary Rossington (born December 4, 1951 in Jacksonville, Florida) is a founding member and lead guitarist of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. December 4 is the 338th day (339th on leap years) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Flag Seal Motto: Where Florida Begins Location Location in the state of Florida Coordinates , Government Country State County United States Florida Duval Mayor John Peyton (R) Geographical characteristics Area     City 2,264. ... Southern rock is a style of rock music that was very popular in the 1970s, and retains a fan base to the present. ... Lynyrd Skynyrd (pronounced /leh-nerd skin-nerd/) is a U.S. Southern rock band, described by All Music Guides Stephen Thomas Erlewine as the definitive Southern rock band, fusing the overdriven power of blues-rock with a rebellious, Southern image and a hard rock swagger. ...

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 three of the group's members. Ronald Wayne Ronnie Van Zant (January 15, 1948 – October 20, 1977) was the lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. ... Allen Larkin Collins (July 19, 1952 - January 23, 1990) was one of the founding members and guitarists of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. ... Larry Junstrom (born June 22, 1949) is the bassist of American rock band . ... Lynyrd Skynyrd 1973 For other persons named Bob Burns, see Bob Burns (disambiguation). ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... (Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd) (original title writing (pronouncedleh-nerdskin-nerd)) is a 1973 (see 1973 in music) album from Lynyrd Skynyrd. ... Free Bird is a song by American Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...

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.

In 1980, Rossington cofounded The Rossington-Collins Band with Allen Collins. The band released two albums, but disbanded in 1986 after further misfortune, when Collins was in a car accident that killed his girlfriend and left him permanently paralyzed from the waist down. The Rossington-Collins Band was an off-shoot of legendary southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, founded in 1980 by guitarists Gary Rossington and Allen Collins following the tragic 1977 plane crash which killed three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, thus ending that bands career. ... Allen Larkin Collins (July 19, 1952 - January 23, 1990) was one of the founding members and guitarists of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. ...

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.

He married Dale Krantz (the former lead singer of The Rossington-Collins Band in 1982, and they have had two daughters, Mary & Annie. The Rossington-Collins Band was an off-shoot of legendary southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, founded in 1980 by guitarists Gary Rossington and Allen Collins following the tragic 1977 plane crash which killed three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, thus ending that bands career. ...

Official Lynyrd Skynyrd History site

• Official Lynyrd Skynyrd site

References

• Gary Rossington biography
• Freebird: The Movie (1977/1987)
• Lynyrd Skynyrd - Remembering the Freebirds of Southern Rock, Gene Odom and Frank Dorman