Gary Rossington, the last founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd who was still alive, has died. He was 71 years old at the time.

The band told everyone on Facebook the bad news. Gary Rossington, our brother, friend, family member, songwriter, and musician, died today. We are very sorry to tell you this.

Gary is having a good time in paradise with his family and brothers in Skynyrd. Please remember Dale, Mary, Annie, and the rest of the Rossington family in your prayers during this sad time.

Rossington survived and was well-known for it, but we don’t know anything else about his death at this time. In 1977, he was seriously hurt in a plane crash that also killed four of his bandmates. The group took a long break after that.

Ronnie Van Zant, the brother of the late Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer, brought the band back to life ten years later, and Rossington and other survivors joined.

The founding members, except for Rossington, left the band for different reasons, but they kept writing music and playing for decades after they got back together. Rossington had surgery on his heart in 2021, but he kept rocking until the end.

Fans and people who worked in the music business quickly sent their condolences to the family of the late artist Gary Rossington. His musical contributions were liked by others.

One fan said that Gary Rossington’s skill and influence were big reasons why Lynyrd Skynyrd was called “one of America’s three best rock bands ever and a Southern rock-style Led Zeppelin.” One more person said, “Gary Rossington has left.” “One of the best and a precursor to a look and sound that are now classic and loved.”

Even though he stayed with the band until the end, Rossington said it was “weird” to hear other people play their songs. “The notes and the tunes are the same.” It makes sense to me. He told Rolling Stone, “That sounds a lot like our band.” It’s odd that I can’t find the first band no matter where I look. Then I see a strange person standing in for me.

He loved that a lot of their fans felt the same way about their music. He also hoped that their songs would be played for a long time after all of the band members had died. “Me, Allen Collins, and Ronnie Van Zant formed this band with the hope of going big, and that hope came true,” he said. “They’d love it if their music kept rolling after they died.”