In Memoriam|

This 1975 file photo shows guitarist Ed King of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Ed died Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 from cancer. (AP Photo)

Another tragedy has struck in the Lynyrd Skynyrd camp. The legendary Southern rock band’s former guitarist and bassist Ed King, the co-writer of “Sweet Home Alabama” and other Skynyrd classics, died Aug. 22 from cancer. He was 68 years old. According to Nashville news station WTVF, King had been battling cancer for several months.

King, an original member of the psychedelic group Strawberry Alarm Clock (best known for the 1967 chart-topper “Incense and Peppermints,” which King also co-wrote), joined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1972 and played on their first three albums, Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd, Second Helping, and Nuthin’ Fancy. At first, he replaced Leon Wilkeson on bass, but when Wilkeson returned to the lineup, he switched to guitar and became part of the band’s signature triple-axe sound.

King’s voice was heard counting off the “one, two, three” intro before the famous guitar riff of “Sweet Home Alabama.” He also wrote or co-wrote “Poison Whiskey,” “Saturday Night Special,” “Mr. Banker,” “Swamp Music,” “Whiskey Rock-a-Roller,” “Railroad Song,” “I Need You,” and “Workin’ for MCA.”

King temporarily left Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1975, two years before the tragic plane crash in Gillsburg, Miss., that killed three Skynyrd members — including King’s replacement on guitar, Steve Gaines. King rejoined the reunited group in 1987 and played with them until in 1996, when he retired due to congestive heart failure. Along with all of Skynyrd’s pre-crash members, King was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

King figures prominently in the new Lynyrd Skynyrd documentary If I Leave Here Tomorrow, which made its premiere at this year’s South by Southwest festival. Speaking to Yahoo Entertainment at that time, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s lone surviving original founder, Gary Rossington, described getting emotional watching a scene in which King reminisced about being invited to join the band. “There’s a part at the beginning when Ed King is talking about our song ‘Need All My Friends.’ Then it shows us, me and singer Ronnie [Van Zant, who also died in the ’77 plane crash] looking right at each other,” he said. “And it was like, all my friends are dead and gone. I just went, ‘Oh, my God.’ It’s just real sentimental to me.”

“I’ve just found out about Ed’s passing and I’m shocked and saddened. Ed was our brother, and a great Songwriter and Guitar player. I know he will be reunited with the rest of the boys in Rock & Roll Heaven. Our thoughts and prayers are with Sharon and his family”. ~ Gary Rossington — Lynyrd Skynyrd (@Skynyrd) August 23, 2018

By Lyndsey Parker

Original article also contains a short, informative video:
https://www.aol.com/article/entertainment/2018/08/23/former-lynyrd-skynyrd-guitarist-ed-king-dead-at-age-68/23508256/

Photo: Ed King of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd died Wednesday, August 22nd.

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Other Notable Musicians’ Deaths…

August 2018
29: Ellie Mannette, 90, Trinidadian steelpan musician.

27: Zé Béttio (pt), 92, Brazilian composer; Józef Kossowski, 83, Polish violinist.

26: Inge Borkh, 97, German soprano; Tony Hiller, 91, British songwriter (“United We Stand”, “Save Your Kisses for Me”, “Figaro”) and producer.

25: Kyle Pavone, 28, American rock vocalist (We Came as Romans); Noam Sheriff, 83, Israeli composer and conductor, heart attack.

24: DJ Ready Red, 53, American hip hop producer (Geto Boys) and DJ, heart attack; Uri Katzenstein, 67, Israeli sculptor and musician, stroke; James Mallinson, 74/5, English record producer.

23: George Walker, 96, American composer (Lilacs), Pulitzer Prize recipient (1996), fall.

22 Ed King, 68, American Hall of Fame guitarist (Strawberry Alarm Clock, Lynyrd Skynyrd) and songwriter (“Sweet Home Alabama”), lung cancer; Lazy Lester, 85, American Hall of Fame blues musician, stomach cancer.

21: Enrico De Angelis, 97, Italian jazz singer; José Luis Fernández Álvarez, 73, Spanish tonada singer; Spencer P. Jones, 61, New Zealand singer and guitarist (The Johnnys, Beasts of Bourbon, Sacred Cowboys), liver cancer.

http://www.wikipedia.com

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