Guitarist Gary Rossington, the lone original member of the Lynyrd Skynyrd that tours today, quipped on King’s aloof, business-minded nature in the documentary. On the album cover for “Pronounced,” King is pictured far right, a bit detached from the group. King is a highlight of “If I Leave Here Tomorrow,” offering keen firsthand insight into the Southern band as an outsider from California. I had to play on old strings and I broke two strings during ‘Free Bird.’ After, Ronnie was riding me, and a lightbulb went off and I said, ‘That’s it.’ I went back to my room, packed up my stuff and left.” They didn’t arrive … until 10 minutes before we went on. “Ronnie and my guitar roadie who changed my strings were thrown in jail in Ann Arbor. I’m not digging the violence part,” King said, recounting how a broken string at a show in Pittsburgh earned him the wrath of the mercurial Van Zant. “I’m the hippie from Southern California. King played on the band’s first three albums: 1973’s “(Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd)”, 1974’s “Second Helping” and 1975’s “Nuthin’ Fancy.” He most famously co-wrote “Second Helping”‘s “Sweet Home Alabama” - that’s him counting off “1, 2, 3” in the song’s intro - which, along with “Free Bird,” has become synonymous with the group.Īfter a dust-up with singer Ronnie Van Zant, King, tired of the Skynyrd drama and propensity for fighting, exited the band in 1975, detailing the incident in the superb new documentary “If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd.” We thank his many friends and fans for their love and support of Ed during his life and career.”Ī California native, King was a founding member of the psychedelic ’60s band Strawberry Alarm Clock, known for their hit “Incense and Peppermints.” He offered to join Skynyrd when, opening for the band at the Jacksonville, Florida, bar the Comic Book Club in 1968, he heard them rehearsing the song “Need All My Friends.” It wasn’t until 1972, however, when King would sign on with Skynyrd, temporarily replacing bassist Leon Wilkeson and then becoming a full-fledged member as third guitarist. A cause of death was not specified, though King had been battling lung cancer and had recently been hospitalized for the disease.Ī message on King’s Facebook confirmed his death: “It is with great sorrow we announce the passing of Ed King who died at his home in Nashville, Tennessee on August 22nd, 2018. Thirty years later, for the deluxe CD version of Street Survivors, the original “flames” cover was restored.Ed King, the Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist who joined the band in 1972 to give the Southern rock group its iconic three-guitar sound, died Wednesday in Nashville. Out of respect for the deceased (and at the request of Teresa Gaines, Steve’s widow), MCA Records withdrew the original cover and replaced it with the album’s back photo, a similar image of the band against a simple black background. The original cover sleeve for Street Survivors had featured a photograph of the band engulfed in flames, with Steve Gaines nearly obscured by fire. The single “What’s Your Name” reached No. Following the crash and the ensuing press, Street Survivors became the band’s second platinum album and reached No. The accident happened after just three of the release of Street Survivors. The other band members Collins, Gary Rossington, Wilkeson, Powell, Artimus Pyle, and Hawkins, tour manager Ron Eckerman, and several road crew suffered serious injuries. Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines, along with backup singer Cassie Gaines (Steve’s older sister), assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray died. The plane run out of fuel and the pilots attempted an emergency landing before they crashed in a heavily forested area five miles northeast of Gillsburg, Mississippi. But the band had a tragic chance when a plane crash killed almost the whole band.Īfter they performed at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium in Greenville, South Carolina, on October 20, 1977, the band went on a chartered Convair CV-240 bound for Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where they were scheduled to appear at LSU the following night.
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