Lynyrd Skynyrd Founding Member Gary Rossington Dead at 71

Musician Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd performs during KAABOO Texas at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on May 11, 2019. Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images

Gary Rossington, a co-founder and last surviving original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd who helped write the classic answer song “Sweet Home Alabama,” died Sunday at age 71. No cause of death was given.

“It 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,” the band wrote on Facebook. “Gary is now with his Skynyrd brothers and family in heaven and playing it pretty, like he always does.”