Ed King, a former lead guitarist for the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd who co-wrote one of the group’s best known hits, “Sweet Home Alabama,” has died at age 68, a founding member of the band said on Thursday.
King joined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1972 not long after the band formed, and with two other lead guitarists, Gary Rossington and Allen Collins, helped create the group’s powerful triple-guitar sound prominent on such rock classics as “Free Bird.”
Rossington, a founding member of the band, said on Thursday he was “shocked and saddened” by King’s death.
A notice on King’s Facebook page said he died at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday. No cause of death was revealed.
