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Member of the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gary Rossington, recently died on March 5 at the age of 71. The band revealed the news in an official statement shared on Facebook and wrote:
"Please keep Dale, Mary, Annie and the entire Rossington family in your prayers and respect the family's privacy at this difficult time."
Popular rock band Outlaws also paid tribute to Rossington by sharing a picture of him playing the guitar on Facebook and mentioned:
"Gary was always supportive of both the Outlaws and the Henry Paul Band and I have many fond memories sharing the stage with him in both Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the Rossington Collins Band. As the last surviving member of the group he helped form, I can relate to the impact it will have on the band's fans everywhere. My sincere condolences to his family and bandmates."
Gary's cause of death has not yet been revealed. Although he was suffering from a few health issues, it remains unknown if they played any role in his death.
Gary Rossington was married to Dale Krantz-Rossington
Dale Krantz-Rossington is a background backup singer for Lynyrd Skynyrd. She was a full-time vocalist for the band during their first performance in 1977. This was after a plane crash incident the same year where Gary survived and the rest of Lynyrd's members were killed.
Dale's father was reportedly a professional church choir director. As such, she and her siblings developed an interest in music, and Dale would even sing Johnny Mathis's album in front of a mirror when she was a kid.
Dale is known for her appearances in films like Lynyrd Skynyrd Lyve: The Vicious Cycle Tour, Decades Rock Live, and If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Gary and Dale exchanged vows in 1982 and became the parents of two daughters.
Gary Rossington had a few health issues
Gary Rossington suffered a heart attack on October 8, 2015, and his daughter Mary Elizabeth shared a post on Facebook at the time, requesting everyone to pray for him. Gary's heart problems had persisted for a long time and he had already undergone a quintuple bypass in 2003.
Mary addressed his surgery at the time and wrote:
"They went in to repair and unclog two stents they did previously in the year which had a blood clot, added a third stent to one vein and in two weeks we will need to go in to do a fourth stent in one of his bypassed veins from 12 years ago."
Lynyrd Skynyrd had a busy schedule at the time and had to cancel one of their tours when Gary had to be hospitalized for an abdominal infection the same year. The tour was rescheduled for 2016.
Back in 2021, he had another heart surgery, which he was able to survive, and the band also shared a statement that he was slowly recovering. They said that he encouraged them to perform without him and he was also scheduled to play on another tour with ZZ Top.
Rossington was known as the founder of Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Rossington Band, and The Rossington Collins Band.
