FREE BIRD.

"We kept getting requests from fans to do something like this again, and it was really touching that people liked Rossing-ton Collins so much, so we really wanted to do it for them", Rossington told me. "Simple Man" pronounced leh-nerd skin-nerd ["Simple Man", which was co-written by Van Zant and Rossington, is an epic power ballad, a heartfelt message from a blue-collar mother to her striving son that starts slow and builds to a powerful Rossington solo. Collins and Rossington had distinctly different styles, as did King and Steve Gaines, who joined the band in 1977, and every other picker who served in the band since their reunion. AS GUITAR WORLD'S unofficial Southern rock correspondent for the past 33 years, I interviewed Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington, who passed away March 5 at age 71, many times over many years. [Extracted from the article]