R.I.P.: Rock Guitarist Ed King Was 68

Ed King

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.”

He grew up in Glendale, California, and performed in the Hollywood rock scene with the band Strawberry Alarm Clock before joining Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1972 to complete what has been called its "three-guitar sound."

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, according to Reuters.

King left the group in 1975, two years before a plane crash killed two of the band’s members and a backup vocalist.

King returned to Lynyrd Skynyrd when the band regrouped in 1987, and stayed until 1996. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the band in 2006.