![]() ![]() “Gary is now with his Skynyrd brothers and family in heaven and playing it pretty, like he always does.” “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. Planetary health cannot be untangled from our own health as a species, and it is our responsibility to protect nature to promote the health of future generations.(AP) - Gary Rossington, a co-founder and last surviving original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd who helped write the classic answer song “Sweet Home Alabama” and played unforgettable slide guitar on the rock anthem “Free Bird,” died Sunday at age 71. Both efforts are a testament to the power of conserving nature in partnership with communities. The African Parks team, working with the local community, has enabled the return of elephant populations, large herds of buffalo, and one of the largest populations of Kordofan giraffe. ![]() We also saw a true conservation success story-the Greater Zakouma Ecosystem. African Parks is working with local leaders and communities to protect and invest in this remarkable place, including efforts to reintroduce ostriches and oryx. On a recent visit to Chad, my family was able to see firsthand the magic of the Ennedi Plateau in the Sahara Desert-a UNESCO World Heritage Site filled with amazing rock structures and ancient rock art. This year, I was proud to take on the role of Chairperson. One of the best investments we can make to address climate change is to protect the intact nature we still have.įor the past three years, I’ve volunteered on the Board of African Parks Network, a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to preserving, managing, and rehabilitating 22 national parks covering over 20 million hectares across 12 African countries. Thank you for the friendship, laughter and the music. Johnny may you carry on the music and message of your brother, Ronnie, Gary, Allen, Ed, Billy, Leon and Steve. Gary, may you rest in peace with your Skynyrd brothers and sisters who have all gone before you. All entertaining, engaging and memorable shows, especially the 1994 concert in which Johnny dedicated "Tuesday's Gone (With the Wind)" to me. Nine shows spanning nine years, three venues and multiple band lineups. In 1995, I moved on to the new Camden, NJ amphitheater, now called the Freedom Mortgage Pavillon and would host Johnny, Gary and the boys that year and again in 1996. At the age of 15, I began associate producing concerts at Star Lake and would go on to host Skynyrd in 1991, 1992, 19. Tour stops at Star Lake would become a mainstay for the band who routinely played to sold-out Pittsburgh and Wheeling area crowds. In August of that year, Skynyrd would play its first of many shows at the Star Lake Amphitheater in Burgettstown, PA, kicking the set off with the new single in front of a packed house of fans waving wax burning beer cups. In June of 1991 the brand released its first studio album since the 1977 plane crash entitled, "Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991" that featured single "Smokestack Lightening" which received heavy airplay on WDVE-FM in Pittsburgh. My mother, sitting next to me said “I told him that he couldn’t watch the show until he finished his homework.” Gary and Johnny thought for a moment, looked back at me and said, “Well, we won’t go on until Josh finishes his homework!” In October my father would successfully promote the "Skynyrd Tribute Tour" at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena and again in 1988. It was at this show that I also met wheelchair bound Allen Collins who had recently been paralyzed in an automobile accident. This was to be one of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s first reunion shows since the plane crash that took the lives of Johnny’s brother, Ronnie and Cassie and Steve Gaines ten years prior. My father Tom Rooney, introduced me to the band upon our arrival to the Wheeling Civic Center on the evening of September 29th, 1987. The week of my 13th birthday, Gary Rossington jokingly asked me, “Need any help with your homework?” I looked up to find Gary and Johnny Van Zant standing over me trying to read my 7th grade textbook upside down. ![]()
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