NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Ed King, a former guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd who helped write several of the group's hits including "Sweet Home Alabama," has died in Nashville, Tennessee, according to a family friend. He was 68.
Scott Coopwood said King died Wednesday due to cancer. Funeral arrangements had not yet been announced Thursday.
King joined the band in 1972 and was part of its first three albums with its distinct three-guitar sound.
He is credited on several of Lynyrd Skynyrd's songs, including "Saturday Night Special" and "Workin' for MCA," and his voice can be heard providing the opening count on "Sweet Home Alabama."
Scott Coopwood said in a statement that King died Aug. 22 due to cancer.
Gary Rossington wrote on the Lynyrd Skynyrd social media pages that King is now reunited with other band members in "Rock and Roll Heaven."
King joined the band in 1972 and was part of its first three albums. He left the band two years before a plane crash that killed singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines in 1977. He rejoined the group 10 years later and played with them until he retired in 1996 due to heart problems.
King was also an original member of the California psychedelic group Strawberry Alarm Clock, which had a hit with “Incense and Peppermints” in 1967.
King joined the band in 1972 when he replaced Leon Wilkeson on bass. He decided to leave the band in 1975 during the group’s Torture Tour.
Steve Gaines replaced King in 1976. Gaines, his sister Cassie and lead singer Ronnie Van Zant were among the band members who were killed in a plane crash in 1977.
King rejoined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1987, but was forced to leave the band again in 1996 due to congestive heart failure, according to Food Republic.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 along with all the pre-crash members of the band.
The current lineup of Lynyrd Skynyrd will play the KFC Yum! Center on November 10 on their "Last of the Street Survivors" farewell tour.
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