ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons took time out to pay tribute to his sadly departed friend, the late-Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington. Rossington, the last remaining original member of the band, died on March 5th following years of ill-health and numerous heart procedures. ZZ Top will be on the road this summer with Skynyrd.
Gibbons told Rolling Stone, “Gary Rossington’s loss is especially profound for us as we’ve spent countless hours in his company on tour and all points in between. We facilitated getting Lynyrd Skynyrd on the bill with ZZ Top at a South Carolina date way back during the start of the band’s rise in '73, which started an enduring friendship.”
He went on to say, “Gary’s extraordinary ability as a guitarist was nothing less than inspirational. It’s an old cliché about somebody who has paid their dues to call them a 'survivor,' and it this case it is literally true. Gary was the last of the breed and will be missed.”