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Lynyrd Skynyrd Guitarist Gary Rossington Recovering After Emergency Heart Surgery

Lynyrd Skynyrd lead guitarist Gary Rossington, the co-songwriter on the group’s biggest hit, “Sweet Home Alabama,” is recovering from emergency heart surgery.

The 69-year-old Rossington, the group’s last living original member, was given an upbeat prognosis on the band’s Instagram and Facebook pages.

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In addition to “Sweet Home Alabama,” Rossington was a writer on “What’s Your Name” and “Simple Man” for Lynyrd Skynyrd. He also had his own solo project, the Rossington-Collins Band.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Gary Rossington as he recovers from emergency heart surgery. Gary is home resting and recovering with his family at home. He wants everyone to know he is doing good and expects a full recovery,” said the post.

It continued, “After this past year, the country being shut down and everything we have all been thru, The Rossington’s encouraged the band to go perform in his absence. Music is a powerful healer! We all felt playing the shows and bringing the music to y’all was a better option than canceling the performances.

“We wish Gary a speedy recovery and we will see the Skynyrd Nation very soon!

Please do us a favor and say some prayers for the Rossington family and if you would like to leave him a (positive) message please do! He will look forward to reading them!”

Rossington has a history of heart problems. He underwent emergency heart surgery in 2016, and had a heart valve repaired in 2019.

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