Longtime 38 Special and founding Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist Larry Junstrom has died at the age of 70. .38 Special confirmed the news on Facebook.
"The Big Man on the Big Bass has left us," his former bandmates wrote. "He rocked arenas all over the world and succeeded in living his dream. He was truly one of a kind, a congenial traveling companion and a great friend to all with a humorous slant on life that always kept our spirits high -- a kind man with a big heart for everyone who crossed his path. There will never be another like him. We are sending our devoted love, strength and comfort to his wife Thania and Larry’s family. We will miss our friend and partner."
Junstrom formed Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1964 alongside his high school classmates Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins and Bob Burns. He departed the group in 1971, prior to the recording of their debut album, Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd.
Six years later, he joined Van Zant's younger brother Donnie's band, 38 Special. "My first show with 38 Special was the [1977] Super Bowl of Rock," Junstrom told Swampland in 2004. "To this day [it is] one of the biggest shows we have ever done. It was at Soldier Field in Chicago and there were about 100,000 people there. I will never forget it -- the acts on the bill were Journey, Skynyrd, Ted Nugent and several other bands. I was so nervous before that show that I could not sleep for three nights before, but once I hit the stage it was natural and everyone said I did great."
Junstrom appeared on all 12 of 38 Special's studio albums, from their self-titled 1977 debut until 2004's Drivetrain, before a hand injury forced him to retire from the group in 2014. "I know everyone tells you their fans are the best, but nobody is more loyal than a 38 fan," Junstrom told Swampland when asked about the key to the band's longevity. "We give 110 percent at everything we do and that shows in our ability to survive the trends in the music business."
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What a shame. I've seen 38 a whole bunch of times over the years, usually paired with other 70s rock bands, REO Speedwagon, Syyx, Nugent, Joan Jett, etc. They always put on a good show. They are not all about Donnie.
I like how they have kind of combined southern rock with more pop oriented rock.
Didn't know he played on all of their studio stuff. Too bad. Great talent.
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
RIP Larry.
I think I only saw them once, but followed .38's career pretty closely. Chain Lightening is still my favorite song of theirs.
I saw them headline the Omni (16,000+) in spring of '87. If they were going to have any challenge selling it out, that went out the window when they booked Bon Jovi as the opener.
Bon Jovi were a regular opener for big names in mid-80s. Then they released Slippery When Wet. They had already been booked as opener before that was released. By the time they hit Atlanta, Bon Jovi had the biggest album in the country. The place was packed for their 50 minute opening set.
.38 was on top of their game and had plenty of hits by that point to fill a 1:50 minute set after Bon Jovi.
Its fascinating when that kind of thing happens. I remember in the 1980s when Billy Squier was big and he had a tour in which Def Leppard was the opener, but I guess it was Pyromania that they had just released. Part way through the tour, the opening act was wildly popular, more so than the headliner.
