We’ve lost a fine musician. I’m sorry to hear this.

Happy trails, Mr. King ! Condolences to his near and dear.

R.I.P. Thanks for the great music

Sad news indeed. I always liked Ed. Rock In Peace Mr. King!

RIP Ed. Didn't know he had cancer. Sad.

He really provided that nuanced Statocaster pickin' sound to the Skynyrd mix in his time. Steve Gaines did later too (and when they reunited Ed normally played the Gaines parts). Without Ed or Steve, the nuance was gone IMO.

Ed wrote the riff and music to one of the most recognizable songs of all time, Sweet Home Alabama. Co-wrote Whiskey Rock a Roller, Working for the MCA and Saturday Night Special. He had a big hand in the arrangements of Curtis Lowe & Needle & Spoon.

Was accessible online with fans and seemed to have enjoyed his life after leaving Skynyrd and getting heart transplant. He had hoped at the time back in 1996 to return to Skynyrd but was permanently replaced. Later, I think he realized retirement in Nashville (with Sweet Home Alabama royalty checks coming in) was a good lifestyle.

Rest easy...

You could pick off his input from them early discs, Great contributor to that Skynyrd sound. He had a sweetness to his riff bag that worked well with Gary's slide/honky tonk riffs. They all melded nicely really. They too had a guitar army.

RIP Sir.

My absolute favorite of all the LS pickers; kept his sense of humor right up to the end.

R.I.P. my friend...

You are already missed and I hope you finished your book!

As we know our Butch Trucks didn't like Dickey Betts and some of it went back to the original band but most of it began evolving in the early 1990s. Butch also didn't like Ed King. Not long before Butch passed he let loose on Ed King in his blog and it was vicious. I must have tried to tune it out for I can't remember why Butch couldn't stand him. At the time he disliked Ed worse than Dickey and Butch rarely missed a chance to slam Dickey after 2000. But his bitterness for Ed King was really something. But right now I can't remember what the deal was.

Ed King was a great musician and guitarist. His style plugged a hole that was missing when it was just Gary and Allen on lead. Ed made the lead guitars maybe more sophisticated and technically a little more rounded. But LS was not Ed's kind of people. Ed said more than once after he resurfaced after Ronnie died that he was just a flowerchild hippie from California and LS was a violent and rough crew. Like bikers. And Ronnie ran the band like a mafia don. Ed said Ronnie and his guitar tech had just gotten out of jail and made the gig 10 minutes before it started and Ed found out the hard way his Stratocaster had not been restrung. He broke 3 strings including on Free Brid and Ronnie Van Zandt got all in his face after the gig. Ed said it was on the verge of violent and scary. Ed said after Ronnie finally stormed off he said he just couldn't take that kind of dress down anymore. Ed said he went to his room, packed up his stuff and quit. Ed hid from the band for a long time out of fear and I remember Ronnie saying in print when news broke they didn't know where Ed King went that if he could get his hands on Ed King..........

I guess if there was a band that had Ronnie Van Zandt, Dickey Betts and David Allen Coe they would be drunk and laughing at one gig then knots on their heads and black eyes the next night. Dickey got into a brawl with the first line up of Great Southern in 1977. When they next played, 3 of the guys had been replaced and Dickey was on stage with a black shiner. Somebody popped him pretty hard.

I really liked Ed King. He was a great musician and I remember being disappointed and bumed out when I found out he had gone over the hill and Ronnie wanted him badly. Rest in peace Ed. I thought you were great!

As we know our Butch Trucks didn't like Dickey Betts and some of it went back to the original band but most of it began evolving in the early 1990s. Butch also didn't like Ed King. Not long before Butch passed he let loose on Ed King in his blog and it was vicious. I must have tried to tune it out for I can't remember why Butch couldn't stand him. At the time he disliked Ed worse than Dickey and Butch rarely missed a chance to slam Dickey after 2000. But his bitterness for Ed King was really something. But right now I can't remember what the deal was.

Ed King was a great musician and guitarist. His style plugged a hole that was missing when it was just Gary and Allen on lead. Ed made the lead guitars maybe more sophisticated and technically a little more rounded. But LS was not Ed's kind of people. Ed said more than once after he resurfaced after Ronnie died that he was just a flowerchild hippie from California and LS was a violent and rough crew. Like bikers. And Ronnie ran the band like a mafia don. Ed said Ronnie and his guitar tech had just gotten out of jail and made the gig 10 minutes before it started and Ed found out the hard way his Stratocaster had not been restrung. He broke 3 strings including on Free Brid and Ronnie Van Zandt got all in his face after the gig. Ed said it was on the verge of violent and scary. Ed said after Ronnie finally stormed off he said he just couldn't take that kind of dress down anymore. Ed said he went to his room, packed up his stuff and quit. Ed hid from the band for a long time out of fear and I remember Ronnie saying in print when news broke they didn't know where Ed King went that if he could get his hands on Ed King..........

I guess if there was a band that had Ronnie Van Zandt, Dickey Betts and David Allen Coe they would be drunk and laughing at one gig then knots on their heads and black eyes the next night. Dickey got into a brawl with the first line up of Great Southern in 1977. When they next played, 3 of the guys had been replaced and Dickey was on stage with a black shiner. Somebody popped him pretty hard.

I really liked Ed King. He was a great musician and I remember being disappointed and bumed out when I found out he had gone over the hill and Ronnie wanted him badly. Rest in peace Ed. I thought you were great!

Wow that is a great tribute blackey. I was going to post a short comment on how I remember King saying that he quit Skynyrd because he just could not handle Ronnie's drunken assh*leness ANY more. But you said it much better than I ever could.

Rolling Stone had the story in their "country" section. Sad. Wasn't like that back in '73. Saw 'em at the Omni (headliners didn't show up) and New Year's Eve at the Sheraton Biltmore downtown.

"Whiskey Rock a roller"

Ed sharing a famous riff

As we know our Butch Trucks didn't like Dickey Betts and some of it went back to the original band but most of it began evolving in the early 1990s. Butch also didn't like Ed King. Not long before Butch passed he let loose on Ed King in his blog and it was vicious. I must have tried to tune it out for I can't remember why Butch couldn't stand him. At the time he disliked Ed worse than Dickey and Butch rarely missed a chance to slam Dickey after 2000. But his bitterness for Ed King was really something. But right now I can't remember what the deal was.

Ed King was a great musician and guitarist. His style plugged a hole that was missing when it was just Gary and Allen on lead. Ed made the lead guitars maybe more sophisticated and technically a little more rounded. But LS was not Ed's kind of people. Ed said more than once after he resurfaced after Ronnie died that he was just a flowerchild hippie from California and LS was a violent and rough crew. Like bikers. And Ronnie ran the band like a mafia don. Ed said Ronnie and his guitar tech had just gotten out of jail and made the gig 10 minutes before it started and Ed found out the hard way his Stratocaster had not been restrung. He broke 3 strings including on Free Brid and Ronnie Van Zandt got all in his face after the gig. Ed said it was on the verge of violent and scary. Ed said after Ronnie finally stormed off he said he just couldn't take that kind of dress down anymore. Ed said he went to his room, packed up his stuff and quit. Ed hid from the band for a long time out of fear and I remember Ronnie saying in print when news broke they didn't know where Ed King went that if he could get his hands on Ed King..........

I guess if there was a band that had Ronnie Van Zandt, Dickey Betts and David Allen Coe they would be drunk and laughing at one gig then knots on their heads and black eyes the next night. Dickey got into a brawl with the first line up of Great Southern in 1977. When they next played, 3 of the guys had been replaced and Dickey was on stage with a black shiner. Somebody popped him pretty hard.

I really liked Ed King. He was a great musician and I remember being disappointed and bumed out when I found out he had gone over the hill and Ronnie wanted him badly. Rest in peace Ed. I thought you were great!

thought he was the best player in skynyrd. didn't he do the slide on Curtis lowe? also dug the solo on "am I losin" butch went off on ed because he trashed tom dowd as a producer.

First time i ever saw Ed King play he was in this redneck band from Jax FLA that opened for theWHO. tHAT was NIGHT in ROCK HEAVEN.back when dinosours ruled the earth .man made a mrk damn skippy.

Big bunch of Skynyrd stuff here

http://www.jacksonville.com/entertainmentlife/20180823/what-song-is-it-you-wanna-hear

and here

http://gatehousenews.com/lynyrdskynyrd/home/site/jacksonville.com

He was a fine musician.

Has anyone watched the Skynyrd documentary currently airing on HBO? Great documentary for any fan of the band or fan of music in general. There's a great deal of Ed King footage included.

Has anyone watched the Skynyrd documentary currently airing on HBO? Great documentary for any fan of the band or fan of music in general. There's a great deal of Ed King footage included.

I caught most of it the other night and it is indeed very good (on Showtime though; not HBO). I'm not even that much of a Skynyrd fan, although I did listen to them quite a lot for a large chunk of my youth. But it was a very good and engaging documentary.

In some of the articles online about King's death, I did see a quote or two somewhere from Rossington commenting on King's death. But otherwise the Skynyrd camp has been radio silent about it. No mention on the website or anything. I know both times they parted ways not on the best of terms, but seems like a $hitty way to treat the death of a former member that brought so much to the band, including arguably writing their biggest hit.

And damn, that band is cursed. Just reading the Wiki history of bandmembers, they've lost like a dozen members to premature deaths and Rossington seems like the elder statesman and he's 'only' in his mid-60s and he has serious medical problems himself. Life expectancy on par with 3rd world countries, it seems.

[Edited on 8/25/2018 by Zambi]

Rest in Peace! still remember you in '74 opening for the Who-blew them off the stage. They should've gone home after you guys. That was a magic lineup. You all brought the house down with Freebird & Sweet Home Alabama!

Thanks for posting that, pops. Very good.

Has anyone watched the Skynyrd documentary currently airing on HBO? Great documentary for any fan of the band or fan of music in general. There's a great deal of Ed King footage included.

I caught most of it the other night and it is indeed very good (on Showtime though; not HBO). I'm not even that much of a Skynyrd fan, although I did listen to them quite a lot for a large chunk of my youth. But it was a very good and engaging documentary.

In some of the articles online about King's death, I did see a quote or two somewhere from Rossington commenting on King's death. But otherwise the Skynyrd camp has been radio silent about it. No mention on the website or anything. I know both times they parted ways not on the best of terms, but seems like a $hitty way to treat the death of a former member that brought so much to the band, including arguably writing their biggest hit.

And damn, that band is cursed. Just reading the Wiki history of bandmembers, they've lost like a dozen members to premature deaths and Rossington seems like the elder statesman and he's 'only' in his mid-60s and he has serious medical problems himself. Life expectancy on par with 3rd world countries, it seems.

In the last two shows since Ed's death, Skynyrd had a "In Memory of Ed King" on the video board before they played "Alabama" and Johnny toasted him as well
[Edited on 8/25/2018 by Zambi]

Been listening to some more Ed King. Coming Home is one of the best examples of how good they sounded on the 1987-1988 Tribute Tour. Some cool video accompanies this one though the person who made it showed noticeably little Ed King. I heard this tune on the second night at the Omni.

In the last two shows since Ed's death, Skynyrd had a "In Memory of Ed King" on the video board before they played "Alabama" and Johnny toasted him as well

I am happy to be corrected. That is nice to hear.

Gary liked Ed King and respected his guitar playing. Ed was welcomed back into the band when they reformed in ernest in 1987.

Ed when AWOL on that 1975 tour because as much as his care for Ronnie and his talent, he couldn't take the violence and rough talk anymore. Some of the things Ed said about Ronnie reminded me of some of the ABB Dickey stories.

Ed broke 3 strings the last show he played in 1975 including one on Free Bird and Ronnie got all over him after the show. Ed couldn't take it anymore and the reason he went AWOL rather than turn in a notice is he was afraid of Ronnie.

I get *why* he left in '75, but the way he left the band didn't leave him in very good standing.

And then after rejoining the band for Lynyrd Skynyrd 2.0, he left for medical reasons with the intention and desire and expectation of returning upon his recovery. Instead, the band kicked him to the curb. Ever since, both Ed King and Artimus Pyle were personas non gratas with the band. That's all my point was.

Glad to hear the current band tipped their hat to King. Classy move after the way they had previously treated him. A lot better than the childish behavior going on in DC right now.

I get *why* he left in '75, but the way he left the band didn't leave him in very good standing.

And then after rejoining the band for Lynyrd Skynyrd 2.0, he left for medical reasons with the intention and desire and expectation of returning upon his recovery. Instead, the band kicked him to the curb. Ever since, both Ed King and Artimus Pyle were personas non gratas with the band. That's all my point was.

Glad to hear the current band tipped their hat to King. Classy move after the way they had previously treated him. A lot better than the childish behavior going on in DC right now.

I agree. They wronged the man in 2.0 Those who hated him will diminish his roll but it’s evident that he was important to that band from the start.

I’m not sure how long Pyle was to last in the original band. By all accounts he wasn’t as easy to beat up on and stood his ground. A bully won’t have that.

Ed was afraid of Ronnie. That is why he left the way he did in 1975. Gregg and Butch were afraid of Dickey. That's why they faxed when they got Jaimoe's vote.

Probably Ed should have waiting for Ronnie to cool down then told him he would finish the tour then leave the band. As it were, Ed bailed mid tour with no notice. Just disappeared and I remember in one of the rock rags someone in the band said Ronnie was so mad at Ed he better not let Ronnie find out where he is.

But I never met Ronnie. ONLY saw him several times on stage. Maybe if I were Ed and got the verbal lashing he got from Ronnie, I would have been compelled to just vanish. Some people leave jobs that way. Just quit showing up. No notice, no nothing.

Dickey was rough on Butch when Butch would get in his face and supposedly broke his nose with a quick right to the head. But Dickey never talked that way to Gregg. Gregg and Dickey when they were angry just quit speaking to each other.

Another wonderful musician passing. He brought a hard edge to Skynyrd that I missed when he left. Those shows from the 75 tour were Skynyrd at their peak. Always had respect for him as a person.

Been on an Ed King kick so I went back & listened to some of Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 and Last Rebel again. At the time of release, I was terribly disappointed. I was really hoping those records had aged better than my impressions from back then. Unfortunately, my opinion hasn't changed. The rockers were more plodding, the ballads and slow tunes were ok but the the vocal melodies/lyrics were just bad in most songs. Maybe 2-3 enjoyable, quality tunes are enjoyable across 2 whole records.

The Allmans quickly surpassed Skynyrd for me in that time frame with the combination of new material and live shows (though Second Helping, One More from Road and Street Survivors remain among my favorite material and the Tribute Tour one of the best concert memories).

OK - I might have been a little too harsh on The Last Rebel...Listening now and reminded of a few more I might have liked....but still not what I was hoping.