Tribute to Gary Rossington, featuring Sheldon Zoldan

Gary Rossington's love for baseball launched him into a music career that lasted to the end of his life. This tribute to Rossington, written and recorded by longtime writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan, is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023.

 Sheldon also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. All of those stories and these tributes include links to the featured songs. Here, you can link to “What’s Your Name” on YouTube. (To get on Sheldon's Song of the Day subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.)

Amazon carries four books about Rossington available on Kindle and in paperback, apparently all published immediately after his death. You can go to the chapters to see the cover of one of the books — by Tony Alexander — which has a nice shot of Rossington.   

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to the show!

Available on Apple, Spotify, Audible and in other directories, and on YouTube.

Transcript

Kate:
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Hello, and welcome to Everyday Creation,

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a show about living our purpose and lifting

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our vibes for ourselves

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and the world.

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I'm Kate Jones, here with a tribute to

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Gary Rossington,

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the last original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

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This is one of 44 short yet illuminating

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episodes

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about significant figures in the music industry who

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passed away in 2023.

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My guest Sheldon Zoldan,

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a longtime writer and newspaper editor,

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wrote these tributes and recorded them.

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Here's what he says about Rossington

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who died on March 5th last year.

Sheldon:
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Gary Rossington loved baseball.

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His goal was to play for the New

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York Yankees.

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Then he heard the Rolling Stones and went

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after a different field of dreams.

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He ended up playing in some of the

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largest stadiums in the country,

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not as a baseball player, but as one

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of the original members of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

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Rossington,

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the last original member of the band,

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died March 5th in Milton, Georgia.

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He was 71.

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There wouldn't have been a Lynyrd Skynyrd without

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baseball.

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He met Ronnie Van Zant and Bob Burns

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when they were on opposing baseball teams in

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1964.

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They began jamming together

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and liked what they heard.

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They changed the band's name to Lynyrd Skynyrd

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in 1969.

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Rossington suffered as much tragedy as he enjoyed

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success.

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He survived a serious car crash in 1976

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when he hit a tree while under the

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influence of drugs and alcohol.

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The band got a hit song out of

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the accident, "That Smell,"

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about how Rossington was under the influence

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at the time of the accident.

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He was one of 20 survivors

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when the plane carrying the band to a

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concert crashed.

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Six people died

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including Van Zandt.

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Rossington became addicted to pain pills he used

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after the crash.

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Rossington continued to play with Lynyrd Skynyrd until

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his death as well as forming several of

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his own bands.

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Rossington

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and Van Zandt wrote the Song of the

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Day, "What's Your Name?"

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It's based on a true story when the

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band got kicked out of a bar in

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Miami

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after one of the roadies got into a

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fight.

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The only difference was the song had that 

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happen in Boise, Idaho,

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not Miami.

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The song reached number 13 on the Billboard

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Hot 100.

Kate:
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This is Kate again.

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Sheldon also writes Song of the Day, a

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music-related story sent daily to an email

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list of subscribers.

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All of those stories and these tributes

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include links to the featured songs.

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In this episode's description,

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you can link to "What's Your Name" on

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YouTube, as well as get information

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on how to join Sheldon's subscriber list.

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If you enjoyed this tribute,

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please check out the next one about the

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tremendously

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talented

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and terribly troubled Jim Gordon,

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who received a co-writing credit on "Layla,"

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one of Eric Clapton's most popular songs.

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Please share the tributes with anyone who might

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appreciate these well-researched glimpses

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into the lives of the people who created

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some of the music we love.

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Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation.