ed king
Skynyrd guitar man (1949–2018)
Guitarist Ed King claimed that the two solos in “sweet Home alabama” came to him in a dream. “i immediately woke up, got my guitar and started playing what i’d seen,” he said. the following day, in June 1973, he joined Lynyrd skynyrd in the studio to record what he described as “one of the finest feelgood tunes of all time”.
Co-written with fellow guitarist Gary rossington and lead singer ronnie Van Zant, “sweet Home alabama” is perhaps the ultimate southern rock anthem, fired by King’s distinctive intro riff. it was by no means his only songwriting contribution to skynyrd – others included “Poison Whiskey”, “Workin’ For MCa”, “Whiskey rock-a-roller” and fan favourite “saturday Night special” – but it remains his defining moment and their biggest hit.
King had already tasted success, albeit of the slightly sour variety, with previous outfit the strawberry alarm Clock. the psychedelic rockers, formed in La in 1967, hit big immediately with Billboard charttopper “incense and Peppermints”. But both King and Mark Weitz, who’d helped create the song, were denied a credit by producer Frank slay. in 1970, the band found themselves opening for skynyrd on tour. “ronnie invited me to a practice session one afternoon and it changed my life,” King told Uncut in 2006. “i told him there and then that if he ever needed another band member, please call. two years later, he looked me up in some bar in North Carolina.”
King initially joined skynyrd as bassist, filling in for the recently departed Leon Wilkeson. When Wilkeson returned, King switched to guitar, forming a three-pointed attack with rossington and allen Collins. amid increasing tension within the group – “it became violent. Pretty much every day was traumatic” – he quit during 1975’s aptly named torture tour. King reunited with skynyrd 12 years later, before congestive heart failure forced him to leave for good in 1996.