Lynyrd Skynyrd and Strawberry Alarm Clock’s Ed King Dead at 68

Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist and Strawberry Alarm Clock co-founder Ed King has died, as Rolling Stone reports and his Facebook page confirms. He was 68 years old. “I’ve just found out about Ed’s passing and I’m shocked and saddened,” Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Garry Rossington wrote in a statement. “Ed was our brother, and a great Songwriter and Guitar player. I know he will be reunited with the rest of the boys in Rock & Roll Heaven. Our thoughts and prayers are with Sharon and his family.”

After getting his start playing guitar in the psychedelic band Strawberry Alarm Clock in the late 1960s, Ed King was invited to join Lynyrd Skynyrd after the departure of bassist Leon Wilkeson, filling in for him and then switching to guitar once Wilekson rejoined the group. King’s induction transformed the Southern rock band into a three-guitar unit; he was the one to pen the now-iconic riff to “Sweet Home Alabama,” and played on the group’s first three studio albums.