Lynyrd Skynyrd Guitarist Ed King Dies At 68 After Lung Cancer Battle

Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Ed King, who co-penned the hit song Sweet Home Alabama, died on Wednesday in Nashville at 68 years old.
The cause of death was not specified, but the musician had recently been hospitalized due to his battle with lung cancer.
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A message was shared on King’s Facebook Thursday confirming his death. It read:

“It is with great sorrow we announce the passing of Ed King who died at his home in Nashville, Tennessee on August 22nd, 2018. We thank his many friends and fans for their love and support of Ed during his life and career.”

Gary Rossington, the group’s founding member, paid tribute to King in a statement on the band’s Twitter account, writing:

I’ve just found out about Ed’s passing and I’m shocked and saddened. 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. -Gary Rossington

— Lynyrd Skynyrd (@Skynyrd) August 23, 2018

King was with the band from 1973 until 1975, then again from 1987 until 1996 when he left due to congestive heart failure. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with some of his Lynyrd Skynyrd bandmates, in 2006.
[Image via Ed King/Facebook]