Skynyrd member’s death signals end of era for Southern rock

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington made it big when rock ‘n’ roll was still a defining cultural force on par with today’s TikTok trends and superhero movies. The iconic band’s last surviving co-founder was also perhaps the last flagpole in a once-powerful part of American music: Southern rock. Or at least a rebellious version of it that later became loosely tied to conservative politics and didn’t shy away from some of the problematic symbols of the South. The original version of Lynyrd Skynyrd ended following a 1977 plane crash. It was this reconstituted version of the band that seemed to really embrace a more conservative image.