On This Day, April 3, 2015…
Bob Burns, the original drummer for Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, died in a car crash near his home in Cartersville, Georgia.
Burns helped to form Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1964 with Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins and Larry Junstrom, but left the group in 1974.
He is credited on recordings from the group’s first two albums, 1973’s (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd) and 1974’s Second Helping. That includes such Lynyrd Skynyrd classics as “Free Bird,” “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Simple Man.”
In 1996, after years out of the public eye, he joined the band for a performance in conjunction with the film Freebird: The Movie. Then, in March of 2006 he returned to perform alongside the band at their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.
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