Died On This Date (July 27, 2001) Leon Wilkeson / Lynyrd Skynyrd
themusicsover Leon Wilkeson
April 2, 1952 – July 27, 2001
Leon Wilkeson was an up-and-coming bassist in and around Jacksonville, Florida when he was asked to join Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1972. Although he didn’t play on the band’s debut album due to his own apprehension, he played with them for the better part of the next 30 years. With his help, Lynyrd Skynyrd became one of the biggest rock bands of the ’70s. In 1977, tragedy struck when the band’s plane crashed killing band members, Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and road manager Dean Kilpatrick. Wilkeson was one of the few passangers who survived. The band undertandably dissolved by reformed with the surviving members in 1987. Leon Wilkeson died of emphysema and liver disease on July 27, 2001.
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Ean Evans was most recently the bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd, having joined the band in 2001, replacing