Ed King

Edward Calhoun King was born on September 14, 1949, in Glendale, California — a sun-soaked kid with a guitar and a restless ear for sound. Long before Southern rock claimed him, he was a West Coast teenager drawn to the surf-music electricity of Dick Dale and the psychedelic energy beginning to ripple through the Los Angeles club scene. That restlessness would take him from California's beaches to the stages of rock and roll history. In the mid-1960s, King co-founded the psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock. In 1967, the band reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with "Incense and Peppermints," a song King co-wrote. It was a remarkable debut on the national stage, and it announced him as a songwriter of genuine instinct. After Strawberry Alarm Clock disbanded in 1972, King relocated south and joined Lynyrd Skynyrd, initially as bassist before moving to lead guitar. What followed was one of rock music's most fertile creative partnerships. Alongside Gary Rossington and Allen Collins, King helped forge the legendary "Three Guitar Army" sound — a layered, interlocking approach to rock guitar that defined the band's first three albums and influenced generations of players after them. His most enduring contribution came in 1974: "Sweet Home Alabama," the anthem he co-wrote with Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington, whose opening riff — and King's unmistakable voice counting "one, two, three" — is among the most recognized moments in rock history. King departed Lynyrd Skynyrd in May 1975 following a tense confrontation during the "Torture Tour." The decision, impulsive at the time, spared him from the 1977 plane crash that killed Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and others. He would later reflect, simply: "I am the luckiest guitar player on Earth." He rejoined the reunited Skynyrd in 1987 and remained with the band until 1996, when congestive heart failure forced his retirement. In 2011, he underwent a successful heart transplant — a second chance he embraced fully. In 2006, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside his pre-crash bandmates. A self-described "Southern California hippie" who stood apart from his bandmates' rough-edged lifestyle, Ed King brought a quiet professionalism and a business-minded humor to everything he did. He passed away on August 4, 2026, at his home in Nashville, Tennessee. His guitar was always the note you heard first — and the one that stayed with you longest.