Former Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Ed King died at the age of 68 on Wednesday at his home in Nashville.
“It is with great sorrow we announce the passing of Ed King who died at his home in Nashville, Tennessee on August 22nd, 2018,” read a statement posted to his Facebook account Thursday morning. “We thank his many friends and fans for their love and support of Ed during his life and career.”
Though a cause of death hasn’t been officially announced, local station WTVF reports the musician battled cancer in the last months of his life.
Born in California, King was one of the original members of psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock, whose biggest hit “Incense and Peppermints” hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts in the ’60s.
He later joined Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1972 and co-wrote the group’s smash hit “Sweet Home Alabama” with bandmates Gary Rossington and the late Ronnie Van Zant, who was killed in a plane crash in 1977.
Though King left the band in 1975, he reunited with the group 12 years later and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.
“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,” Rossington said in a statement posted to the band’s Twitter account on Thursday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
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