01-28-2009, 09:40 PM
From cmt.com:
Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist Billy Powell died Wednesday morning (Jan. 28) at his condo in Orange Park, Fla., near Jacksonville, of an apparent heart attack.
Law enforcement authorities said the musician called 911 around 12:55 a.m. to report that he was having trouble breathing. Paramedics performed CPR, but Powell was pronounced dead shortly before 2 a.m. He had reportedly failed to show up Tuesday (Jan. 27) for an appointment with a heart specialist to undergo a cardiac evaluation.
In what has always been considered a guitar-based band, Powell's distinctive piano work helped define Lynyrd Skynyrd's sound and Southern rock, in general.
Lynyrd Skynyrd co-founder and guitarist Gary Rossington and drummer Artimus Pyle (who left the band in 1992) are now the only living members of the band's lineup who survived a 1977 plane crash that claimed the lives of lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines and road manager Dean Kilpatrick. Guitarist Allen Collins died in 1990, and bassist Leon Wilkeson passed away in 2001.
Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist Billy Powell died Wednesday morning (Jan. 28) at his condo in Orange Park, Fla., near Jacksonville, of an apparent heart attack.
Law enforcement authorities said the musician called 911 around 12:55 a.m. to report that he was having trouble breathing. Paramedics performed CPR, but Powell was pronounced dead shortly before 2 a.m. He had reportedly failed to show up Tuesday (Jan. 27) for an appointment with a heart specialist to undergo a cardiac evaluation.
In what has always been considered a guitar-based band, Powell's distinctive piano work helped define Lynyrd Skynyrd's sound and Southern rock, in general.
Lynyrd Skynyrd co-founder and guitarist Gary Rossington and drummer Artimus Pyle (who left the band in 1992) are now the only living members of the band's lineup who survived a 1977 plane crash that claimed the lives of lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines and road manager Dean Kilpatrick. Guitarist Allen Collins died in 1990, and bassist Leon Wilkeson passed away in 2001.