Bob Burns, a founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, has died aged 64.
Burns was killed in a car crash on Friday, April 3 when his car left the road, striking a mailbox and a tree in Georgia, reports BBC News.
Burns played in the group from 1966 to 1974, alongside vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, bassist Larry Junstrom and guitarists Gary Rossington and Allen Collins.
He performed on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s first two albums, which included two of the band’s biggest hits, “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird”.
In 2006, Burns rejoined Lynyrd Skynyrd onstage at the band’s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony performance.
Rossington, the only original member still in the band, wrote on Facebook, “Well, today I’m at a loss for words, but I just remember Bob being a funny guy. He used to do skits for us and make us laugh all the time, he was hilarious!”
“Ironically, since we played Jacksonville yesterday, Dale, my daughter and I, went by the cemetery to see some of the guys in the band and my parents’ grave sites.
“On the way back, we went by Bob Burns’ old house. It was there in the carport where we used to first start to practice with Skynyrd.
“My heart goes out to his family and God bless him and them in this sad time. He was a great, great drummer.”