(CNN) Ed King, the Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist who co-wrote the Southern rock anthem, "Sweet Home Alabama," has died. The retired guitarist died Wednesday at his home in Nashville, according to his Facebook page. King was one of three writers of "Sweet Home Alabama," which was released on the album "Second Helping" in April 1974. The rollicking track begins with King counting "1-2-3," before the guitar lick that generations have come to know as a tribute to the state of Alabama. And so Ronnie (Van Zant) just said, 'We need to show people how the real Alabama is,' " guitarist and founder member Gary Rossington told Garden & Gun in 2015.

Source: CNN August 23, 2018 22:57 UTC