Lynyrd Skynyrd was another one of those great bands that I didn't get to see live in their early years. Remember, my parents wouldn't let me do anything in the realm of concert going until 1978, so I didn't get to see these guys until the debut of the Rossington Collins Band around 1980. Whatever the band or the tour, Gary was a foundational member and guitarist- always there and always steady. I also would have never guessed that he would be the last original member of the band left standing, even as they carry on over 40 years later. As to this guitar, Gibson has produced several different signature models over the years (God knows Slash can tell you about that), but they hit the nail on the head with their reproduction of Rossington's "Bernice". They did a great job with the aging and to tell the truth, I feel much more of a connection with this guitar than I do a Felder or a Walsh Les Paul. Maybe that's because Skynyrd's music was a larger part of my childhood than that of the Eagles. They both were around at the same time, but the first time I heard "Gimme Back My Bullets" with my brother and my cousin Jimmy, we were as fired up as three kids could be. I mean, in a Southern way, that song was heavy and partially responsible for forming the musical tastes that are with me to this day. So, maybe this guitar can take you back too; back to the great, glory days of Southern Rock when it was nothing to buy a record with a 20 minute song on side II, or to get a live double album with a six- page, color foldout. Those days may be gone, but the music they inspired will always be with us and all the Justin Biebers in the world can't take that away from us...