Lynyrd Skynyrd Death

ORANGE PARK, Fla. — Hometown rockers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, suffer another tragic loss. Keyboardist Billy Powell died Wednesday in his Orange Park home of a suspected heart attack. He was 56 years old.

The news came as a shock to family, friends, and fans. Gene Odom worked security for the band in its heyday. And like Powell, he survived the 1977 plane crash that devastated the band, killing frontman Ronnie Van Zant. Bonded from that moment on, Odom calls Powell a rock and roll rarity. “On the road, he was true blue. He was the guy that didn’t let rock and roll ,and the fame, and the women mess up his marriage. He was a great family man,” says Odom.

Odom also says Powell’s death is the end of an era, “Not only should they bury Billy Powell, they should bury the name Lynyrd Skynyrd with him, because it’s over now.”