By: David Schultz

On March 13, 2006, Ed King, one of the key members of legendary southern rock forefathers Lynyrd Skynyrd was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. King, along with Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Artimus Pyle and Bob Burns accepted the Hall of Fame accolades for Skynyrd and on behalf of departed members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Leon Wilkeson and Allen Collins. After spending the late sixties and early seventies with the psychedelic rockers The Strawberry Alarm Clock, King joined Skynyrd in 1973, giving them the powerful signature three guitar sound found on their first three albums, Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd, Second Helping and Nuthin' Fancy.

On "Sweet Home Alabama," King provides the song's defining riffs and solos after kicking the song off with an audible count off just before Ronnie's famous request to "Turn it up" - which wasn't planned as Ronnie was telling the engineer he needed more volume in his headset. On the night before the Hall of Fame ceremony, King appeared with his former band mates for the last third of Skynyrd's celebration concert at Times Square's Nokia Theater, joining in one more time on the song that helped propel Skynyrd into the classic rock pantheon. On the heels of his recent honors, Ed King graciously took the time to speak to Earvolution.

Earvolution: On the night before your induction into the Hall of Fame, you appeared on stage at the Nokia Theater, looking extraordinarily svelte. In fact I didn't think that the thin guy on stage could be Ed King.

Ed King: It took about 10 years for me to get to that point! It was a good thing that I came out to play with them. They were all very accommodating and I was treated like royalty.

Earvolution: It took 7 years for Lynyrd Skynyrd to finally be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, what do you attribute the delay too? Could you describe your feelings from that night?

Ed King: I still don't think the induction has fully sunk in. It's a great honor to be up there with the "greats" of the business. I believe the delay of the induction might have been due to the fact that there were so many members in the band; it was hard to decide who to induct. And maybe the committee didn't want a band with 2 original members playing at the award ceremony. So they wound up with 5 original members plus the 2 living original Honkettes, Jo Jo Billingsley and Leslie Hawkins.

Earvolution: Were you confident that it was only a matter of time before the Hall of Fame acknowledged Skynyrd's contributions?

Ed King: It's just real difficult to deny a band that sells over 2 million units per year for the past 30 years.

Earvolution: In the sense that Kid Rock has always been outspoken in his love for Skynyrd, what are your thoughts on Kid Rock and his part in keeping Skynyrd's music alive?

Ed King: I would've liked to have seen Al Kooper at the ceremony. There are a lot of mixed feelings about his involvement with the band. Some believe he exploited the band for his own gains. All I know is, he did a fine job producing those first 3 albums. He believed in Skynyrd when no one else did. As far as Kid Rock goes, he's quite a guy. We spoke for a long time that night at the Nokia. I've never known much about him but walked away thinking he was a proper choice for the ceremony. Hard to believe he was born 4 years AFTER I had my first #1 record!

Earvolution: Your appearance at the Nokia was described by some as miraculous. Would you share that assessment?

Ed King: Gary Rossington was very gracious in allowing me to share the stage with him. As far as how I felt about it, I am always glad to play but my emotions about playing have pretty well left me. It may have something to do with the fact I just don't think those songs are played with the same "feel" and "pocket" as they need to be. However, "Sweet Home Alabama" at the Hall of Fame show the next night felt perfect, thanks to (drummer) Bob Burns.

Earvolution: Over the years, a mythology has been created about and around Lynyrd Skynyrd. What are your favorite myths about the band?

Ed King: People ask me "What was Ronnie Van Zant like?" I always say, just listen to any 6 songs he wrote. He wrote about his life and his thoughts and he spoke like he sang: very poetic, very eloquent. So the "myth" is that Ronnie was all about whiskey, women and brawling. He was way more than that.

Earvolution: What are your fondest memories from playing with Skynyrd?

Ed King: We used to write and rehearse in a little 20 x 30 cabin out in the woods in Green Cove, Florida. It got hotter'n hell in there . . . 6 huge amplifiers add a lot of heat to an already scorching Florida sunshine. But we arrived EVERY morning at 8:30 . . . and never left til sundown. EVERY day. There were no hard drugs or alcohol at "Hell House." We arrived early every day wondering what great song would be written by day's end. That is my finest memory, even though my initiation into the band was spending every night out there for a week. We had to do that to guard against thieves coming up the creek behind the cabin and stealing our equipment! One morning an alligator had come ashore. And the noises out there at night scared me half to death. I slept with the lights on and a loaded .38 by my side. My finest memory!

Earvolution: Any young artists out there that you think can pick up and carry on some of the legacy your music will leave behind?

Ed King: It was hard back then and it's hard these days to find musicians who are talented AND WILLING to work long hours to perfect a craft. Most people just don't want to sacrifice that much. People think we partied all the time. Maybe on the road we did. But when it came to writing and recording, we were ALL business. And we all gave up A LOT to get where we wanted to go.

Labels: Ed King, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rock Hall of Fame