Leon wilkeson lynyrd skynyrd

Courtesy of Lynyrd Skynyrd Com

Despite his self-taught approach and working his instrument with a left / right hand technique that bore resemblance to a soft-shell crab skittering across hot pavement, the late Leon Russell Wilkeson was a dexterous player who purveyed many a thrilling passage as anchor of the classic Lynyrd Skynyrd line-up.

Born in ’52, akin to many of his generation, Wilkeson learned his craft emulating such ’60 – ‘70s bass icons including Sir Paul, Jack Bruce, Phil Lesh, Berry Oakley, John Entwistle, and Jack Casady.

When he nailed the Skynyrd gig, a job which he held for life, Wilkeson got cold feet and sat out the band’s debut platter Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd, waxed in 1973.

Bandleader Ronnie Van Zandt and producer / mentor Al Kooper convinced Leon to rejoin the collective, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Dubbed the “Mad Hatter” by way of his proclivity for eccentric headwear on and off stage, among Wikleson’s m