Leon Wilkeson
| Leon Wilkeson | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Leon Russell Wilkeson |
| Born |
April 2, 1952 Newport, Rhode Island, U.S. |
| Died | July 27, 2001 (aged 49) Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Bass guitar, guitar |
| Years active | 1966–2001 |
| Associated acts | Lynyrd Skynyrd |
Leon Russell Wilkeson (April 2, 1952 – July 27, 2001) was the bassist of Southern Rock Band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1972 until his death in 2001.
Born on April 2, 1952, in Newport, Rhode Island, but raised in Jacksonville, Florida, Wilkeson became a major Beatles fan just as he was becoming a teenager and began learning to play bass guitar in order to emulate his favorite member of the Fab Four, Paul McCartney. Wilkeson dropped out of his school band in order to focus on learning the bass at the age of 14 and, shortly afterward, was approached by a fellow student, who told him that her brother was searching for a bassist for his band. Her brother turned out to be Ronnie Van Zant, and soon after, Wilkeson signed on with Van Zant's local group, the Collegiates. However, due to plummeting school grades, Wilkeson had to drop out of the group at the behest of his parents. Soon Wilkeson found himself in another local group, the King James Version. He began to study the 'lead bass style' of such accomplished players as Cream's Jack Bruce, Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, Jefferson Airplane's Jack Casady, The Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh and the Allman Brothers' Berry Oakley. By the early '70s, Wilkeson was becoming one of Jacksonville's top bassists. When Lynyrd Skynyrd's bassist Greg T. Walker left the band, Wilkeson was brought in as his replacement.
Skynyrd signed with Al Kooper's production company, Sounds of the South, a joint venture with MCA Records, in 1973, an event that should have signaled smooth sailing for the group. However, this didn't prove to be the case, as Wilkeson began to get cold feet just prior to sessions for their debut album, recorded in Atlanta. Wilkeson returned to Jacksonville and his regular job stocking ice cream at Farmbest Dairy Products. Former Strawberry Alarm Clock member Ed King subbed for Wilkeson during the recording of Skynyrd's debut, Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd, but just as sessions wrapped up, Wilkeson began having second thoughts about leaving the group. After discussing the matter with Van Zant, Wilkeson was welcomed back into Lynyrd Skynyrd.
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