Leon Russell "MAD HATTER" Wilkeson
(April 2, 1952 – July 27, 2001)
was an
American musician.
He was the bassist
of the southern rock band
from 1972
until his death in 2001.
Early life
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 Beatle,
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 group,
the Collegiates.
However,
due to plummeting
school grades,
Wilkeson had to drop out
of the group.
Soon Wilkeson
found himself in
another local group,
the King James Version.
He began to study the
"lead bass style"
of bassists such 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 1972,
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.
For a short time,
Wilkeson worked
at a dairy plant, Farm
Best Dairy
in Jacksonville,
during which
on an interview
he laughed that he
"got paid every two weeks
and got all the
ice cream he could eat".
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd
signed with
Al Kooper's
production company,
Sounds of the South,
a joint venture with
MCA Records,
in 1973.
Wilkeson returned to
Jacksonville and
his regular job
stocking ice cream
at Farmbest Dairy Products.
Former
Strawberry Alarm Clock
lead guitarist
Ed King
replaced Wilkeson
during the recording of
Skynyrd's debut album,
Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd,
but just as
sessions wrapped up,
King and vocalist
Ronnie Van Zant
both agreed that King
wasn't suited to be
a bassist.
Van Zant
subsequently visited
Wilkeson and convinced him
to rejoin the band,
and King moved to
co-lead guitar.
With its outlaw image,
tough Southern rock,
and solid touring,
Skynyrd quickly became
one of the top bands
of the 1970s,
scoring such
hit albums as
1974's
Second Helping,
1975's
Nuthin' Fancy,
1976's
Gimme Back My Bullets
and
One More from the Road,
plus 1977's
Street Survivors
and such hit singles as
"Free Bird"
and
"Sweet Home Alabama."
It was also during this time
that Wilkeson picked up
the gimmick of
wearing colorful hats onstage,
garnering the nickname
"Mad Hatter."
1977 Plane Crash
The band and
its entourage went down
in a plane crash on
October 20, 1977
following their final concert
in Greenville, South Carolina,
outside of Gillsburg, Mississippi,
which left members
Ronnie Van Zant,
Steve Gaines
and
Cassie Gaines
dead
and the rest
suffering severe lacerations,
broken bones
and various
internal injuries.
Wilkeson was seated next
to Steve Gaines,
and both were thrown
face first into a
bulkhead at high speed
while still strapped
in their airline seats.
Wilkeson awoke
to find Gaines dead
from a broken neck
and himself
severely injured.
At the hospital,
he was found to
have suffered a
closed double fracture
of his left leg,
a severe
double compound fracture
of his left arm,
6 broken ribs
(one of which was an
internal compound fracture
that punctured
and deflated his left lung),
upper/lower jaw/nose/
facial bones
extensively smashed
and
15 teeth
basically all of his teeth
except the molars
knocked out.
The injury to his left arm
was most concerning,
as the dirty water
of the swamp
had already
extensively contaminated
his open wounds,
and the additional surgery
he would need to
rebuild his face
and arm
with steel plates
would raise his risk
of infection even further.
His hands had survived intact,
but his fretting arm
suffered such
extensive nerve damage
that its amputation
was seriously considered.
Subsequently,
he was left with a
greatly reduced
range of motion,
which forced him to
hold his bass
close to his body
and at a
distinctive
near-vertical orientation.
Wilkeson returned to
playing music professionally
three years later,
but never recovered
his original dexterity
on the instrument
Death
Wilkeson died in his sleep
on July 27, 2001,
at age 49
at the Sawgrass
Marriott Resort & Beach Club
in
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
He was pronounced dead
by St Johns County
Fire Rescue Paramedic,
Charlie Galambos.
Galambos reports that
leaving the scene
moments after pronouncing
Wilkeson dead,
news had already leaked
to the media,
as he listened to the report
on local FM radio.
Wilkeson was in town
to address charges
of driving under the influence,
for which he had been
cited earlier that year.
A medical examiner
reported that
Wilkeson was suffering from
chronic liver
and lung disease
and died of
natural causes.
Wilkeson's death
put the group in a
difficult position
since an agreement with
Ronnie Van Zant's widow,
Judy Jenness,
mandated that at least three
of Skynyrd's
longtime members
would have to appear
in order for the band
to use the name
Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Jenness waived this proviso,
and the group continued
with replacement
bassist
Ean Evans.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
dedicated the song
"Mad Hatter"
from their 2003 album
Vicious Cycle
to Wilkeson's memory.
All Time Greatest Hits
is a compilation album
by American rock band
Lynyrd Skynyrd,
released in 2000.
The album was
certified gold
on March 24, 2003
and platinum
on
June 20, 2005
by the RIAA
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