[1] Lynyrd Skynyrd signed with Al Kooper's production company, Sounds of the South, a joint venture with MCA Records, in 1973.

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."

Wilkeson can be seen playing this bass in a 1975 Lynyrd Skynyrd performance on the British TV series The Old Grey Whistle Test.

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.

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.

But in 1987, Wilkeson and Powell signed on with a reunited version of Skynyrd, with Ronnie Van Zant's youngest brother, Johnny, performing lead vocals.

A medical examiner reported that Wilkeson was suffering from chronic liver and lung disease and died of natural causes.