Larry Junstrom
{{Short description|American bassist (1949–2019)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Larry Junstrom
| image = Larry Junstrom bassist of .38 Special.jpg
| caption = Junstrom performing at the Dixon May Fair in 2010
| background = solo_singer
| birth_name = Lawrence Edward Junstrom
| alias =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1949|6|22}}
| birth_place = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|10|5|1949|6|22}}
| death_place = Palatka, Florida, U.S.
| instrument = Bassist
| genre = Southern rock
| years_active = 1964–2014
| past_member_of = .38 Special, Lynyrd Skynyrd
| website =
}}
Lawrence Edward Junstrom (June 22, 1949 – October 5, 2019) was an American bassist who was a member of the rock band .38 Special from 1977 until 2014. He was also one of the founding members of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Early life
Junstrom was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and his family moved to Jacksonville, Florida when he was 10. He played saxophone and clarinet in school in 5th and 6th grades, but immediately became interested in guitar after watching The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. His first guitar was a Silvertone he received as a gift. Junstrom found himself drawn to the bass parts, playing them on the guitar's lower strings. Eventually he fashioned a piece of balsa wood on the neck and bridge of his guitar to modify it into a bass guitar.{{Cite web|url=http://swampland.com/articles/view/title:larry_lj_junstrom|title=Larry "L.J." Junstrom|website=Swampland.com|date=July 2003|access-date=December 24, 2024}}
Musical career
While in high school, Junstrom became friends with Ronnie Van Zant and was recruited to be the bass guitarist of what became Lynyrd Skynyrd from its formation in 1964 and through its early Jacksonville and regional touring days. He left the band in 1971 before the group's debut album in 1973.{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p50060/biography|pure_url=yes}}|title=Biography: .38 Special|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|website=AllMusic|access-date=May 21, 2010}}
Donnie Van Zant, the younger brother of Lynyrd Skynyrd's, Ronnie Van Zant, formed .38 Special in 1974, with Junstrom joining as the bass guitarist in 1977.{{Cite web|url=https://rockandrollglobe.com/southern-rock/larry-junstrom-has-died/|title="The Big Man on Bass Has Left Us..."|website=Rockandrollglobe.com |access-date=December 24, 2024}} Junstrom retired from .38 Special after 37 years in 2014 due to a hand injury that required surgery.{{cite web|url=https://torontosun.com/entertainment/music/lynyrd-skynyrd-founder-larry-junstrom-dead-at-70/wcm/0faeb2eb-8f98-4b65-a238-c1a75efe5c8f|title=Lynyrd Skynyrd founder Larry Junstrom dead at 70|website=Torontosun.com|access-date=October 6, 2019|date=October 6, 2019}}
Personal life
An avid amateur radio operator, Junstrom's call sign was K4EB, which he read as "Known 4 Excellent Bass."{{Cite web|url=http://www.qrz.com/db/K4EB/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716233411/http://www.qrz.com/db/K4EB/|title=K4EB Callsign Page|website=QRZ.com|access-date=December 24, 2024|archive-date = July 16, 2016}} First licensed in 1962, he became a very active operator from 1990 onward.{{cite web|url=http://www.arrl.org/news/lynyrd-skynyrd-founding-member-larry-junstrom-k4eb-sk|title=Lynyrd Skynyrd Founding Member Larry Junstrom, K4EB, SK|website=American Radio Relay League|access-date=December 24, 2024|date=October 8, 2019}}
Junstrom died on October 5, 2019 in Palatka, Florida at the age of 70. At the time he had been married to his wife Thania for 11 years.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/orange-park-fl/lawrence-junstrom-8880216|title=Obituary Lawrence Edward Junstrom June 22, 1949 – October 5, 2019|website=dignitymemorial.com |access-date=May 14, 2020}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{38 Special}}
{{Lynyrd Skynyrd}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Junstrom, Larry}}
Category:American rock bass guitarists
Category:American male bass guitarists
Category:Lynyrd Skynyrd members
Category:38 Special (band) members
Category:Musicians from Pittsburgh
Category:Guitarists from Pennsylvania
Category:20th-century American guitarists