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Leon Wilkeson

Leon Wilkeson, American bass player and songwriter (died 2001)

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Born
April 2, 1952
Died
July 27, 2001
Zodiac sign
Aries
Birth year
1952

About Leon Wilkeson

Leon Russell Wilkeson was an American musician. He was the bassist of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1972 until his death in 2001. Wilkeson managed to record bass parts for the 1979 album Contraband by Jacksonville band "Alias". 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. 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. The Rossington-Collins Band got off to a good start, as their 1980 debut, '"Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere," became a modest hit.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Leon Wilkeson timeline

  1. Wilkeson managed to record bass parts for the 1979 album Contraband by Jacksonville band "Alias".
  2. The Rossington-Collins Band got off to a good start, as their 1980 debut, '"Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere," became a modest hit.
  3. 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.

The world when Leon Wilkeson was born

Leon Wilkeson was born in 1952. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1952

  • #1 song"You Belong to Me" – Jo Stafford
  • Top movieThe Greatest Show on Earth
  • Top TV showI Love Lucy
  • Best-selling bookThe Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentRocky Marciano becomes heavyweight champion
  • Top headlineDwight Eisenhower elected president
  • Technology milestoneFirst hydrogen bomb tested
  • Defining fadMr. Potato Head
  • Notable inventionMr. Potato Head (first toy advertised on TV)
  • World population2.63 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonMinneapolis Lakers (NBA)
  • U.S. population156.4M

1952 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Leon Wilkeson's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19522026
Gas$0.27$3.45/gal
Average home$9,100$435,000
Average income$5,700$67,500
Minimum wage$0.75$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.60$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population156.4M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.