Billy Powell, keyboardist with the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, reportedly died of a heart ailment at his condo in the Jacksonville, Florida, suburb of Orange Park, police said Thursday. He was 56. Powell was one of two surviving band members who were with the group before a 1977 plane crash that killed three of its members.

According to the Orange Park police, Powell called 911 just before 1 a.m. complaining of difficulty breathing. Paramedics found him in his bedroom unresponsive with the telephone still in his hand. Moreover Orange Park Police Lt. Mark Cornett told the AP that Powell had missed an appointment yesterday for a cardiac evaluation. Cornett also said no foul play is suspected and an autopsy will not be performed.

Lynyrd Skynyrd became one of the South's most popular rock groups and gained national fame with hits such as "Free Bird," "What's Your Name" and especially "Sweet Home Alabama," which reached the top 10 in 1974. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

During the time between the plane crash and the Lynyrd Skynyrd reunion in 1987, Powell briefly joined a Christian rock band named Vision. His keyboard playing was often spotlighted in Vision concerts. Powell also spoke during the concerts about his newly found faith in Jesus Christ.

Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, Powell grew up in a military family (his father was in the navy) and spent several years of his childhood living in Italy where his father was stationed. After his father died of cancer in 1960, he moved with his family back to the United States and settled in Jacksonville, Florida. His mother enrolled him at the Sanford Naval Academy in Sanford, Florida. While at Sanford, Billy's interest in music began to grow. He began taking piano lessons from a local teacher named Madeleine Brown. She swore he did not need her, claiming that Billy was a natural and picked things up well on his own.

Billy returned to Jacksonville where he enrolled at Bishop Kenny High School. It was here that he met Leon Wilkeson, future bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd. The two soon became close friends. When he graduated in 1970, he enrolled briefly in a community college, majoring in Music Theory. Around this time he found work as a roadie for Lynyrd Skynyrd. Powell remained a roadie for Skynyrd until 1972, when the band was hired to play the Bolles School prom. After setting up the band's equipment, Billy sat down at a piano in the corner of the room and began to play his own version of 'Free Bird'. Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant was impressed, and invited Powell to join Lynyrd Skynyrd officially as their new keyboard player.

His son Brandon Powell is a guitarist in the Jacksonville based rock band Syntenic.