Earlier than his demise in March 2023, Gary Rossington — the final unique member of Lynyrd Skynyrd — informed his bandmates that he needed the legendary Southern rock group to reside on.
“He knew his well being was getting unhealthy,” Johnny Van Zant, the present lead singer of the group, tells Fox Information Digital.
“And he informed me, ‘I’ve spent my life carrying on this legacy, and after I am gone, I do not need to see this band go away.'”
That is after they introduced in Damon Johnson, a guitarist who’d beforehand been a member of Alice Cooper’s band and Skinny Lizzy.
Johnson first began performing with Lynyrd Skynyrd in 2021, when Rossington was recovering from emergency coronary heart surgical procedure. However Van Zant says that he was being prepped to take Rossington’s place earlier than he stepped as much as be a part of the group frequently.
“Gary type of mentored him, you recognize, some, and got here to rehearsal,” Van Zant remembers.
“He needed this music to go on, man,” he continues. “I do not suppose me and Rickey [Medlocke] can be right here if Gary mentioned, ‘Hey, after I am gone, I would like this to go away.’ So we’re finishing up his needs so long as we will.”
- Rossington joined Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins to kind My Yard in 1964. The group was a precursor to Lynyrd Skynyrd.
- He was among the many survivors of the aircraft crash that killed a lot of the band in 1977, later main the re-invented group into the twenty first century.
- Johnny Van Zant — who took over for brother Ronnie in 1987 — is now the longest tenured member of the group.
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The group’s dedication to honoring Rossington’s legacy can be the rationale they put out their reside album, Celebrating 50 Years — Dwell on the Ryman final week. The reside report options particular appearances from Jelly Roll, Marcus King, the Brothers Osborne‘s John Osborne and Shinedown’s Brent Smith.
Learn Extra: Watch Lynyrd Skynyrd Give Gary Rossington’s Guitar to an Emotional Jelly Roll
“This was by no means speculated to be a reside launch. It was carried out for PBS,” Van Zant explains. However that present turned out to be Rossington’s final with the band.
“And after Gary handed, we had been like, ‘You already know what? We expect all of the followers must have this of their assortment,'” he continues, saying he thinks Rossington can be “very proud” of the album.
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Gallery Credit score: Michael Gallucci
