Lynyrd Skynyrd is celebrating the iconic band’s legacy while also paying a special tribute to its final surviving original band member with a new double album called Celebrating 50 Years: Live at the Ryman. The live project, released on Friday (June 27) via Frontiers Records, features 15 of the band’s classic tracks performed inside Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, plus collaborations with special guests, Jelly Roll, Marcus King, The Brothers Osborne’s John Osborne, Shinedown’s Brent Smith, and .38 Special’s Donnie Van Zant, as well as a documentary, which serves as the album closer.
Gary Rossington, the last original founding member of the legendary Southern rock band died on Sunday (March 5) 2023, two years after undergoing emergency heart surgery. He was 71. The band’s headlining show at the Ryman Auditorium as part of its 50th-anniversary celebration unexpectedly served as the lead guitarist’s final performance before his untimely death less than five months later. In a bittersweet twist, the concert became one of the most memorable performances for the current members of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
In a new interview with Charted.com, lead vocalist Johnny Van Zant, who joined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1987, reviving the band that has continued to draw in new generations of fans, opened up about the unforgettable Ryman show, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Celebrating 50 Years: Live at the Ryman album, the passing of his band member, Rossington, the band’s legacy and more. When recalling the night at the Ryman with Rossington and his fellow bandmates, Van Zant said the evening brought the group back to the earlier days, when they used to perform in clubs.
“This album means everything [to me] because it was Gary Rossington’s last performance. Luckily, we had the cameras rolling and we didn’t know it, you know, but God works in mysterious ways, and, so to have that — to be able to get to Skynyrd nation, I mean, they are like family to us …” Van Zant shared. “But it was a wonderful night. There was no pressure. Usually when you are doing something and the video is running and recording, you’re like, ‘Oh God, we do not wanna mess up.’ But it was funny because I, Gary, Rickey Medlocke, my brother Donny from 38, we were all in one little, old, tiny dressing room. We had our luggage in there and we were stepping over each other. We were laughing and had great memories.”
“It was one of those nights where you didn’t have that weight on your shoulder. It was just all of us having fun and we have the best fans in the world…,” he added. “We shared that dressing room and had boys’ night and ate cold pizza. We were all hungry, and they were like, ‘Okay. The only thing we have is cold pizza for you.’ So it kind of reminded us of being in our club days and honestly, if I lived to be 100 years old, I’ll never forget that night just because of how wonderful it was.”
While Rossington’s performance would be his final one, Van Zant said the legendary Southern rockers were already aware that he was unwell. However, he explains that, at the time of the show, none of the group could’ve predicted their buddy’s fate.
“We all knew that he was very sick. He had heart trouble for many, many years, but he was such a trooper. You gotta know. Gary was born on the west side of Jacksonville, as with all of us. And, that was the mean side of Jacksonville, Florida,” he added. “So he was a tough guy, sweet in the heart, but tough on the outer side. And he lived through a plane crash. He lived through multiple car crashes because we were all screw-ups in our early days. For me, I thought he was gonna live forever, you know? And that night I had no inclination, I guess that would be the right word for it, that it would be in his last performance with us.”
“Before this, he was doing fewer shows. He would come out and make special appearances with us. I figured he would be doing that to this day….” Van Zant said. “I think it was spiritual. I’m a very spiritual person and, I think the good Lord was blessing us that night.”
Highlights of the headlining Ryman concert that brought 50 years of Lynyrd Skynyrd music to the fans, included a bevy of collaborations with artists, including Jelly Roll, who stepped in to sing “Tuesday’s Gone” with Van Zant. The band released the video performance of the track ahead of its album release, which can be seen below. Recalling the idea to have Jelly Roll be a part of the evening, Van Zant tells Charted that was the first time he had been introduced to the “Save Me” singer.
“I didn’t know about Jelly Roll at the time…It’s kinda like the first time I met Kid Rock. We were in Auburn Hills in Michigan and somebody came backstage and said, ‘Hey, there’s this new artist Kid Rock.’ I was like, ‘Kid Rock. Who’s that?’ But luckily, we all became good friends. Jelly Roll, he is a real deal…I Googled him, checked him out, and I called my manager right back and said, ‘Oh, yeah, this is our kind of guy ….I’m very happy too for his success,” Van Zant said. “He did a fantastic job, him and Marcus King, to be with us on that night, and Marcus King speaking to him. What a great singer and an underrated artist as far as I’m concerned.”
Shinedown’s Brent Smith also teamed with Lynyrd Skynyrd on “Simple Man” — a song that Shinedown covered in 2004 as part of the re-release of their Leave a Whisper album.
“They’re from Jacksonville. We’ve known those guys for years and they’re just a wonderful bunch of guys,” Van Zant said of Shinedown before adding, “And of course my knucklehead brother, Donnie from 38 Special, you know, but collaborating with all those guys, we were fans of them too.”
Rossington helped shape the legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd following the tragic plane crash in 1977, which took the lives of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s original lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, backing vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, and two pilots. Following Rossington’s passing, and the fact that he was the last original founding member of the band, the fate of Lynyrd Skynyrd was inevitably in question. But, Van Zant insisted Rossington wouldn’t want the band to stop playing even in his absence.
“Gary used to always use the word Bubba. ‘Bubba. Bubba, I don’t wanna see this music fade after I’m gone.’ You know? ’cause we had conversations. So he kind of put that on me….We’ll see where the good Lord brings us to,” Van Zant shared. “I never wanted to be in Lynyrd Skynyrd. You know, if I had my just about it, my brother would still be here doing his thing…. I was a Skynyrd fan and I grew up around the band. I saw ’em playing in my parents’ living room when they couldn’t play and then to go on and see ’em become famous and people love the music. It’s just been an amazing trip for me.”
In the wake of Rossington’s passing and since the passing of his brother Ronnie, as well as other bandmates, Van Zant and his brother Donnie have inevitably grown closer. Aside from Celebrating 50 Years: Live at the Ryman, the two, who are also neighbors, recently released a Christian album called Always Look Up.
“After 1977, I think we both looked at each other and went, ‘Wow. We’re not invincible.’ God can come get us at any time. And, that made us grow closer together. My parents up until Ronnie’s untimely death, I don’t remember them, as a child going, ‘I love you,’” Van Zant said. “That generation was, ‘Hey. We’re feeding you. You’re living here. You’re clothed. We’re guiding you spiritually and emotionally.’ But it was never that, oh well I love you, kind of thing. But after Ronnie’s passing, our family grew even closer.”
“I can remember the first time my dad was — you know, he was an ex-Navy truck driver, hardworking guy — after that, he said it a lot to us because he knew that, you know, he already lost one son,” he added. “But for me and Donnie, we’ve become not only brothers but friends, you know, we’re best friends and we count on each other. It’s been a great relationship. And when the time comes for one of us to go, I don’t know what the other’s gonna do, but we’re true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, so we know we’ll see each other again. And, doing the gospel album was just, we’ve done a lot of rock records together, but to do this gospel album is the icing on the cake for both of us.”
Helmed by the late Ronnie Van Zant, Lynyrd Skynyrd formed in Jacksonville, Florida as My Backyard in 1964 before undergoing a name change four years later. Throughout the past five decades, the band’s legacy has lived on with the help of rotating band members and Ronnie’s younger brother Johnny’s talent, as a frontman. Through tragedy, reunion, and redemption, the band has shaped — and continues to shape — the American culture with hits like “Free Bird,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Simple Man,” and others. Since its formation, Lynyrd Skynyrd has sold 28 million records in the U.S. and holds a place in the prestigious Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
While Rossington’s unfortunate passing in 2023 marked the end of an era for the band, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s influence remains strong as the band continues to be recognized as one of the greatest rock bands of all time.
“We’re getting ready to head to Europe, and we’re over there for almost three weeks. We leave at the end of June here,” Van Zant shared, proving just how much the band lives on. “It has been a while since we’ve been over there, so I can’t wait to go over there and see our Skynyrd Nation, man.”
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