'Free Bird' gets more than a Rebel yell  Front row (from left): Allen Collins, Leslie Hawkins, Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant, Jo Jo Billingsley
and Steve Gaines. Back row (from left): Artimus Pyle, Cassie Gaines, Billy Powell and Leon Wilkeson.
This photo was made in mid-1977 for Lynyrd Skynyrd's Street Survivors album.
It is this line up that is inducted in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame,
along with previous members; Ed King and Bob Burns.
By Tom Szaroleta
For The Times-Union
Jacksonville.com
http://www.jacksonville.com
Move over, Beethoven.
The Southern rock anthem Free Bird - the Lynyrd Skynyrd tune usually accompanied by swaying fans, lofted-high lighters and drunken shouts - needs some room.
The Allen Collins/Ronnie Van Zant-penned tune was among 70 recordings added Thursday to the Grammy Hall of Fame, home of songs "of lasting significance."
Skynyrd's song, with its foreboding "If I leave here tomorrow / Would you still remember me?" was originally released after Sweet Home Alabama as a scaled-back single. But the live 14-minute version from One More From the Road, introduced by Van Zant asking the audience "what song is it you want to hear" became the more popular of the recordings.
Since 1973, 798 recordings have been added to the Grammy hall, from classical to rock 'n' roll. Thursday's inductees ranged from the Beatles' Help! to Michael Jackson's Thriller.
"They exemplify the best qualities that make the recording arts such a vital part of our culture - and each not only uniquely reflects the zeitgeist of its time, but also possesses the enduring power of transcending time," Neil Portnow, president and CEO of The Recording Academy, said in a release.
Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Johnny Van Zant said Thursday that the induction is a real honor for his late brother, Ronnie.
For several years after the band re-formed in the late 1980s following a plane crash that killed Ronnie Van Zant and two other band members, the two pilots and the band's assistant road manager, Johnny Van Zant wouldn't sing Free Bird on stage. Instead, the band would play it behind a microphone upon which hung Ronnie Van Zant's trademark hat.
But one night in Sacramento, Calif., guitarist Gary Rossington told him he wouldn't go back out for the encore to play the song unless Johnny Van Zant agreed to sing it. Since then, he said, he has sung Free Bird many times.
"It's a great pleasure of mine to sing it," he said. "How many bands would love to have a song like Free Bird?"
GRAMMY HALL OF FAME SONGS
A sampling of some of the other songs included Thursday in the Grammy Hall of Fame:
- Alfie, Dionne Warwick (1967)
- Always on My Mind, Willie Nelson (1982)
- At Seventeen, Janis Ian (1975)
- Crying in the Chapel, The Orioles (1953)
- Dead Man's Curve, Jan & Dean (1964)
- Gentle on My Mind, Glen Campbell (1967)
- Hotel California, Eagles (1976)
- It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing), Duke Ellington & His Famous Orchestra (1932)
- The James Bond Theme, The John Barry Seven and Orchestra (1962)
- Liszt: Sonata in B Minor, Vladimir Horowitz (1932)
- Monday, Monday, The Mamas & The Papas (1966)
- 1999, Prince (1982)
- Oliver! Original Broadway Cast (1962)
- Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf (Opus 67), Serge Koussevitzky cond. Boston Symphony Orchestra; Richard Hale, narrator (1939)
- Roxanne, The Police (1978)
- SH-BOOM, The Chords (1954)
- The Stranger, Billy Joel (1977)
- Strangers in the Night, Frank Sinatra (1966)
- Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30, Serge Koussevitzky cond. Boston Symphony Orchestra (1935)
- Top Hat, White Tie and Tails, Fred Astaire (1935)
- The Wall, Pink Floyd (1979)
- The Way We Were, Barbra Streisand (1974)
- We Are Family, Sister Sledge (1979)
- What the World Needs Now is Love, Jackie DeShannon (1965)
"Freeeeee
Bird" Grammy Hall of Fame Adds New Songs
By Stephen L. Betts
For Country Hound
www.countryhound.com
The Recording Academy has announced the
newest additions to its Grammy Hall of Fame, with 70 recordings
joining a list that now includes 798 titles. Among the songs honored
this year are Willie Nelson’s recording of “Always on My Mind,”
“Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and “Gentle on My Mind,” by Glen
Campbell. The Hall of Fame serves as a celebration and reminder
of the triumphs and achievements of the recording arts. Selections
are drawn from all categories of music, acknowledging the diversity
of musical expression for which The Recording Academy has become
renowned.
The Grammy Hall of Fame is open to any recording
that has been in release for at least 25 years. New submissions
are chosen annually by a special member committee of experts and
historians drawn from all branches of the recording arts.
TAKE FIVE: The IMPROBABLE SURVIVAL
OF LYNYRD SKYNYRD
By Jerry Fink
For The Las Vegas Sun
www.lasvegassun.com
Through triumph and tragedy, the definitive Southern rock group
Lynyrd Skynyrd keeps making music.
The creators of the classics "Free Bird" and "Sweet
Home Alabama" bring their distinctive sound to The Joint
at the Hard Rock on Friday and Saturday, part of the lineup of
entertainment in Las Vegas during the National Finals Rodeo.
1.) The members
The band formed as My Backyard in Jacksonville, Fla. The original
members were singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarists Gary Rossington
and Allen Collins, bassist Leon Wilkeson and drummer Bob Burns.
Only Rossington is still with the band.
The current lineup also includes vocalist Johnny Van Zant (Ronnie's
youngest brother), drummer Michael Cartellone, keyboardist Billy
Powell and guitarist Rickey Medlocke - who played drums with Skynyrd
for a short time in 1971. Dale Krantz Rossington and Carol Chase
sing backup.
In all, 22 musicians - plus eight background vocalists - have
performed with the band over the past 40 years.
2.) The name
Here's the band's story of how it came up with its name:
Leonard Skinner was a gym coach at Robert E. Lee High School in
Jacksonville who was known for punishing long-haired students
- including Gary Rossington and Burns. The musicians eventually
dropped out of school, but remembered the hassles. In 1970, the
band - then calling itself the One Percent - had a gig at a local
club and Ronnie Van Zant called out to the crowd, "Hey, we're
Leonard Skinner and we're gonna play for y'all tonight."
Since most of the crowd had run into Coach Skinner at one point
or another, the name stuck. Eventually, the vowels were changed
"to protect the guilty" - as Rossington says.
3.) The plane crash
On Oct. 20, 1977, the band's rented tour plane - nicknamed
Free Bird - crashed in the swampy woods near Gillsburg, Miss.,
killing band members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie
Gaines (Steve's sister and one of Skynyrd's backup singers)
as well as road manager Dean Kilpatrick and the two pilots.
Twenty others were injured - including band members Gary Rossington,
Powell, Wilkeson, Leslie Hawkins and Collins.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board report,
the pilots miscalculated the amount of fuel onboard and the turboprop
was experiencing mechanical difficulties that required the pilots
to operate the right engine in the "auto-rich" position,
which burned fuel at an excessive rate. When the plane began to
run out of fuel, the pilots changed course but never made it to
an airport near McComb, Miss.
4.) Other tragedies
In September 1976, Gary Rossington was badly injured in a car
accident in Jacksonville. The next year he survived a plane crash.
In 1986 Collins lost control of his car near his home in Jacksonville.
His girlfriend was killed and he was paralyzed from the chest
down. He died in 1990 of respiratory failure caused by pneumonia,
a complication of his paralysis.
Wilkeson, Skynyrd's bassist since 1972, was found dead in
his hotel room in 2001. His death was attributed to liver and
lung disease.
In September, Hughie Thomasson - a guitarist and vocalist with
Skynyrd from 1996 to 2005 - died of a heart attack. At the time
of his death he had re-formed his band, the Outlaws, which he
had led from '72 to '95.
5.) The triumph
Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" became an
anthem, and the Alabama State Militia made the band honorary colonels
in the '90s.
The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March
13, 2006, along with Miles Davis, the Sex Pistols, Black Sabbath
and Blondie.
Nine members of the band were inducted into the hall: lead singer
Ronnie Van Zant; guitarists Collins, Steve Gaines, King and Gary
Rossington; keyboard player Powell; bass player Wilkeson; and
drummers Burns and Artimus Pyle.
THE MUSIC
"Sweet Home Alabama" (1974)
"Free Bird" (1974)
"Saturday Night Special" (1975)
"Double Trouble" (1976)
"Gimme Back My Bullets" (1976)
"What's Your Name?" (1977)
"You Got That Right" (1978)
"Down South Jukin' " (1978)
"Truck Drivin' Man" (1987)
"Swamp Music" (1988)
"Keeping the Faith" (1991)
"Smokestack Lightning" (1991)
"Born to Run" (1993)
"Good Lovin's Hard to Find" (1993)
"Bring It On" (1997)
"Travelin' Man" (1997)
"Preacher Man" (1999)
"Workin' for MCA" (1999)
"Red White and Blue" (2003)
THE MAKING OF A HIT: HOW 'SWEET HOME ALABAMA' CAME TOGETHER
Neil Young and Lynyrd Skynyrd appreciated each other's music
but briefl y locked horns lyrically in the '70s.
1970: Young releases "After the Gold Rush," a quiet
recording featuring mostly lonesome country songs such as "Only
Love Can Break Your Heart" and spare piano ballads such as
"Birds." One of the record's few outright rock
'n' roll songs, "Southern Man," was the Canadian
songwriter's indictment of racism in the South, sung over
a primitive — if powerfully insistent — rhythm section. In it
he sings, "Southern man / better keep your head / don't
forget what your Good Book said," before making references
to "cotton" and "bullwhips."
1972: "Harvest" scores a hit for Young with the single
"Heart of Gold." But on the sludgy rock of "Alabama,"
Young couches the same themes of "Southern Man" in hazier
and less incendiary imagery.
1974: Skynyrd releases "Second Helping," with the top
10 hit "Sweet Home Alabama." In the response to Young's
two songs, the band sings, "Well, I hope Neil Young will
remember / a Southern man don't need him around, anyhow."
Interestingly, none of the song's three composers — Ed King,
Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington — is from Alabama. Van Zant
and Rossington hail from Florida. And King? California.
IF YOU GO
Who: Lynyrd Skynyrd
When: 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: The Joint at the Hard Rock
Tickets: $62 to $122; 693-5066
Skynyrd
plans 2008 Buffalo Chip show
From The Rapid City Journal www.rapidcityjournal.com
Southern rock icons Lynyrd Skynyrd will perform Tuesday,
Aug. 5, at Legendary Buffalo Chip Campground during the annual Sturgis
motorcycle rally. "Lynyrd Skynyrd has always been one of the bands
most requested by the Sturgis rally campers who choose the Buffalo
Chip," Rod Woodruff, campground owner, said in a prepared release.
"Their showmanship and musicianship is unmatched by anyone
in rock."
In March 2006, the original band members Ronnie Van Zant,
Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Ed King, Steve Gaines, Leon Wilkeson,
Billy Powell, Bob Burns and Artimus Pyle, were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Their songs "Free Bird" and "Sweet Home Alabama" are popular
among the bikers who come to the Sturgis Rally.
Hank Jr. and Friends
Gather to Make History
Stephen L. Betts
The performers featured in CMT Giants: Hank
Williams Jr., the upcoming special honoring the extraordinary life
and music of Hank Williams Jr., gathered for a photographic tribute
taken by acclaimed photographer, Pamela Springsteen (Bruce's younger
sister).
CMT Giants: Hank Williams, Jr. premieres Friday,
Nov. 17 at 9:00 p.m. (ET).
Pictured above: (L-R) Members of Lynyrd
Skynyrd: Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Dale Rossington and Carol
Chase; Steven Tyler; Shooter Jennngs; Rickey Medlocke and Johnny
VanZant from Lynyrd Skynyrd; Hank Williams Jr.;
Alan Jackson; Gretchen Wilson; Holly Williams (Hank Jr.’s
daughter); Brad Paisley; Buddy Guy; Toby Keith; Tim McGraw; Kid
Rock.
CMT Giants:
Hank Williams
netmusiccountdown.com
NASHVILLE, TN -- Toby Keith and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler
have been added to the all-star lineup for CMT GIANTS: HANK WILLIAMS,
JR which honors the extraordinary life and music of the legendary
Hank Williams Jr.
The two hour special, CMT GIANTS: HANK WILLIAMS, JR will
be taped before a live audience on Thursday, October 25 at the Gibson
Amphitheatre in Los Angeles and tickets are on sale now. The previously
announced line-up includes performances by superstars Tim McGraw,
Brad Paisley, Kid Rock, Gretchen Wilson, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Buddy
Guy, with more soon to be announced.
Jimmy Kimmel and Terry Bradshaw are slated to present.
CMT GIANTS: HANK WILLIAMS, JR will premiere on CMT on Saturday,
November 17 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT.
It is with great sadness,
I am posting the news that Hughie Thomasson has passed away.
The Outlaws
website has posted Hughie died unexpectedly late Sunday
night
of an apparent heart attack at his home in Brooksville, Florida.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, bandmates &
friends
Hughie was truly a Southern Gentleman and will be missed deeply
by his fans.
We will miss you HT!
To read more articles on the passing of Hughie click
here
TRUE
SURVIVORS
There's still no stopping Lynyrd
Skynyrd
Having suffered through as much heartache, tragedy and internal
turmoil as just about any band in rock history, it seems somehow fitting that
getting voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was a struggle for Lynyrd
Skynyrd.
In fact, the group was nominated for seven years before its
induction into the Hall in 2006. Still, guitarist Rickey Medlocke said the
current band members are grateful for the recognition.
"You know, after year after year after year of being nominated, we
kind of got to the point where we were just like, "Oh well.' We kind of gave up
on it," he said in a recent interview. "Then all of a sudden, we found out we
got the nod that it was happening, and the band couldn't be happier. It was long
overdue, and now it's finally happened. Everybody's very proud of it and we're
happy with that."
For the occasion, the current edition of Lynyrd Skynyrd — Medlocke,
singer Johnny Van Zant, guitarist Gary Rossington, drummer Michael Cartellone,
bassist Ean Evans and pianist Billy Powell (on leave from the band at the moment
while undergoing drug rehab) — was joined onstage for a quick live set by three
other surviving early era members: guitarist Ed King, drummer Artimus Pyle and
drummer Bob Burns.
While Lynyrd Skynyrd continues to record and tour, the election
into the Hall undoubtedly was earned largely on the strength of the band's
accomplishments up until 1977, when such albums as "Second Helping" (1974),
"Nuthin' Fancy" (1975) and "Street Survivors" helped shape the Southern rock
sound.
"Street Survivors" was released just before the October 1977 plane
crash that claimed the lives of singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines
and his sister, backing singer Cassie Gaines.
Strong following
At the time, the Jacksonville, Fla., band was on the cusp of a
major commercial breakthrough. After years of nonstop touring, the group had
built a strong following, and "Street Survivors" was the group's best effort
yet.
The band members who survived the '77 plane crash — guitarists
Rossington and Allen Collins, Powell, bassist Leon Wilkeson and Pyle — all
suffered significant injuries, not to mention considerable emotional damage in
the plane crash.
A new version of Skynyrd emerged in 1987, with Johnny Van Zant
(Ronnie's younger brother) on vocals and original guitarist King returning to
the lineup. But troubled times did not elude the group.
Collins suffered paralysis in the years after the plane crash and
died in 1990.
Throw in several acrimonious splits with band members — the
departures of Pyle and King were especially contentious at the time — and that's
more than enough drama and turmoil to add to the Skynyrd story.
But the book didn't close there. In July 2001, during the making of
the band's most recent studio CD, "Vicious Cycle," bassist Wilkeson
died.
"You have people ask us how you get through all the stuff that
Skynyrd's been through," said singer Johnny Van Zant in 2003. "And I think it's
the music, it really is. I've never met a person who doesn't like music, and we
may vary in what styles we like, but everybody likes some form of music. And we
have fans that go this song helped us through this and that. The music helps us
through it, too. It's a great healer."
"Vicious Cycle" spawned a rock radio hit with the tune "Red White
and Blue" and was followed by a two-disc anthology, "Thyrty," which celebrated
the group's 30th anniversary.
Skynyrd donates part of sales to rock hall Johnny Van Zant had considered going with his older brother in the plane that crashed 30 years ago.
By JOHN BENSON
The VINDICATOR
Vindy.com
Less than two years after Lynyrd Skynyrd earned its rightful place among its peers as an inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the band members have learned there may be strings attached to the gig.
A portion of ticket sales from Lynyrd Skynyrd's show tonight at Blossom Music Center will be donated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum education programs. Who knew the "Sweet Home Alabama" act would be in charge of fundraising and bake sales?
"Got to pay them back some way," laughed singer Johnny Van Zant, calling from a hotel room in Syracuse, N.Y. "Anything we can do for the Hall of Fame. I just recently visited the rock hall, and I actually got to go in the vaults. There was like a signed picture from Elvis laying in the corner and then there was like Bob Seger's first draft of 'Against the Wind.' It was just a totally cool thing to be there."
For Lynyrd Skynyrd, triumph has always been tempered with tragedy. The group emerged with its 1973 album "Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd," which included "Free Bird," and quickly followed that up with 1974's "Second Helping," with its definitive song "Sweet Home Alabama." However, a 1977 airplane crash took the lives of Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines.
It wasn't until the mid-'80s when Ronnie's younger brother, Johnny, joined the act for a few tribute shows, that Lynyrd Skynyrd once again became a touring and recording group. Considering this year marks the 30th anniversary of the tragic plane crash, Van Zant talks about his memories of the days leading up to the accident.
"I was actually going to go and fly on the plane and go out with them on tour when the plane crashed," Van Zant said. "I was going to have to skip [high] school and everybody was like "Ronnie is going to whip your --- man." So I didn't go, and who knows what fate was there."
Fate has recently smiled on Lynyrd Skynyrd with its popularity among other musicians and fans seemingly at an all-time high level. Van Zant points to a recent trip to Disneyworld where he saw a handful of kids wearing Lynyrd Skynyrd shirts.
"I think it's just a cool time for a new generation to experience Lynyrd Skynyrd music," Van Zant said. "You got a lot of the new country acts that just love Lynyrd Skynyrd and a lot of the rock and rollers too."
Looking ahead
The singer said the band is actually looking forward for the first time in many years, with another studio album slated for a 2008 release date. In the meantime, the group is sticking to its bread-and-butter schedule of touring, touring, touring.
"It's a new experience every night for us," Van Zant said. "We've got great production and the set has a few surprises. We're looking forward to seeing the crowds. There's nothing like a Skynyrd crowd."
As previously mentioned, part of that crowd will be multigenerational fans and large extended families taking in a night of good old Southern rock 'n' roll. Perhaps part of the band's lasting appeal is that the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd have grown up alongside their audience.
For instance, guess what Van Zant was doing on Aug. 17 when the Disney Channel premiered the much ballyhooed "High School Musical 2" movie?
"Dude, I was at home with my 5-year-old daughter, waiting and watching the countdown time," Van Zant said. "All my friends are like you're watching 'High School Musical 2?'"
He quipped, "I'm ruining my image."
Troops get concert treat
Fire department provides free tickets to wounded
Southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd wowed the crowd at the
St. Leonard Volunteer Fire Department pavilion Friday night, Aug. 24. By Jeff Newman
Special to the Recorder
Southern Maryland Newspapers
www.somdnews.com/
Thousands gathered at the St. Leonard Volunteer Fire Department to watch some Southern legends put on a show, and interspersed amongst the throngs of spectators were some heroes.
As special guests of the fire department, about a dozen veterans being treated at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., were happy to get out of the hospital and enjoy some Southern hospitality along with the reason everyone else had shown up: Lynyrd Skynyrd had arrived in Calvert.
Despite a tragic plane crash in 1977 that claimed the lives of Skynyrd frontman Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and backup singer Cassie Gaines, the band has proved, like the veterans in attendance, resilient. Led by their new frontman Van Zant’s younger brother Johnny and original members Gary Rossington and Billy Powell, Skynyrd has been rocking crowds since 1987 following a 10-year hiatus.
While the current lineup might never hold that special place in the hearts of its fans as the iconic lineup does, their endurance has allowed a younger generation to experience and enjoy their music live, including the Walter Reed veterans, most of whom are younger than 30.
‘‘It’s pretty cool, just going to a concert like everybody else. Someone says ‘free concert,’ I’m there,” said Sgt. Josh Sparing, 26, of the 82nd Airborne. ‘‘I’m country all the way.”
Sparing lost his right leg from the middle of his calf down after an improvised explosive device exploded nearby where he was stationed in Ramadi, Iraq.
Sparing, who is from Avoca, Mich., was first treated at Ramadi Hospital and then, like all the injured veterans, spent a brief period at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany before being transported to Walter Reed, where he has undergone treatment for over a year.
All of the veterans said they were taken care of and treated well at Walter Reed, but E4 Spc. Jody Kreycik, 21, of the 101st Airborne admitted that it can get a little boring at the hospital.
‘‘It was either this or do nothing,” Kreycik said.
Kreycik, who is from Valentine, Neb., and had been a Skynyrd fan his entire life, was injured a year ago in his right knee and right wrist when a mortar shell hit mere feet away from him. He still has shrapnel from the blast lodged in his skull.
Kreycik’s injuries and experiences haven’t eroded his spirit.
‘‘I don’t think they’ll let me, but I’m trying to get back over there,” said Kreycik, who enlisted in the Army straight out of high school.
Pfc. Fernando Jamandre, 23, of the 3rd Infantry Division is also trying to get back to his friends who are still overseas.
‘‘My people are still there. I’m trying to get better now and then I’ll go back to my duty station and then they’ll send me back,” Jamandre said.
Jamandre, who is from Houston, was stationed at a remote area in south Baghdad when he came down with an illness that still hasn’t been identified by medical personnel. He spent two weeks in Landstuhl and four days as an inpatient at Walter Reed and is now an outpatient.
Jamandre said that it was nice for the guys to get out of the hospital and that special trips and events were commonplace at Walter Reed. ‘‘Fishing, baseball games, football games, they do a lot for us.”
Jamandre said he wants to go back to Iraq before he starts seeing familiar faces at Walter Reed.
‘‘The last thing I want to see is guys I knew from over there coming in. Once you get over there all you’ve got is your friends. They’re like your brothers and sisters,” he said.
And while he said he felt ‘‘lucky” to be back in America, he admitted it was a little tough readjusting. ‘‘It’s kind of hard to adjust and realize that you’re safe and no one’s going to shoot at you.”
The sacrifices made by the men and women being treated at Walter Reed and the entire United States Armed Forces did not go unnoticed by the band members, who dedicated their performance of the song ‘‘Red White And Blue,” to the troops.
Before the song, Van Zant provided the crowd with a moment of insight. ‘‘It doesn’t matter what your politics or Lynyrd Skynyrd’s politics are. No matter what your feelings are on the war, we’ve all got to stand by and support our troops.”
The thunderous response let Van Zant, the band, and all the injured but undefeated soldiers know, ‘‘You Got That Right.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd rock Coast for good cause Money raised to help sick child
By JAMIE PAPPAS
SUN HERALD
On Thursday night Levi Krystosek of Ocean Springs may have been one of the few fans backstage at the Hard Rock not starstruck in the presence of Southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd, but at 18 months old, he may have been oblivious of the group's greatness.
The members of the iconic group, however, were eager to meet him.
"This has all happened in the last 24 hours," said fundraising organizer Michele Hirata, who hatched the plan to raise money for Krystosek's medical treatment taking advantage of the band's stop in Biloxi. "And as soon as we contacted the Hard Rock, Lynyrd Skynyrd jumped right on board."
Krystosek is one of only a handful of people worldwide known to suffer from Jansen's metaphyseal chondrodysplasia. The toddler is in need of testing at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, and Hirata is working to raise money to provide airfare, hotel and food allowance so his family can make the trip.
As soon as Lynyrd Skynyrd agreed to take part, Hirata set out to find items that could be autographed and raffled.
"Magnolia Music helped us out with a beautiful baby-blue Fender Strat, and Goldmine Records donated four very rare vintage vinyl albums," she said.
The group signed the guitar Thursday night at a meeting with the toddler and his family, just before the evening's show.
The signed guitar and albums will be on display at Magnolia Music for the next few weeks, Hirata said, and fans will have a chance to buy raffle tickets for a drawing that will take place in a few weeks.
Tickets will be available at a variety of locations, including Magnolia Music, Goldmine Records, Lovelace Drugs, JoAn's Hair Studio in Long Beach, and you can find more info on Hirata's Web site, fatthumboriginals.com, or by calling 228-257-9179.
LYNYRD
SKYNYRD TO BE INDUCTED
INTO THE GEORGIA MUSIC HALL OF FAME
September 6, 2007
Legendary southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd
will be inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame on Saturday
Sept. 8. The ceremony will be held in the Thomas B. Murphy Ballroom
of the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.
The 29th annual festivities will begin
with the Governor's Reception hosted by Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue,
followed by dinner and the Georgy Awards Show with celebrity presenters
and a performance by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Other inductees include Usher,
Mylon LeFevre, Freddy Cole and Babs Richardson.
The gala supports Friends of Georgia Music
Festival's mission to nurture the music industry in the state and
funds the organization's annual scholarship program. For more information,
please visit www.georgiamusic.org.
Ranked as one of the best-selling bands
of all time by the Recording Industry Association of America and
recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, Lynyrd Skynyrd is still
going strong with almost 65 albums, 30 million albums sold to date,
and over 80 performances annually. To date, the Southern anthem
"Sweet Home Alabama" has passed the 1-million mark in downloaded
master ringtones, proving that Lynyrd Skynyrd is a major industry
icon that appeals to all generations
Still packin' a wallop, Lynyrd Skynyrd
will whip in for Merrillville concert BY BOB KOSTANCZUK
For The Post-Tribune
www.post-trib.com
This year, Labor Day means a dose of Lynyrd Skynyrd -- triple-barrel style.
"The Skynyrd signature is the three-guitar sound," said Rickey Medlocke, part of the trio of guitarists for Southern rock's iconic band.
On the phone from a tour stop in New York state, Medlocke was recently promoting his group's Monday show at Merrillville's Star Plaza Theatre.
Marketing efforts are fine, but Skynyrd's legend is already set, framed by Dixie-tinged rock like "Free Bird" and "Sweet Home Alabama."
Medlocke, though, is hell-bent on avoiding complacency.
"We're wantin' to have some new product out soon," he said of efforts to get back in the studio and record fresh material.
The Florida resident estimated it's probably been a little more than four years "since we've had new product."
There are distractions, however, when it comes to releasing new songs.
For instance, band members have side projects.
"Everybody does the little things here and there," Medlocke said. "We're always doin' that, but the main focus, really, is on Lynyrd Skynyrd and keepin' this thing goin'."
Its debut album hit in 1973.
From there, the reputation built, fueled by good-ol'-boy fare like "What's Your Name," "Gimme Three Steps" and "Saturday Night Special."
Born in Jacksonville, Fla., the band has staked its spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but there has been tragedy along the way.
A 1977 plane crash killed Skynyrd's frontman, Ronnie Van Zant, whose brother, Johnny, fronts the group today. The crash also claimed the lives of Skynyrd guitarist Steve Gaines and his sister, Cassie Gaines, a backup singer.
In 1986, guitarist and founding member Allen Collins was seriously injured in a paralysis-inducing car accident. He died four years later.
Despite the heartache, Lynyrd Skynyrd remains a potent live act, and no farewell tour is in sight. "We still enjoy touring; we still enjoy traveling," Medlocke, 57, assured.
Lynyrd Skynyrd has a strong local fan in Jeff Krajewski, drummer for Big City, a Northwest Indiana band that dishes Southern rock.
"I was probably 8 or 9 when I first started listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd," the Dyer resident said. "I was probably the only kid on my block that had 'Second Helping' on 8-track (tape)."
Krajewski was referring to Skynyrd's monster 1974 album, which sold more than 2 million copies and truly ingrained its name with the masses.
"I like their style," Krajewski, 41, said. "They have a bit of an attitude, too, which is good. They've lived a hard life. They put that through in their music, I think."
While Krajewski and his bandmates play Northwoods restaurant in St. John tonight, Skynyrd is headed for a return engagement at the Star Plaza Theatre on Monday.
"I really like the intimacy in it," Medlocke said of the 3,400-seat venue.
Skynyrd will roll into town with original members Gary Rossington, a guitarist, and Billy Powell, a keyboardist.
Medlocke feels he and his comrades need to accomplish a certain task to stay relevant.
"You gotta keep puttin' out new material, or else you just fall into, like, an oldies act," he said. "And we definitely don't wanna do that."
Lynyrd
Skynyrd rocks the Grandstands
By: www.news10now.com
Web Staff
Lynyrd Skynyrd rocks the Grandstands
The Grandstand series at the State Fair got underway last night.
Rock band Lynyrd Skynryd dazzled the crowd with favorites liked
Sweet Home Alabama and Free Bird.
To watch a video clip click on the link below.
http://www.news10now.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=117441
Southern Rock, Skynyrd Style Fans young, old, turn out for legendary '70s band
By Mark Bialczak
For The Post-Standard
http://www.syracuse.com
Johnny Van Zant looked out Thursday night at the almost 5,000 fans at the state fair's Mohegan Sun Grandstand and obviously liked what he saw.
Some were young: new members of the Southern rock circle who weren't around when Johnny's older brother, Ronnie, died in a plane crash with band mates Steve and Cassie Gaines in Lynyrd Skynyrd's heyday, 1977.
Some were not so young: longtime believers who remember the days when those three and remaining Lynyrd Skynyrd originals, guitarist Gary Rossington and keyboardist Billy Powell came out of Jacksonville, Fla., with a stage full of cockiness, enthusiasm and talent.
"I did an interview with USA Today," lead singer Van Zant said. "They asked me why Lynyrd Skynyrd is popular today. I told them, I guess it's cool to be a Lynyrd Skynyrd fan!"
Newbies and veterans cheered together in agreement.
They certainly felt just right partying along to the roaring guitars of Rossington, Rickey Medlocke and Mark "Sparky" Matejka, dead-certain vocals of Van Zant, dancing keys of Powell, solid foundation of bassist Ean Evans and drummer Michael Cartellone and backup voices of Dale Krantz-Rossington and Carol Chase.
That cast gave them exactly what they expected.
They filled the thick, late summer air with glorious hit songs. "What's Your Name?" started the really hard partying.
Then Van Zant warned against overindulgence before the deadly anthem "That Smell." "Been there, done that, never going back," he declared.
"Simple Man" declared the pleasures of living life as a Southern straight-shooter. "Tuesday's Gone" sweetly recalled all band members who've passed on.
Before the night was over, Van Zant and mates saluted four soldiers who marched out for the patriotic "Red, White and Blue." And soon after that, Van Zant traded the U.S. flag he'd joined to his mike stand for a Confederate flag especially for "Sweet Home Alabama."
That one made the zealot who'd been running up and down aisles wearing the Confederate flag as a cape even more exuberant.
Of course, Skynyrd couldn't leave without an encore of "Free Bird."
"In the words of my brother Ronnie Van Zant, 'What song do you want to hear?' " Johnny asked, knowing full well what they'd all shout out.
Sure, "Free Bird" has become a running joke, drawing chuckles as fans shout out the title at concerts by all sorts of bands.
But at a Lynyrd Skynyrd show, it's a revered piece of Americana, sweet in one part, sharp in another, part rebellion and 100 percent celebration.
Opener Tracy Lawrence and his tight seven-piece band warmed the crowd with rich and tasty country that spanned his career, which is well into its second decade.
The old hits truly sparkled, especially "Time Marches On," which allowed the members of the band to imitate famous artists Lawrence called out to them. So we got to hear Bruce Hornsby-like keyboards, Dave Matthews-esque acoustic guitar, Charlie Daniels-style fiddle, Steve Miller Band steel guitar, Commodores bass and a Van Halen combo of lead guitar and drums. Very much fun.
The lovely "Paint Me a Birmingham" also reminded fans why Lawrence scored so many big hits in the early 1990s.
Good news for the rich-voiced Lawrence and his fans. "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" recently became his first No. 1 single in a decade, and it's surely a honey of a comeback song. The follow-up single, "Til I Was Daddy Too" just might tug enough heartstrings to get up there, too.
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Big & Rich coming to Marion Lynyrd Skynyrd and Big & Rich will perform together at the Carolina Entertainment Complex on U.S. Highway 501 in Marion on Oct. 6, complex managing partner John Gallo announced recently. Tickets for the concert go on sale today.
Lynyrd Skynrd’s best known hit song is “Sweet Home Alabama.” The first version of ‘Lynyrd Skynyrd came together in the summer of 1964 when Bob Burns, Gary Rossington and Ronnie Van Zant got together with Allen Collins and Larry Junstrom, according to the group’s Web site at www.lynyrdskynyrd.com. Many members of the original band died in a 1977 plane crash in Mississippi.
Two original members still tour with the band, guitarist Rossington, and keyboardist Billy Powell.
The group derives its name from teacher Leonard Skinner, who disciplined Burns and Rossington for letting their hair grow.
The country duo Big and Rich were formed in 1998 when " John Rich met Big Kenny ... both had been through the record industry wringer. Rich had been in the country band Lonestar before launching a brief solo career,” according to the Great American Country Web site, www.gactv.com.
Their new album, “Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace” was released earlier this summer. Gallo also said the group Korn will perform in concert at the Marion outdoor theatre site on Oct. 12.
Other groups' performances are near confirmation, he said.
Korn is a "alternative metal sound" band, out of Bakersfield, Calif. The group originally included guitarists James "Munky" Shaffer and Brian "Head" Welch, bassist Reginald "Fieldy Snuts" Arvizu, drummer David Silveria, and added Jonathan Davis, as lead vocalist, according to the Internet site www.music.aol.com/artist/korn/144403/main.
Inquiries about the complex or the groups' appearances in Marion may be made to (843) 431-9008.
Tickets will be available through Ticketmaster or at the amphitheater, 1548 U.S. Highway 501.
Gallo has also said that the partners are anticipating putting a roof on the amphitheater during the winter.
Lynyrd
Skynyrd remains as popular as ever
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers open the 2007 New York State Fair on Thursday.
By Mark Bialczak
For The Post-Standard
www.syracuse.com
The 2006 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inspired the musicians in Lynyrd Skynyrd in many ways.
"We're trying to get new material for a new record out," guitarist Rickey Medlocke said during a recent phone interview. "Well, get a new download out. How's that?"
So much has changed since those days in the mid-1960s in Jacksonville, Fla., when Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Leon Wilkeson and Allen Collins started a high school Southern rock band that went by the curious name of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Energetic songs "Sweet Home Alabama," "Saturday Night Special" and "What's Your Name" made the Billboard pop charts from 1974 to 1978; "Free Bird" became an anthem for more than a generation of fans for the musical style that chugged shamelessly from the deep and refreshing pools of country and rock sounds.
Members have changed. Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and backup singer Cassie Gaines died in a plane crash in 1977. Collins was paralyzed in a car accident in 1986 and died of pneumonia in 1990. Wilkeson died of natural causes at the age of 49 in 2001.
But the spirit remains unchanged.
Rossington's still in Lynyrd Skynyrd, which he helped name with Collins and Van Zant after their old gym teacher Leonard Skinner. Original member Billy Powell still mans the keyboards.
Johnny Van Zant took over lead vocal duties when the band got over the death of his brother and the Gaines siblings and got back onstage in 1987.
Medlocke, front man for the band Blackfoot, has been playing those notable Skynyrd guitar licks for 11 years now. Bassist Ean Evans, drummer Michael Cartellone and the Honkettes singers Dale Krantz Rossington and Carol Chase complete the current lineup.
They're as popular as ever on the touring circuit. Their Rowdy Friends Tour included a diverse array of acts that included Hank Williams Jr., Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Shooter Jennings, the Doobie Brothers and Three Doors Down.
"It's all good. The band is having a great time," Medlocke said.
He says they all like the road scene, which hits the Mohegan Sun Grandstand to open this year's 12-day state fair lineup on Thursday.
"We roll in in the afternoon; they got it down," Medlocke says of the band's loyal fans. "They're cooking, and people are visiting. Some are selling goods, leather stuff. It's like a gathering. I think it's cool. There's very little trouble. I wish the rest of the world could be like that. We might have a lot more peace."
Once the band is onstage, however, the fans are known for getting rowdy.
"We do feed off the crowd," Medlocke says. "We need that energy. We love that energy. It feeds us, and we give it right back. I feed off the energy for sure. I like being full tilt all the way through, all night long."
Medlocke says that's why the musicians started writing new songs last winter.
"It's been over four years now since we had new product out," he says. "It's time. It's very important, the only way for a band like Lynyrd Skynyrd to survive.
"I think if we went out there
every year and didn't try to strive to keep some kind of newness going, even we would get to the point where we'd say, 'We're done with this,' " Medlocke says.
Medlocke says he likes to step out and listen to the bands they join on tour. Thursday at the grandstand, it'll be country singer-songwriter Tracy Lawrence who opens the show.
"We watch the bands and see what they're doing and hear them," Medlocke said. "You have to open your mind up and listen to what people are doing. It's about learning. You never quit learning until the day you die."
When it comes down to recording a new album - or download - Medlocke says there's a pretty good chance it'll sound familiar to Lynyrd Skynyrd fans.
"Any band that has the success like Lynyrd Skynyrd has, there's never going to be a day when you're not compared to the old stuff. That gives you a blueprint to work toward," he says.
"Believe me, Skynyrd don't need to rip anybody off. In essence, I've heard other people rip us off," he says. "We've been doing this long enough, we're not really intimidated by anybody. It's all about the music, brother. We have classic songs that will be here long after I'm gone."
Lynyrd Skynyrd By Jennifer Smith
For The Erie Times-News
www.goerie.com
It's been more than 30 years and nearly 65 albums, but Lynyrd Skynyrd is still rockin'.
The Southern rock band -- which was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 -- steps onto the stage at the Crawford County Fair on Aug. 22.
Ranked one of the best-selling artists of all time by the Recording Industry Association of America, Lynyrd Skynyrd still takes the stage more than 80 times per year. They offer a playlist of hits, including "What's Your Name," "Gimme Three Steps," "Sweet Home Alabama," "Simple Man," "Don't Ask Me No Questions" and "Saturday Night Special."
"In matters of unpretentiousness, power and invention, the best hard-rock band in America during the first half of the 1970s might well have been Lynyrd Skynyrd," according to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Web site.
With more than 1 million fans downloading "Sweet Home Alabama" for their cell phones and more than 30 million albums sold to date, fans are still singing and ringing along.
Just as their music is unmistakable for its rebellious swagger and signature triple-guitar sound, Lynyrd Skynyrd's tale also stands out in rock history.
"The saga of Lynyrd Skynyrd has unfolded in an almost mythical series of ups and downs, from being in the vanguard of a musical movement to the tragic 1977 plane crash that claimed the lives of three band members," said the Rock Hall's Web site.
Ten years after the tragedy, Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited with the remaining members and Johnny Van Zant as the new lead singer. What was supposed to be a one-time tribute album and tour left fans wanting more.
Most recently, the band released "Vicious Cycle," the 2003 album that featured "Red, White and Blue," it's most popular single in 25 years. A new album is currently in the works, according the band's Web site, www.lynyrdskynyrd.com.
Of course, "Free Bird" remains the quintessential concert song as fans at almost any live concert shout to request the song.
Don't miss your chance to experience the unmistakable sounds of Lynyrd Skynyrd live. The show begins at 8 p.m.
Lynyrd
Skynyrd concert at Pearl River Resort sold out
By Billy Watkins
For The Clarion Ledger
www.clarionledger.com
Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sept. 7 concert at Pearl River Resort,
near Philadelphia, is sold out.
Casino officials said today all tickets for the 9 p.m.
show, featuring the band that had such hits as Sweet Home Alabama
and Freebird, have been sold.
The next major concert set for Pearl River Resort will
be Oct. 12 when the country duo Big and Rich performs. Tickets are
$45 and $35.
"Dale"
Soundtrack CD Features Lynyrd Skynyrd,
Brooks & Dunn, Tritt, Alabama
From CMT.
www.cmt.com
Classic tracks by Brooks & Dunn, Travis Tritt, Alabama and Bruce
Springsteen will be featured on the soundtrack CD for Dale, the
feature film that is the only authorized biography of the late Dale
Earnhardt Sr. Set for release Aug. 28 as a venture by CMT Films
and NASCAR Images, the soundtrack CD will be sold exclusively at
all Wal-Mart stores and Walmart.com.
The soundtrack also includes the film's title track, "Looking
for a Road (Theme from Dale)," performed by newcomer Brent
Keith. The music video for the song debuts Thursday (Aug. 2) on
CMT Top 20 Countdown.
The 12-song soundtrack CD includes Brooks & Dunn's "Hard
Workin' Man," Tritt's "T.R.O.U.B.L.E" and
"I'm Gonna Be Somebody," Alabama's "Forty
Hour Week (For a Livin')" and "Can't Keep a
Good Man Down" and Springsteen's "Blood Brothers."
Others featured on the soundtrack CD include Creedence Clearwater
Revival, Motley Crue, George Thorogood, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Charlie
Daniels.
The film will make its television debut on CMT on Sept. 4.
Rickey Medlocke to be at Bass Pro Shops special grand opening 8/15
For The Montgomery Advertiser
www.montgomeryadvertiser.com
Before Bass Pro Shops officially opens in Prattville, AL on Aug.
16, it will have an unofficial "Evening for Conservation"
opening Aug. 15 that will feature an all-star lineup of sports celebrities,
from former quarterback Kenny Stabler to anglers Jimmy Houston and
Bill Dance.
Also at the event will be NASCAR greats Martin Truex Jr. and Red
Farmer, 2000 Bassmaster Classic champion Woo Daves, 2000 Bass Angler-of-the-year
Tim Horton, BASS founder Ray Scott and numerous others. There will
also be celebrities from Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Rickey Medlocke
to Miss Alabama 2007 Jamie Langley.
The fundraising event will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 15. The event
is free, but for every $1 spent at the event, 50 cents will be donated
to the "More Fish" campaign of the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation. Also, local conservation groups will sell food and drinks
and have raffles to raise money for their organizations.
The official grand opening will begin at 8 a.m. Aug. 16. There will
be more celebrities and giveaways at the official opening.
New Kid
Rock CD features Billy Powell
Kid Rock releasing first album in 4 years "Rock
& Roll Jesus" - due in October...
Kid Rock spares the rap and goes for much more rock on
his upcoming Atlantic album, tentatively titled Rock & Roll Jesus.
The album is set for release on October 9.
Recorded at the Clarkston Chophouse studio on his home
property in Michigan, the set includes metallic headbangers like
first single "So Hot" and "Sugar" (the set's only rap track) to
such rootsy, gospel-hued fare as "Amen" and "When You Love Someone."
The Motown-influenced "Roll On" rolls alongside the power
ballad "Miss Understood" and the Crescent City-flavored "New Orleans"
(co-written with pal David Allen Coe), while
"All Summer Long" features Lynyrd Skynyrd's Billy Powell on piano.
The album ends with "Half Your Age," a sly country kissoff to ex-wife
Pamela Anderson.
To support the album, Rock is planning a promo tour, which
will include radio events, prior to the release. There will also
be a series of theater and club dates to promote the album, with
a full-scale tour planned for 2008.
Film
on Muscle Shoals to showcase local music
including Lynyrd Skynyrd
By Sarah Day Owen
For The Times Daily
www.TimesDaily.com
Filming is set to begin in November on a movie that will showcase
the formative years of the Muscle Shoals sound, led by award-winning
director, Paul Justman.
Justman, who directed the nonfiction film "Standing in the
shadows of Motown," fell in love with the story of Muscle Shoals
music, he said. He doesn't just look at it as a documentary,
he said, because the process isn't just to deal with information,
but to tell a story with emotional, powerful moments using a camera
as his writing utensil.
"It's an unusual kind of writing," Justman said.
"Standing in the shadows of Motown" told the story of
the Funk Brothers, who were musicians with the Motown record company.
"The theme of Motown is obscurity amidst tremendous success
and fame," Justman said. "The theme of Muscle Shoals is,
it's a story of kids becoming inspired."
There's the story of Wilson Pickett, who recorded "Hey
Jude," among other hits in owner and producer Rick Hall's
Fame studios, and Sheffield-born Arthur Alexander, another story
started at Fame studios with "You Better Move On."
There's the Swampers, the founders of Muscle Shoals Sound studios,
who were the second rhythm section of Fame studios, made up of David
Hood, bass guitarist, Roger Hawkins, drummer, Jimmy Johnson, guitarist,
and Barry Beckett, keyboardist. The Swampers worked with Lynyrd
Skynyrd, a band from Jacksonville, Fla. Their contribution will
be one story included in the film, Justman said.
"A Florida band writes 'Sweet home Alabama' because
they loved the Swampers so much," Justman said.
Lynyrd Skynyrd is one of a long list of musicians who came to Muscle
Shoals Sound studios and Fame studios to record. The list also includes
legends such as Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones,
Willie Nelson, Cher, Rod Stewart and the Osmonds.
Paul Zamek, one of the film's producers, said the Muscle Shoals
sound is original because it crosses so many genres. Justman said
it's easy to understand why larger cities such as Nashville,
Detroit and Chicago developed a great regional sound. But songs
created here were covered by the huge names such as the Stones and
the Beatles.
"For a small town like Muscle Shoals to be a significant, important,
regional sound - why?" Justman said. "Because these kids
became inspired."
The storytelling will begin around the time when Aretha Franklin
was an unknown name and will interlace live performances of classic
songs, winding up around the era of the Rolling Stones, whose Mick
Jagger penned "Wild Horses" at Muscle Shoals Sound studios.
Filming is set to begin in November in the Shoals area, but budget
constraints might keep the crew from doing the live performances
in Alabama, Justman said.
"We're taking advantage of everything we can as far as
incentives," Justman said, adding that thematically and emotionally
he would prefer the performances to take place in the Muscle Shoals
area.
Planning for the project began about three or four years ago, Justman
said. "Standing in the shadows of Motown" took 10 years,
from 1990 to 2000. The new film was announced Friday at the Music,
Movies, Modern Technology panel discussion headed by Randy Wachtler,
of 615 Music.
Pioneers such as singer/songwriter Donnie Fritts have been involved
in the research.
"He was responsible for the beginning of the Muscle Shoals
thing," Justman said.
Justman said 60 hours of filming for research purposes has been
done already, and said he's fighting to deliver the emotion
for the film.
"Every film is a battle," Justman said.
Lynyrd
Skynyrd Donates
Portion Of Ticket Sales To
Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame
By: Margy Holland
For Launch Media
Lynyrd Skynyrd will be donating a portion of every ticket
sold from their upcoming September 13th show at the Blossom Music
Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
& Museum Education Programs. The band was inducted into the Hall
of Fame on March 13th, 2006.
 Lead guitarist
and founding member Gary Rossington said, "Anything we can do to
help raise awareness of music and the power of music, we are all
for it. It's a true blessing to be able to give back and without
the gift of music, who knows where we would of ended up?"
To date, Lynyrd Skynyrd has sold nearly 30 million albums
to date and make over 80 performances annually.
Their anthem, "Sweet Home Alabama," has now passed the
1,000,000 mark in downloaded master ringtones.
Lynyrd
Skynyrd keeps the faith
Still one of the finest purveyors
of Southern rock, the band brings its never-ending party back to
Pacific.
By BEN WENER
The Orange County Register
As it was in the mid-'70s, so it is now: Wherever
the Southern rock torchbearers of Lynyrd Skynyrd roll, partying
instantly ensues.
"Let's turn this into a Friday night!" affable frontman
Johnny Van Zant commanded the capacity crowd at Pacific Amphitheatre
on Tuesday night, just before the group dipped into lesser-turned
pages from its songbook: "Down South Jukin'," then a bit of "The
Needle and the Spoon," much more of "The Ballad of Curtis Low,"
more still of "Gimme Back My Bullets" and just about all of one
of its best tunes, "Tuesday's Gone."
Not that Van Zant had reason to egg this audience on –
as if anyone needed to be told to live it up. If you were there,
surely you, too, noticed that the lines at the beer stands (and
bathrooms) hadn't been so long since, well, the last time Skynyrd
came to Costa Mesa.
"Ain't no change in the weather, ain't no changes in me,"
the late great Ronnie Van Zant sang in "Call Me the Breeze." That
swaggering ditty is, of course, just one of many Skynyrd staples
(the oft-mocked yet still-mighty "Free Bird" is another) in which
the path of the freedom-seeking, fun-lovin' "Simple Man" is elevated
to an attainable ideal that the more complex Van Zant came to represent
for blue-collar folk, both during and after his relatively short
time in rock 'n' roll.
Yet, hearing it from younger brother Johnny three decades
after Ronnie and two others from the primary Skynyrd lineup tragically
died in a plane crash (guitarist Steve Gaines and his sister, backing
vocalist Cassie Gaines, were also lost), that line now signifies
less about holding firm (for better or worse) in the face of steamrolling
evolution. It says much more, actually, about Skynyrd's steadfastness.
Despite boasting only two founding members these days – Gary Rossington,
one of the ensemble's trademark three lead guitarists, and keys
man Billy Powell – Skynyrd remains a monolith of uncomplicated philosophy
and hard-to-resist boogie-rock.
Predictability can become an albatross for bands, especially
nostalgia peddlers on the county-fair circuit. But with this bunch
familiarity is what you come for. I can't imagine anyone left unsatisfied
after Tuesday's set. Who would complain, given both the hits on
offer and how convincingly they were executed?
Having been justifiably inducted into the Hall of Fame
last year – finally, after seven nominations – Skynyrd here proved
to be one of few classic-rock acts that does justice to its storied
legend, which was evoked more than once during this appearance via
archival footage. "Free Bird," for one, consuming the entire encore,
was conveyed as sharply and movingly as ever, its wailing finish
still an exhilarating experience.
Apart from one cut from this later Skynyrd's 2003 album
"Vicious Cycle" – the by-the-numbers redneck patriotism of "Red,
White and Blue," which nonetheless went over very well – everything
else about the band's 90-minute set stemmed from its past. There
were playful come-ons ("What's Your Name?") and tall tales ("Gimme
Three Steps"), statements of purpose (the opening "Travellin' Man")
and that ominous reminder of the stench of death ("That Smell").
Naturally, the main set came to a close with a rousing "Sweet Home
Alabama," the backdrop of video screens (the largest display I've
seen at Pacific since it reopened) littered with billowing Confederate
flags.
That image can still stir up as many uneasy feelings in
some as it can pride in others. But placing too much emphasis on
its meaning at a Skynyrd show is pointless. It's paraded only to
remind where these road warriors call home, and it's no more prevalent
on stage than Old Glory itself. Both are just props to drape one
of the most quintessentially American bands ever, still truckin'
with force. All this admirer would ask for is a round of "Saturday
Night Special," or maybe "Whiskey Rock-a-Roller."
With a beer chaser, natch.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd's enthusiastically received hour was
a wise choice to start; he has toured with Skynyrd before, and the
Louisianan's take on Texas blues is a fine complement to most any
classic-rock bill. The considerable chops on this former wunderkind
(now 30) continue to develop, and he laid down several smokin' solos
this night, particularly during firm handlings of Fleetwood Mac's
"Oh Well," Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile," the old blues "Shame, Shame,
Shame" and any number of Stevie Ray Vaughan rip-offs – backed by
Double Trouble drummer Chris Layton, no less.
Yet, as is the case with his hearty vocalist, Noah Hunt
(who, looks-wise, could pass for Dave Grohl's brother), Shepherd
is ultimately a victim of strict adherence to influences. As a hotshot
neo-traditionalist, he's talented; as an original, he's a failure.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
concert canceled
By John Wenzel
07/19/2007
Denver Post Staff Writer
www.denverpost.com
The Lynyrd Skynyrd show at Broomfield Event
Center on Aug. 2 has been cancelled due to a scheduling conflict,
promoter AEG Live Rocky Mountains announced today.
Refunds for the Southern rockers' performance
are available at the point of purchase, including the Broomfield
Event Center box office and by calling 303-410-8497 or online at
broomfieldeventcenter.com.
Fan Club Members will be contacted by Etix
to arrange for refunds.
Lynyrd Skynyrd To Team With Doug
Flutie For Autism Benefit
From top40-charts.com http://top40-charts.com/ Nashville,
TN. (Top40 Charts/ New West Records) - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
member Lynyrd Skynyrd and former NFL quarterback and current ESPN
and ABC broadcaster Doug Flutie will team up on July 31st for a
concert benefiting those diagnosed with autism.
The event will be held in Aspen, Colorado, with all proceeds
going to the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism.
Lynyrd Skynyrd has always been active in raising funds
for those with disabilities. "There are a lot of people out in the
world that really need help in getting through life," says lead
guitarist Gary Rossington. "It's something we all love doing."
Doug Flutie and his wife, Laurie, established the Doug
Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism in honor of their son, Doug Jr.
who was diagnosed with autism at age three.
Skynyrd will headline the show while the Flutie Brothers
Band will open the show with Doug Flutie on drums!
Ranked as one of the best-selling bands of all time by
the Recording Industry Association of America and recent Rock &
Roll Hall of Fame inductees, Lynyrd Skynyrd is still going strong
with almost 65 albums, 30 million albums sold to date, and over
80 performances annually. To date, the Southern anthem "Sweet Home
Alabama" has passed the 1,000,000 mark in downloaded master ringtones,
proving that Lynyrd Skynyrd is a major industry icon that appeals
to all generations.
For ticket information visit www.lynyrdskynyrd.com
By JACK CORAGGIO
For The Hartford Courant
www.courant.com
Gen. Robert E. Lee's favorite rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, drove
fast and steady through a Southern-fried 90-minute set Saturday night
at the New England Dodge Music Theater.
Coming off last year's induction into the Rock 'n'
Roll Hall of Fame, the Class of '06 honorees, with openers the
Doobie Brothers, played a well-balanced show that was satisfying from
start to finish, in spite of having very few standout moments.
The band kept the first half of the show hit-friendly with classics
like "That Smell" and "Simple Man." This built
to a five-song medley of compacted tunes that included "Gimme
Back My Bullets," and ended with the reflective "Tuesday's
Gone."
All the band's songs have a symphonic thickness about them, in
part because the band has three guitarists.
Quite nobly, the string men take turns sharing the onstage spotlight,
even though Gary Rossington has been a band member 40 years longer
than Mark Matejka.
The original Lynyrd Skynyrd hails from sweet home Florida - Jacksonville
to be precise - and has always been associated with Southern/American
pride.
So when he introduced the 2003 hit "Red, White and Blue,"
a song that wonders "what are all these people complaining about,"
singer Johnny Van Zant addressed certain current events.
"We just visited the guys and girls at Walter Reed Hospital,
you know Walter Reed, where they go when they get legs ... blown off
from IED's," described Van Zant, wisely neglecting to detail
the notoriously deplorable conditions of said hospital. "Whether
you agree or disagree with what's going on [in Iraq], we still
have to support the troops."
The rest of the show stuck with songs that were of the sing-a-long
variety. "Gimme Three Steps" was followed by "Call
Me the Breeze" which was followed by the redneck poem known as
"Sweet Home Alabama."
The encore was a nine-minute rendition of some obscure song about
a free bird. Only a select few of Lynyrd Skynyrd's most hardcore
fans were familiar with this tune, which is probably a b-side to some
rare, early recording that went out of print decades ago.
Lynyrd Skynyrd never
on cruise control
MUSIC REVIEW
By Scott McLennan
For The Telegram & Gazette
www.telegram.com
MANSFIELD— If given the chance, the surviving members of Lynyrd
Skynyrd would give Mount Rushmore a face-lift, adding the visages
of fallen comrades Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines,
Leon Wilkeson and Allen Collins.
Short of that opportunity, Lynyrd Skynyrd uses the concert stage
for nightly elegies to those responsible for one of the all-time
great Southern-rock songbooks. Of course, in honoring the spirits
of the original Skynyrds killed in a 1977 plane crash (Van Zant
and the Gaines siblings) and the others who later succumbed to illness
(Collins and Wilkeson), the current version of the band is sure
to keep its tributes rowdy and raucous.
The Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Famers played Friday at the Tweeter Center
along with fellow ’70s hit makers the Doobie Brothers in a solid
and satisfying classic-rock package. It took a while for the hard-core
Skynyrd crowd to file into the amphitheater, leaving the Doobie
Brothers to play before a lot of empty seats. Yet that did not slow
down the Doobie juggernaut. The band hit the stage with the slick
and rocking “Dangerous,” and from there unfolded a set that contained
blues, soul, Hawaiian slack-key guitar music, acoustic folk, Cajun
influences and reams of singalong lyrics.
Original Doobies Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons remain an unlikely
pair, Johnston looking all business and Simmons the long-haired
hippie, yet together they marshaled a superb cast of players through
a course of such memorable numbers as “Takin’ it to the Streets,”
“Black Water,” “Long Train Runnin’ ” and “China Grove.” The “brotherhood”
expanded to the children of band members who ambled on to sing,
play guitar and bang drums as the band crafted a communal set closing,
“Listen to the Music.”
The Skynyrd fans filled in the venue by the time the house lights
came down for the headliners. Guitarist Gary Rossington and piano
ace Billy Powell are the last of the original Lynyrd Skynyrd, and
their presence provides the band’s spiritual anchor. Singer Johnny
Van Zant, who is Ronnie’s younger brother, guitarists Ricky Medlocke
and Mark “Sparky” Matejka (acquired last year from the Charlie Daniels
Band), bassist Ean Evans, drummer Michael Cartellone, and backup
singers Dale Krantz-Rossington and Carol Chase bring the rest of
the muscle.
The current incarnation of Skynyrd carefully respects the legacy
of the original unit, from which it draws the bulk of its material.
But year in and year out, the band tweaks the performances, so there
is never a whiff of staleness coming off the stage when Lynyrd Skynyrd
plays.
After a slow-burning bluesy start with “Travellin’ Man” (which incorporated
some live recordings of Ronnie Van Zant vocals), and “Workin’,”
the band kicked into a full-tilt boogie mode with “What’s Your Name”
and “That Smell,” the one-two opening punch from the classic “Street
Survivors” album.
The band built a big, swooning version of “Simple Man,” a cornerstone
of its blue-collar philosophy, before delivering one of its signature
medleys, used to touch upon the hits unable to fit full-form into
the set. Rossington, Medlocke and Matejak ate up the guitar parts
in the medley of “The Needle and the Spoon” and “Gimme Back My Bullets,”
while Van Zant nailed the narrative of “The Ballad of Curtis Lowe.”
After the soaring, wistful blues of “Tuesday’s Gone” and the newer,
patriotic “Red, White and Blue,” Lynyrd Skynyrd went to the bank
with perennial barroom faves “Gimme Three Steps” and “Call Me The
Breeze.” Doug Flutie reprised a role he had when Lynyrd Skynyrd
played in Worcester last year and joined on backup vocals for “Sweet
Home Alabama.” (Skynyrd next month plays a benefit concert for the
Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism.)
There was no doubt what song would be the encore, leaving the only
speculation as to how “Free Bird” would arrive. On this night, it
was lean and mean, as Powell trimmed the keyboard dramatics, the
guitarists scorched, the backup singers stayed out of the picture
and even Van Zant departed amid the six-string fireworks. Sure,
the old songs are fueling Lynyrd Skynyrd’s continued survival, but
the way the current band approaches that catalog proves it is not
content to travel on cruise control.
Lynyrd Skynyrd lineup mix could go on forever
By R. Massimo
For The Providence Journal
http://www.projo.com/
The seminal Southern-rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd is down to two original
members — guitarist Gary Rossington and pianist Billy Powell — as
others have died, moved on or left for other health reasons. But the
group is still a touring machine, and that leads to a weird provenance.
The classic lineup, responsible for hits such as “Free Bird,” “Sweet
Home Alabama,” “Gimme Three Steps,” “That Smell” and more, was together
for roughly 10 years (depending on how you read the band’s loose early
history) before a 1977 plane crash killed guitarist Steve Gaines,
backup singer Cassie Gaines and lead singer and group founder Ronnie
Van Zant. The rebirth of the band, with Johnny Van Zant taking over
vocal chores from his brother, was 20 years ago.
That means that Johnny Van Zant has been in the band for twice as
long as Ronnie, and Rickey Medlocke has been in several years longer
than Allen Collins, the guitarist whose role in the trademark Skynyrd
three-guitar array Medlocke took over in 1996.
“It’s kind of weird thinking about that,” Medlocke says, “but honestly,
in the few short years those guys recorded, look at all they accomplished.
… There was a magic there — Ronnie, very very talented songwriter,
coupled with Gary and Allen.
“For myself, I look at it as we carry this thing on.”
That sort of tradition isn’t your typical rock ’n’ roll motivation,
but of course Skynyrd hasn’t ever operated under typical circumstances.
In that way, Medlocke was a good choice to join the group. He had
been a drummer with Skynyrd in their early days, leaving before the
recording of their debut album, Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd, in
1973 to switch to guitar and lead the group Blackfoot for two decades.
“The band had always been close to me anyway, even in the days of
being gone away from the group. I felt like it was coming home to
old friends and family. I think it was apropos to go back. Like Gary
said, it was meant for me to be back at that time instead of the early
years. …
“And I really respected Allen as a player, and he was a great friend.
It’s kind of cool to be able to go into a situation where you can
pay some respect and some honor to a guy, and the material they wrote
and played so much. Every night I get up there, I think about it.
And I’m glad to be there. It’s like family.”
While the second edition of the band has also put out as many records
as the classic lineup, they haven’t met with as much success. Only
one song — “Red, White and Blue,” from 2003’s Vicious Cycle album
— was on the set list when Skynyrd played at the Ryan Center at URI
in 2005.
“We could probably interject as many new songs as we wanted to,” Medlocke
says. “We realize that people come out to hear the classics; that’s
just what they do. I myself can’t wait to play some kind of new stuff,
especially when you’ve got a new record out. … You try to pick a show
that you know is well-rounded, that will cover everything that people
want to hear and enjoy. It’s kind of interesting putting a set together
every year and keeping it fresh; it really is. But somehow we manage
to do it.”
At this point, and if the 2005 show was any indication, Skynyrd can
go on as long as they want —– they’re still a powerful live force.
Medlocke cites The Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Aerosmith as long-term
career models, bands with lots of miles on them that are still a factor.
The key, he says, is new material. It’s been four years since Vicious
Cycle, their last new record, and Medlocke says label problems are
to blame for the lag. But the band is writing songs on and off the
road, and hopes to have a new record out by the end of the year.
Still, the current edition of Skynyrd, playing the old songs, keeps
the band in people’s minds, Medlocke says. And it paid off last year,
when Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame
(on their seventh nomination).
“I was happy the band got inducted into that thing last year; it should’ve
been way before then,” Medlocke says. “I was proud for Gary, proud
for Billy, Ronnie, Allen, Leon (bassist Leon Wilkeson, who died in
2001), all the guys who’ve gone on before.”
It seems that if Skynyrd had faded away after 1977, even with the
“incredibly historic songs — magical stuff” of Ronnie Van Zant, Rossington,
Collins and more, they probably wouldn’t be as highly regarded as
they are today.
Medlocke agrees. “Without a doubt. I think one of the things that
helped get the band in when it did was that the band just steady moved
all the time, playing and pushing in front of everybody.”
Ronnie Van Zant was the founder, the dictator, the guiding light of
Lynyrd Skynyrd. If the band could survive losing him, it would seem
like no one is indispensable. Theoretically, it could go on forever.
But Medlocke says that “nothing ever lasts forever, and everything
at some point will stop. … We’re not stupid; we don’t think we’ll
be here until we’re 90. …
For him personally, losing Rossington would be the last straw: “Gary’s
like a brother; I’ve known him for so long. It wouldn’t be fitting.”
But for now, they go on, releasing 12 studio and live albums in the
past 15 years.
“Really, to be honest, I feel like in 1977 — I grieved for the guys
and everything myself, because that was my friends. But I believe
that there were some things left undone. I believe there were great
shows left undone, great records left undone. There was a lot of stuff
left undone, and I think that’s why it’s gone on for as long as it’s
gone on. …
“The one thing that usually takes a toll on a band is people’s health.
If you don’t have health you don’t have a band. .. Other than that,
I’d say bands reach a certain point where they say, ‘We’ve had enough;
let’s shake hands, hug each other and just go on about our business.’
”
But he doesn’t see that happening any time soon.
“This band is so freaking consistent every night,” Medlocke says of
the group, which recently ended a two-year stretch of a two-guitar
lineup by hiring Mark Matejka. “The main thing for us is the show
– making sure that people walk away going ‘Holy mackerel, those guys
were phenomenal.’ And not a lot of bands can do that every night.
… We just love to play. I know I have ever since I was a kid. And
that’s the way it’s gonna be until one day it all comes to a halt.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Doobie Brothers are at the Tweeter Center for
the Performing Arts in Mansfield, Mass., tomorrow at 7 p.m. Tickets
range from $25 to $55; call (401) 331-2211.
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Live from Austin, Texas DVD
released Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd brought
their big, three-pronged guitar attack and catchy pop hooks to Austin
City Limits for an hour-long special in April 2000. During the '70s,
no bigger act emerged from the deep South than the screeching, guitar-dominated
hard rock/boogie band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Named for an annoying gym
teacher, Skynyrd was the standard-bearer on the charts and in sold-out
arenas for the whole southern rock movement which also included
popular bands the Allman Brothers, the Marshall Tucker Band, and
.38 Special.
Making its Austin City Limits debut, the band rips through favorites
such as "Sweet Home Alabama," "That Smell,"
"What's Your Name," and, of course, the rock 'n'
roll classic "Free Bird." "Honestly, just being up
there on that stage where all the great artists have performed -
it's great for us to be up there and we appreciate the opportunity,"
lead singer Johnny Van Zant said after the performance.
Renowned for their full tilt, multi-guitar assault, Skynyrd built
a loyal following with an exhilarating combination of blues, honky-tonk
and boogie while filling opening slots for The Who and other huge
touring acts. "Free Bird," their tribute to fellow southern
rocker Duane Allman from their debut album Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-Nerd,
remains one of rock 'n' rolls' most enduring anthems.
Their biggest hit, "Sweet Home Alabama," was a direct
response to Neil Young for his criticism of the South in his compositions
"Southern Man" and "Alabama."
In October of 1977, tragedy struck when a plane crash took the lives
of founding member Ronnie Van Zant as well as Steve Gaines and back
up singer Cassie Gaines. Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Billy Powell
and Leon Wilkeson were seriously injured but eventually recovered.
Several permutations of the original group existed for a period
of time after the crash before the remaining members resurrected
Lynyrd Skynyrd for a reunion tour in 1987.
The Southern boys are captured live in
this special hour-long
appearance on an April 2000 episode of PBS' AUSTIN CITY LIMITS.
Recorded: 12/15/1999
Tracks:
1. Edge Of Forever
2. What's Your Name
3. That Smell
4. Medley:Down South Jukin'
Needle And The Spoon
Whiskey Rock A Roller
Swamp Music
The Ballad Of Curtis Loew
5. Workin'
6. Gimme Three Steps
7. T For Texas
8. Sweet Home Alabama
9. Free Bird
Sale Price: $12.57
Scheduled to release Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Be one of the first to receive this product when it arrives.
Click
Here to order yours today!
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