RIP Gary Rossington.

Lynyrd Skynyrd have always been a favourite with me.

After The John and Tony Smith business broke up they were the very first band I promoted in January 1976.

One of the best and most memorable was when they played the Rainbow in Finsbury Park.

It was their first show in London and the audience went ballistic with joy.

When they finally finished Free Bird followed by Sweet Home Alabama it was the audience who were exhausted from cheering.

The band were on a real high so Bill Curbishley and I decided to take them out to dinner and chose a favourite Greek Restaurant.

At first the band were a bit sheepish until they saw the manager bring a stack of plates to the next table for the guests to smash to great music and bottles of Retsina which was the Greek custom.

When the manager of the restaurant then came to our table the bands eyes nearly popped out.

They had clearly never seen the spectacle before and proceeded to smash every single plate in the restaurant and drank nearly the total cellar of Retsina’s.

It was one of those nights that I will never forget…. Nor will my Bank Manager !!!!

Without doubt one of the most exciting bands ever on stage

Harvey Goldsmith.

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My favorite Skynyrd story. Fey and I put together a stadium show co bill of Skynyrd and Marshall Tucker at Mile High Stadium in the mid 70’s. The bands did not get a long and fought over who would close. We came up with idea of one band closing the afternoon part then a break then the other band closed the evening part. Other bands on the show were Atlanta Rhythm Section, Foreigner, Heart and Outlaws among others. The radio spot had to be total equal billing. Skynyrd was bigger then so we made them bigger in the spots (promoters could get away with a lot of stuff then). One of  Tucker’s friends living in Boulder heard the spot and called their manager. The manager called really upset and I said not true and I would fly the next  morning with the radio spots to play him in person. Had my spot guy stay up all night making new spots and I flew to Spartanburg to play him the phony spots which he was fine with of course after he heard them. Crazy times in early rock and roll.

Chuck Morris – Chairman Emeritus
AEG PRESENTS

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In the mid-70s I was on the staff of UK music weekly Sounds and assigned to do a story on Lynyrd Skynyrd.

I joined them in Glasgow at the Albany Hotel (the only place musicians stayed). We were the only people sitting in the dining lounge. At the end of the room was a low stage and a keyboard and mics. After awhile a guy and girl combo climbed on to the stage and started to play in a very Carpenters style. Not brilliant, not terrible, an ordinary hotel band.

As soon as they started Ronnie Van Zandt and Gary Rossington paid attention and listened to them and at the end of each song applauded. Then the record company lady made a disparaging comment about the playing. Instantly Ronnie spun on her and with real anger said, “They’re musicians. They’re working. You show them respect.”

It was a really eye opening comment and one I have tried to follow to this day.

All the best,

John Ingham

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I was the tour accountant for Southern rock artists Molly Hatchet in the 80s. We had the honor of opening or sharing bills for many of the bands idols and heroes including Lynyrd Skynyrd , Rossington Collins Band , Allman Brothers  Band, Outlaws , Charlie Daniels Band , 38 Special as well as other many others. I spent much time in their home base of Jacksonville , Florida . What I learned is that their creed was to not only play hard and live hard but also work hard .

These musicians were the sons of the returning veterans of World War II and brought with them a work ethic that included always giving everything you had and your band mates and crew were your brothers . Quitting  or not going on and giving the best show you could to the people who bought tickets was never an option . They lived by a code . It’s hard to see it now but when you look back at the career Gary Rossington had and how he sustained , always came back and succeeded  over all these years it’s easy to see how and why . RIP Gary.

Stephen Mr Magoo Grossman

San Antonio TX

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My two Lynyrd Skynyrd stories:

I moved to Atlanta in 1971 and lived in the heart of the infamous Peachtree Strip during its peak years. There was a club down the street called Funochios where a band called Lynyrd Skynyrd played nightly.

So the band Focus comes to town to perform at the Omni. The arena fills up, and at showtime, the house lights are still on – and there’s NO equipment on the stage. An announcer finally comes on and says that Focus’ truck broke down in Tennessee and that they wouldn’t be making it to the show. However, they said everyone will receive a refund and can also stay and watch the opening act for free! The opening act was that band that could be seen 5 nights a week at that club on Peachtree – Lynyrd Skynyrd. Everyone groaned and left. Nobody stayed.

My other encounter with Lynyrd Skynyrd was way cooler. I didn’t have a car at the time, and like many others in those days, I hitchhiked everywhere. I had my guitar with me, case in hand, and was hitchhiking home on Peachtree when this van full of longhairs picked me up. I got in the side door and sat on the floor in the back. Up front was the band – Lynyrd Skynyrd! They said they picked me up because they wanted to see my guitar (my 335), which I took out of the case and passed it up front and which they played.

I still have that guitar.

RIP Gary Rossington.

Mark Towns

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Years ago, I wrote and directed a sketch starring the fellas from Skynyrd for a show called “The Soup”. Gary was out of his comfort zone, but he settled in and had a blast (and was hilarious to boot). Here’s the clip if anyone’s interested in seeing a different side of him. May he rest in peace.

Lee Farber

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Re: Gary Rossington: I grew up in 1970’s Florida – Skynyrd was to us what Bruce Springsteen is to New Jersey!

Vince Welsh

President
Teacher Education Institute, Inc.

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Pronounced ‘Leh-‘Nerd ’Skin-’Nerd was the first record I ever bought (at Strawberries Records).  Pretty sure it was my older sisters Prom song in ’73. I was hooked – the Allmans were the cool guys and LS were the bad ass version.  And they were LOUD.  I saw them open for The Who at the Boston Garden and left after their set.  How could anything beat that?  Saw the original band five times.  When Street Survivors was released on a Tuesday, I hitchhiked home from college in Vermont to buy it.  Two days later it was all over.  I continued to follow the survivors and like the RC Band and while they were really good, it was not the same.  A good friend took me to see Bad Company and LS in New Hampshire a few years ago (I really like Paul Rogers and had never seen him live – he still belts it out).  They were good and we left early.  Not the same.

You were spot on re losing our heroes at a very uncomfortable pace.  At least I still have my original vinyl.

Thanks again for another stellar history trip.

Mike Colbourn

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Thanks for all your amazing work, Bob. I’ve enjoyed it through the years. Decades ago, not long before the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash, I went on the road with the band to write about them for, of all publications, ‘TEEN Magazine.

Besides being a brilliant musician, Gary Rossington was a super-cool guy who invited me in and kept an eye on me.  I was grateful to him, am so sad to learn of his passing. The guy had a beautiful heart and soul.

A few months ago I performed an account of my time with Gary, Ronnie, and the rest of the band and thought I’d share it with you.

Kind regards,

Marina Muhlfriedel

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Being from Alabama, I like to tell people that Sweet Home Alabama is the unofficial national anthem. You can be practically anywhere in the world, and not even be from Alabama, but when it comes on in a bar you’ll sing along.

Peter Gilbert

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I worked with Lynrd skynyrd when I was pr director at mca – they were rowdy but great to deal with – respectful and professional with me – I am sad  – carol Ross

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My first concert was Firefall, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Doobie Brothers at the Nassau Coliseum, before the plane crash. Even though the Doobies were headlining, you couldn’t walk 50 feet in my school at the time without hearing Freebird.

Everyone was there to see Skynyrd, and they delivered. I was lucky to have such a great first concert. After Skynyrd,  the Doobies were a bit of a let-down, and we left in the middle of their set, along with half the crowd.

In retrospect, it seems a little weird that a bunch of middle-class suburban kids on Long Island loved Southern rock so much, but Skynyrd rocked their asses off, which is all that matters when you’re in high school. We also loved (and saw live) Marshall Tucker Band, Charlie Daniels, The Outlaws, and of course The Allman Brothers. We loved all kinds of rock, from Aerosmith to Zep, but Southern rock was a big part of it. What a great time to grow up.

Best,

Perry Resnick

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Recall gong to see Rossington Collins band in Binghamton in summer between my freshman and sophomore year at Syracuse Uni. Had a girlfriend at Uni that lived there. Told me she was pregnant when I got there after drive from my parents house in Long Island.. . Won’t forget that trip! Thank God she decided to exercise her Roe v Wade rights or I would have a 42 year old kid now, probably be a grandfather too. But no way I could have dealt with being a dad at 19!

Brian Barry Esq.

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Hey Bob, The time I saw Skynyrd playing the Santa Monica Civic during the early or mid 70’s was maybe my most favorite concert ever. I told my friend I went with before hand about the 3 lead guitar players with one being better than the other. They did not disappoint.  I can still visualize myself there taking it all in.

Please note, Before the Santa Monica Civic show I saw Skynyrd’s last few songs as I walked into the forum on a rainy Thanksgiving night.  They were the opening act for The Who.  I said to myself, these guys are good!  That was the beginning of my love affair with them.  I still remember the night hearing the News of the plane crash and the feeling of being crushed.

Besides their records still being available there are also various videos on YouTube available.  They were one Bad Band!

Tracy Weber

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In 20 years, just about all of them will be dead. Jagger, Elton John, McCartney, Tina Turner, Lionel Richie, you name it. So many of the rock stars and musicians that burst onto the scene in the 60s and early 70s, we’re all about the same age give or take. The list is going to be staggering.

That said, Lynyrd Skynyrd was the first concert I ever went to. December 31, 1976 in Oakland.

Journey opened up… When journey was a hard rock band with incredible musical sensibilities. Before that whiny Pop singer guy joined them.

Anyway, the Skynyrd crowd was hard-core. Rowdy, ready to party, and the band was exciting on stage. Not in a Rolling Stones k I’mmd of way but the anticipation of free Bird and the songs flat out rocked.

As I got older I learned to appreciate them not so much as a southern rock band but it has a rhythm and blues band, very much like the Rolling Stones

If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?

We will until we can remember no more

Jimmy Becker

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Probably because the manager of the reformed Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Brusco, was from Pittsburgh, we became a hotspot here for the late 1980s rebirth of the live band. Charile is what we call a Yinzer. You can take a Yinzer of out of Pittsburgh but you can’t take the Pittsburgh out of the Yinzer. Charlie knew “The Burg” and he figured it was a good launch point.

 

We sold out shows at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena that I managed and then when I went to run Star Lake Amphitheater outside of town, we did many sellouts there, capped by the LYVE FROM STEEL TOWN double record in 1997. We also helped Charlie with secondary market shows in rust towns like Wheeling and Johnstown.

 

Maybe it was because we were so close to West Virginia (you could practically walk to Weirton from the amphitheater). Maybe it was because WDVE was so powerful if it got behind something, it would sell well (witness Steve Miller sellouts when he wasn’t doing any of that kind of business anywhere). The guys who ran WDVE were smart; Pittsburgh was an aging market and better to accent classic rock bands than to be too reliant on new music. Maybe it was the revisionist pre-woke things where shows like THE DUKES OF HAZZARD and movies like SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT romanticized the old South and Skynyrd with the gigantic Rebel flag unfurling as they hit the stage fed off of that. Maybe it was because the music was so good and we left ‘what if-ing’ in terms of what they had left to share with us.

 

If I might a personal note, my 15-year-old son at the time, Josh, idolized the band. Couldn’t get enough. One weekday night in Wheeling, he begged to go the show. His mom said no. School night. We made a deal. Homework would be done in catering. Josh was too wound up. Gary Rossington and Johnny Van Zandt got wind. Gary came to Josh’s table. “Josh, your dad won’t let us go on ‘til you finish that homework…what kind of damn math is that anyway?” Josh got it done and the band played on.

Tom Rooney

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I had the pleasure of working with Skynyrd four times, producing three TV concerts and a live King Biscuit CD – which is a story in and of itself.  While to me Gary had a bad boy exterior, I found him to be a gentle and kind soul when I worked with him. He was a true gentleman to me.

 

As a side gig, I am the co-owner of a bar in Long Island where I book the mostly classic rock bands on the weekends.  Whenever a band rips into a Skynyrd song, the place lights up.  No one dares touch Freebird, but they light up the house with Alabama, Gimme, That Smell, Simple Man.  Their music still sounds fresh, I think it will always be vital to our music landscape.

 

Barry Ehrmann

Enliven Entertainment

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Gary Rossington was a real Rock Star giant when I first started playing guitar at 13. His cool hair, cool jackets, and smoldering slow-hand Les Paul bends full of swagger taught me to play guitar. I dropped the record player needle 10,000+ times learning those early Lynyrd Skynyrd records. Even my first amp, that I bought while working at a car wash at 14, was a Peavey Mace with a 412 cab, just like the amps on the cover photo of One More From The Road.

During high school my denim blue notebook had Lynyrd Skynyrd scrawled in ink pen across the front as I cried walking to school the day of their plane crash. Never saw the original band but was able to see the Rossington Collins Band melt the stage in Mobile AL. From 16, 17, 18 years of age I’m playing my Les Paul Custom plugged into my Peavey Mace turned up loud rockin’ Skynyrd tunes in the FL panhandle. Every night the endless clubs and biker bars were filled with patrons roaring with applause (plus endless shots sent to the stage!) hearing Sweet Home Alabama, Simple Man, Gimme Three Steps, Call Me The Breeze, Needle and The Spoon, and Free Bird.

Those late 70’s musical moments and songs carried me to my future touring with Ronnie Montrose, Buddy Miles, Double Trouble, Colin Hay + others. Gary Rossington gave me so much and now his musical influence lives on forever in my heart and soul. And so tonight, in his honor, I touch my fingertips to the strings and like always there’s a sparkling flash as Gary Rossington’s souful swagger jets across the universe. I can feel it, I can hear it, and I want to Turn It Up!

Greg Vorobiov

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Good on ya Bob
Skynyrd was the stuff
My friend Chris Rugulo has been their stage tech for decades.
Can we get a shout out to a true rock and roll war dog?
Chris Rugulo is one of the best and a beautiful kind heart at that!
And yes Bob you are el correcto, The band was the epitome of justall of us in the 70s trying to make it.

Robert Xeno

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I was there.  For history.  I was at the launch party for Al’s Sounds of the South label, at Richard’s in Atlanta, where Mose Jones opened with a gritty set, followed by Elijah (not memorable), and then…Skynyrd, whom none of us had ever heard or heard of.  One by one, song by song, table by table, everyone stopped eating, stopped, drinking, stopped talking and by the end of their set everyone was standing on their chairs or even tables, watching something we all knew was special. We all knew.

I saw them many more times, got to know them a bit, and, miraculously, was hired to be their indie PR for the “Gimme Back My Bullets” and “One More From The Road” albums and tours.  “Bullets” wasn’t their best work, following Ed King’s and Al Kooper’s departure, but it has aged surprisingly well.  That live album, recorded at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, is a tour de force, showing a band really coming into it’s own and featuring new third guitarist Steve Gaines (who I’d known previously when he was with Mitch Ryder’s Detroit, having replaced Steve Hunter).  His sister Cassie was one of the Skynyrd backing singers, the Honkettes, and she and I both lobbied to get Steve an audition with the band.  I’m sure Cassie’s lobbying was taken far more seriously than mine.  But Steve fit in incredibly well instantaneously, despite not being from Jacksonville.

This was not a “southern rock band.”  They were a real rock band, with influences from far and wide, including especially the guitar-driven British blues-rock bands.  They were exactly what you saw – no artifice.  I have so many great memories of time spent with them.  Ronnie asked me once why I didn’t drink with them, and I replied “someone has to be sober enough to write it all down after the fighting stops.”  I got them a Kirshner Rock Awards award for helping preserve that legendary Fox Theatre, and Leon Wilkeson sang his acceptance remarks.  Watching those three guitars soar and their interplay was magical.

I was driving into Chicago after seeing Talking Heads at the B.Ginnings club out in the suburbs late one night when I heard the plane crash news on the radio and nearly drove off the road. I spent the night helping field press inquiries and getting no sleep, postponing my meeting the following day over at Mercury Records.  Not just Ronnie, but Steve AND Cassie, and road manager Dean Kilpatrick.

I went to their one real reunion tour after the crash, at Universal Amphitheatre, where they ended with an instrumental version of “Free Bird.”  And it was really haunting.  I didn’t even go backstage to see them, it was just too much to handle, really.

Second drummer Artimus Pyle, who was there for all the glory days and walked away from the plane crash, is still with us, on his own and long-exiled from the band; I was really happy to visit with him on a classic rock cruise several years ago.

I saw the “If I Leave Her Tomorrow” documentary the night it premiered on Showtime, and, wow, it’s really good.  No talking heads of any managers, agents, etc.  Just the voices of the band and Ronnie’s widow Judy, and featuring Gary throughout, taking us all on a tour of their Jacksonville roots.  If you haven’t seen it, you really should.

Gary’s heart problems were ongoing and well-documented these past few years, and so I made a special trip to Las Vegas a few years ago to see them and to see him before an iHeart Radio Festival show there, and our visit was short, but, to me, so meaningful.

I really felt attached to that band and those guys.  A little part of me died with Gary last night when I heard the news.

I’ve worked with other artists who’ve died – Billy Murcia, the original NY Dolls drummer, when I was working with them before they signed to Mercury.  Sandy West, the Runaways’ drummer, long after the band had broken up.  And John Lennon.  That night was brutal too, so completely shockingly unexpected.

We knew Gary was living on borrowed time, with his weakening heart..  They all had been, the survivors of that plane crash, and one by one, we’ve lost them all (except Artimus); yes, others survived including tour manager Ron Eckerman and sister Honkette Leslie Hawkins (who I had a major crush on).  But the finality hearing the news yesterday hit hard.  How could it not?

Toby Mamis
ALIVE ENTERPRISES

Are you watching this? It’s so STUPID!

Which is why it’s so great.

The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” takeoff is genius. Even down to the staring contest between Judas and the Roman soldier.

The original “History of the World,” you know, “Pt. 1,” was uneven. It’s hard to do comedy, it’s hard to be consistent. Mel Brooks’s best work was “The Producers,” and “Blazing Saddles.” But it looked like he was losing his touch, but “Part II” Shows he has not.

The Jews in the shtetl doing a musical, even down to the “Fiddler on the Roof” parody…

And the Romanov stuff, where the daughter is an influencer.

They don’t make this kind of comedy anymore. Somehow it faded out. You know, the offensive stuff you can get away with. Stuff where the conception is key. You know, left field stuff, stuff so out there, that you cannot help but laugh to the point where you cry.

Hitler on ice? With the Olympic commentators? I’m laughing just thinking about it.

Before “Part II” we watched this week’s John Oliver, where he did his best to nail DeSantis. Does any right-winger watch John Oliver? Furthermore, if I do say so myself, somehow John didn’t put the stake in DeSantis’s heart. We knew most of the material, at least I did, we were looking for the unknown delivered in such a delicious way that no one could vote for Ron.

But politics is scary. It’s like we’re living in the Russia of the 50s and 60s, you know, with mind control, where you didn’t learn anything, couldn’t learn anything, whole swaths of information were excised. Did you see that “Times” article about the right wing outlets which didn’t cover the Dominion suit, how Fox knew what they were saying was false? Probably not. Here it is:

“Conservative Media Pay Little Attention to Revelations About Fox News – Even in today’s highly partisan media world, experts said, the lack of coverage about the private comments of Fox’s top executives and hosts stands out.”: https://nyti.ms/3F4cIIp

Ah, you won’t read it, either you know all this or don’t want to. Ain’t that America.

And speaking of TV, did you watch Bill Maher on Friday night? First and foremost I’m sick of Bill and his Covid B.S. He said the other week that natural immunity is as good as the vaccine. Yes, the study said this, IF YOU HAD COVID! If you did not, it’s open season. I hate that people are so narrow-minded that they are limited by their own experience. I don’t think Bill knows anybody who died. I know plenty. I can’t get over Lisa’s father passing, he was the rock of their family. This was before the vaccine. Hey, take all the risk you want. You think you’re immune, you’re not. I know too many people who don’t know someone who died. And their narrow view would have you believe that Covid was nothing. As for whether it came from a lab or not, WHO CARES! I mean we’d like to know, but what does that change? Covid was a big deal, I’m still recovering mentally, from the years locked down. That ain’t gonna change no matter where it came from, even if Fred Flintstone cooked it up between strings at the bowling alley.

But even worse was Russell Brand. An uninformed nincompoop who hogged all the time on “Real Time” so no one else could speak truth. He was busy making a tzimmes because he’s promoting a new movie. God, even when you blow the whistle on Bill he refuses to acknowledge it. I got e-mail from people who’ve run into Chris Rock and he was nice. Can’t imagine Bill giving people the time of day. Whenever you see him around town he’s still wearing a damn suit. And Bill, we know you had a hair transplant too, who else would wear that combed-back hairstyle. I’m trashing you because too many people get your news from you, it should at least be fair and balanced, and I’m not talking about Fox.

Which is why “Part II” is so great. It takes you away from today’s world where you feel powerless, observe insanity and don’t know what to do. You see “History of the World, Pt. II” is insane, even down to the vomiting on the boat on the way to Omaha Beach, an homage to the farting scene in “Blazing Saddles.”

No, every joke doesn’t work, but this nonagenarian takes more risks and hits more bullseyes than all those comedians on TikTok, trying to blow themselves up.

Mel Brooks coming back is like Paul McCartney cutting a new “Band on the Run,” or Bob Dylan cutting a new “Blood on the Tracks.” Completely surprising, completely unfathomable.

I don’t want to overhype you. Then again, I can’t. Like I said, this show works mostly because it’s so stupid, the conceptions are so whacked. You’ll laugh in a way you haven’t for decades…

WATCH IT!

Netflix trailer: https://bit.ly/3mtHYtW

George Drakoulias told me to watch it.

First we had to finish “Shrinking,” well at least everything but the last episode, had to wait until 3/4 to watch that, and then…

I trust George.

I was familiar with the show. But the buzz was mixed. And I passed.

So revisiting the data, I saw that it had a 100% critics rating on RottenTomatoes and a 62% audience score. That’s my kind of show.

You can’t trust the public when it comes to TV. Like the aforementioned “Shrinking”… Harrison Ford is good playing against type, and the young ‘uns are good, very good, but Jason Segel… Does he ever get really mad? You think you like him, you think he’s a good actor, but then he’s compromised. As for Christa Miller… I’m a big fan, but I didn’t even recognize her. This is just plain sad. She’s had so much plastic surgery that she doesn’t even resemble who she used to be. And the lips… I know, I know, I can’t attack women’s looks. But I point you to this recent article in the “Los Angeles Times”: 

“‘This is me, this is my face’: Actress Mimi Rogers on aging naturally, without cosmetic surgery”: https://lat.ms/3kSdtNY

And Christa’s husband is two-dimensional and “Shrinking” is a traditional sitcom, just a smidge better. It’s no “Hacks,” it’s certainly no “Love Life,” which you probably still haven’t seen, because it was buried by HBO Max and there’s no buzz, but I assure you, it’s great.

Now “Shrinking” has 81/85 on RottenTomatoes, which kind of undercuts my point, but it’s not 100%!

You see the public can’t handle foreign, can’t handle challenging, if it’s not obvious, they’re out. And call me an elitist and…I’ll own it. As for all you doofuses who e-mail me that you love foreign flicks and… Do you think when I write this stuff I mentally poll each and every one of my subscribers? Not everything is about YOU!

So…

“Kleo” is a black comedy. Its most obvious analogue is the “Deutschland” series. Real life events re the fall of the Berlin Wall, but with a leavening of comedy.

“Kleo” too is a post-Wall story. But the weird thing is the main actress, Jella Haase, wasn’t even born when the Wall came down. And that’s weird, because it seems like yesterday to me.

So, Kleo is a Stasi assassin. But she is thrown into jail and she’s there for a couple of years until the Wall falls, and then she looks for the person who is responsible for her incarceration. I know, I know, I’ve revealed some plot points, but the above is in each and every review. But really, it’s not the specific plot points you watch for, even though they twist and turn and are fascinating, but Jella Haase herself.

Whew!

She’s not Hollywood beautiful, not that she’s not attractive. But she’s intense. She’s got a brain. And a sense of humor, you can’t take your eyes off her. What does she feel, what is she going to do next, she sacrificed it all for the cause and..?

Well, now I’m gonna contradict myself, actually you do watch for the plot points. That’s what makes the whole show hold together. And you’re not exactly sure who is a good guy or gal, or who is not. And bumbling Sven Petzold… You come to like him too. You know, the company man who the company doesn’t like. Who can’t get ahead, because sometimes he’s wrong, and when he’s right, no one believes him!

But there’s the tone. Sometimes deadly serious and other times funny.

“Kleo” is not a hard watch. But you do have to pay attention. You cannot multitask while watching it.

But unlike dreck like “Shrinking,” you will be drawn in, you will feel you’re part of the world.

Utterly fascinating.

BIG thumbs up!

Every original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd is dead? I thought the Ramones were an anomaly. What happens out on the road, why is it that musicians pass before their time?

I know, I know, you’re angry that I’m not mentioning all the other performers who have recently died, most specifically David Lindley. Man, I saw him with Jackson Browne at the Bitter End back in ’72, I bought “El Rayo-X.” I even saw him live before the pandemic.

But David Lindley was normal, he lived in Claremont for God’s sake. I don’t want to denigrate his musicianship, which was superb, but Lindley was not a rock star. You know, the kind that used to rape and pillage across the country, who got drunk, did drugs, got laid… That was Lynyrd Skynyrd.

And I know I can’t say “rape and pillage” anymore. But that’s how they described the rock star lifestyle back in the seventies, and Lynyrd Skynyrd were part of the firmament of the seventies, even after the plane crash.

So…

“Free Bird” was not an immediate hit. After all, Skynyrd was on Al Kooper’s Sounds of the South label, distributed by MCA, and you remember Skynyrd’s song about MCA, right?

And just a sidenote re Al… He produced the first three LPs, the band’s best work… Better than the iconic Tom Dowd’s stuff thereafter.

So… Skynyrd penetrated the populace very slowly. This was not “Led Zeppelin IV,” where “Stairway to Heaven” was immediately added to playlists. In truth, Skynyrd didn’t really break through until the second album, “Second Helping,” with “Sweet Home Alabama.”

You’ve got to understand, Skynyrd were relatively late in the procession of southern rock bands. It started with the Allman Brothers, but then their manager had his own label, Capricorn, and was issuing product on a regular basis. The Marshall Tucker Band delivered, but Skynyrd almost arrived as also-rans, they were seen as low rent imitators. I’m talking about the perception, forget the facts.

But tracks started to permeate FM radio…

God, if today’s youngsters lived through the days of AOR in the seventies. EVERYBODY listened, the FM rock station was the heartbeat of America. If you tuned in, you learned everything you needed to survive. And you never missed a show because you were unaware of it, when a band came to town…

So as the decade wore on, and they had the Memorial 500 and other holiday countdowns, number one was always “Stairway to Heaven.” Number two was “Free Bird.” And eventually “Kashmir” was number three. Always, year after year.

You see Lynyrd Skynyrd had three lead guitarists. We’d seen two drummers, but three lead guitarists? It pushed the music over the line, made it special, magical.

And then…

That guitar figure and Ronnie Van Zant saying “Turn it up.”

“Sweet Home Alabama” was one of those one listen records. Looped you right in. I asked Al Kooper the backstory. Just after the first LP was released, the band called and asked to come up to Hot Lanta to record a new song. That wasn’t released for another year. I asked Al if he knew it was a hit. He said…IT WAS SWEET HOME ALABAMA!

Now I’m not going to write chapter and verse about Skynyrd’s career.

But one thing you’ve got to know is Ronnie Van Zant was the frontman, and not a reluctant one like Gregg Allman. Ronnie had a large personality, he was full of quotes, and he didn’t give a f*uck, he’d say whatever he wanted. Point being, the rest of the band was relatively faceless. You only knew the players from the album covers.

And the key songwriters were Van Zant, Allen Collins, occasionally Ed King and Gary Rossington, Rossington had his hands all over the hits.

And after the plane crash, Rossington united with Collins in the Rossington Collins Band, with Dale Krantz as the lead singer. How could you not buy it, you wanted another hit of the magic, at least I did, I loved “Don’t Misunderstand Me.”

But no one could replace Ronnie.

But the Skynyrd legend could not be kept down. Ultimately the band was reformed with Ronnie’s brother Johnny as lead vocalist, and over time the original players came and went, and then they ultimately passed away.

It’s not like Gary Rossington’s death is a shock. He had so many health problems, it seemed inevitable, unlike the surprise of David Lindley’s death.

But if every original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd is dead…

Today’s Skynyrd is a tribute act. But it’s not only Skynyrd, so many of the classic rock acts feature only an original or two. You know who the new players are, they’re smooth-skinned, they’re not ragged and haggard, they’re YOUNG!

But the music of Lynyrd Skynyrd is still young. Doesn’t sound dated. Sounds as fresh as the seventies, when rock ruled the world, when we thought it could never die.

Skynyrd was not background. It wasn’t the soundtrack to a video game. The band and its music stood alone. That was enough. No brand extensions were necessary. Ronnie Van Zant’s identity, the band’s image was enough. Long after all the perfumes and other chozzerai the “musicians” of today are purveying is gone, they’ll still be playing Skynyrd music.

You see our music wasn’t momentary, it was FOREVER!

And a good portion still is.

But you can only really get the hit by listening to the records. Like Journey… Arnel does a good job imitating Steve Perry, but he’s not Steve Perry. No one else could be Steve Perry. And no one else could be Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington. Without them, without either of them, it’s not Skynyrd. A band. Self-contained. Living the life we all wanted to. The dream was to go on the road, at least go backstage, just to touch, to be in the presence of these giants.

So it’s the end of an era, and those of us still here are left with this empty feeling. We knew we were gonna die, but not our heroes, not the musicians, if they made it past twenty seven, they were here forever.

David Bowie? Glenn Frey? Anomalies.

But David Lindley was 78, and you might think that’s young, but pray you’ll get there, it’s quite an achievement.

And Gary Rossington was only 71. He was born in the fifties, like that old Police song, like me.

We’re being taken off the field. One by one. But it’s getting faster, and will get faster still. To the point where there will be little hoopla, to the point it will be de rigueur.

But if you were there, if you lived through it, if you broke the shinkwrap on these records and dropped the needle…you’ll never forget. When you spun records day and night, when every show sold out. When if you weren’t there, you’d have to wait a whole ‘nother year.

I mean every member of Lynyrd Skynyrd? They all were cut down? I mean the plane crash was horrible, I remember hearing the news and feeling the emptiness.

But there were some survivors.

And now those guys are gone.

Who will carry on the tradition? Who will clue in the young ‘uns?

At least we have the records to keep the dream alive. And in the case of Lynyrd Skynyrd, that’s enough.