Rickey Medlocke explained why Lynyrd Skynyrd decided to continue after losing all its original founding members.
On March 5, Lynyrd Skynyrd's last surviving founding member, Gary Rossington, died at the age of 71. His cause of death was not revealed.
While it sparked disbandment rumors, the new generation of Lynyrd Skynyrd members decided to continue the band's legacy and perform under the group's banner.
Why Lynyrd Skynyrd Continues Performing
Speaking in his interview with FOX17 Rock & Review, guitarist Rickey Medlocke opened up about their decision to continue Lynyrd Skynyrd's career despite no longer having a single founding member.
"This year we picked our bootstraps up and we got back into it," he said. "Johnny and I decided, 'Hey...' The outcry of the fans were such that they said, 'Please don't let this be the end of it.' And so we decided, along with the former bandmembers' estates and relatives, that we were gonna go back out and take the great music to the fans."
He continued, "Because, honestly, the songs is what makes it all happen for LYNYRD SKYNYRD. It's all about the music."
Medlocke expressed his gratitude for the band for giving him the chance to play its songs and to Rossington for helping him get back on track.
Before Rossington's death, Lynyrd Skynyrd already suffered from loss when a tragic crash on October 20, 1997, claimed the lives of lead singer and founding member Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and backup singer Cassie Gaines.
The band's assistant road manager, Dean Kilpatrick, succumbed in the accident; pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray also died.
Members who survived were Rossington, Billy Powell, Artimus Pyle and Leon Wilkeson, although they all sustained lacerations, internal injuries and bone fractures.
The Convair CV-240 aircraft flew from Greenville, S.C., to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at that time when the aircraft started having mechanical issues, including engine complications and fuel gauge malfunction. The pilots realized that the 4000 gallons of 100-octane, low-lead fuel was not enough for the flight, leading them to fly toward McComb Airport.
Pilots tried to have an emergency landing in an open field around 270 meters from the crash location, but it collided with a large tree and shattered the aircraft.
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