Back in 1964, Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Larry Junstrom, and Bob Burns joined together to create Lynyrd Skynyrd. Thanks to hit songs like “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird”, the band gained legendary status. Besides Rolling Stone listing them on their list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, the band gained entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Sadly, in 2023, Rossington passed away. With no more original members, many have called the ongoing band nothing more than a tribute act. And for guitarist Rickey Medlocke, he is tired of people “talking s**t” about the current lineup.
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For Medlocke, his time with Lynyrd Skynyrd isn’t new. First joining the band back in 1971, the musician eventually left but returned in 1996. Remaining part of the lineup for almost the past 30 years, he took offense to those who criticized the band.
Speaking on Real Music With Gary Stuckey, the guitarist said, “We hear a lot of, ‘Oh, it’s nothing but a tribute band. ‘Well, they even said that when Gary was still alive. But here’s the way I look at it. You’ve got the original singer’s youngest brother [Johnny Van Zant] that has been in there almost 37 years. You’ve got me. That’s my second go-round with the band, and I was in the original group, the formidable group. And you had Gary, an original founding member. Well, to us, us three guys standing upfront, we were, like, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no.'”
[RELATED: Rickey Medlocke Teases New Gary Rossington Music for “All-Star” Lynyrd Skynyrd Album]
Rickey Medlocke Calls Out Trolls Who Believe They Can Do Better
Tired of all the criticism, Medlocke offered a solution. “The people sitting there behind their little computer keyboards and talking s**t, they can talk that s**t all they want to. My word is if you can do better than me, step up. You know what I mean? Come on. Come on with it.”
While lashing out at online trolls, Medlocke isn’t about to quit and that is due to Rossington. “Gary made us promise that we would never, ever let the integrity of the band and the music history of the band, never let it be forgotten. Just all of a sudden, he’s gone, the band’s gone, and you might hear it on radio every once in a while, or people get together for a barbecue and they play the music or whatever. We got so much corresponding comments, letters, notes, e-mail, text messages, and the one deciding factor was, ‘Please, don’t let this be the end of it.’ Well, okay.”
(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Stagecoach)
