![]() “The music was changing us,” recalled Rossington, who was raised by his single mother in West Jacksonville after his father died, shortly after Gary was born. They became interested in music as teens, however, and wound up playing the Rolling Stones’ then-current single “Time Is on My Side” in the carport of Burns’ home, the same day Van Zant had struck the drummer with a pitched ball. He actually met Van Zant and Burns through the sport, playing on different teams. You could really hear the guy in his playing.”īorn in Jacksonville, Rossington found his first passion in baseball, playing sandlot and in organized leagues, with aspirations to one day join the New York Yankees. And the riffs he came up with and his leads were always like his personality. He was a shy guy, kinda quiet, and he had that mysterious quality, playing guitar with the long, drawn-out sustain. It was Gary’s sound and the tone and his connection with Ronnie in writing the songs that brought it all together Rickey MedlockeĪdds Van Zant, “I always thought Gary played like he acted. It was Gary’s sound and the tone and his connection with Ronnie in writing the songs that brought it all together.” ![]() If you go back into the early years when I first joined the band, just watching those two guys, Gary and Allen, work on those parts and the dual leads that would become great songs later on. “His presence and his talent was a very important part of the music and that band. “Gary Rossington played a very integral part in the creation of all of that,” notes Rickey Medlocke, the Blackfoot founder who played drums in Skynyrd circa 1970-’71 and rejoined as a guitarist in 1996. Through the group’s many incarnations, Rossington’s presence was the essential tie to the band’s legacy, a black-clad, hat-wearing, Les Paul-slinging embodiment of credibility, speaking softly but hitting hard with his guitar, whether it was the fire of “Free Bird” or the aching gentleness of “Simple Man.” So I feel like there’s a whole bunch of people up on that stage.” ![]() And every time we play, I feel the other guys’ spirits with us, and they’re helping and making sure everything is all right. “I’m just happy to still be doing it, going out and spreading the word about Skynyrd and all the great songs, and talking about Ronnie and Allen and Steve Gaines, and Leon and Billy and all the guys we lost, just keeping them alive. “It’s heavy,” Rossington acknowledged at the time. (from left) Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington and Allen Collins work with producer Al Kooper on (Pronounced ’Leh-’nérd ’Skin-’nérd) as engineer Bob “Tub” Langford looks on, at Studio One, Doraville Atlanta, Georgia, May 6, 1973. ![]()
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