youtu.be/y2HRrjpiM7Y For Lisa Ann Ollis Newsom Return (1987–present) In 1987, Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited for a full-scale tour with five major members of the pre-crash band: crash survivors Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson and Artimus Pyle, along with guitarist Ed King, who had left the band two years before the crash. Ronnie Van Zants younger brother, Johnny, took over as the new lead singer and primary songwriter. Due to Collins paralysis from a 1986 car accident, he was only able to participate as the musical director, choosing Randall Hall, his former bandmate in the Allen Collins Band, as his stand-in. As part of his plea deal, Collins would be wheeled out onstage each night to explain to the audience why he could no longer perform (usually before the performance of That Smell, which had been partially directed at him). Collins was stricken with pneumonia in 1989 and died on January 23, 1990. The reunited band was meant to be a one-time tribute to the original lineup, captured on the double-live album Southern by the Grace of God: Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour 1987. The fact that the band chose to continue after the 1987 tribute tour caused legal problems for the survivors, as Judy Van Zant Jenness and Teresa Gaines Rapp (widows of Ronnie and Steve, respectively) sued the others for violating an agreement made shortly after the plane crash, stating that they would not exploit the Skynyrd name for profit. As part of the settlement, Jenness and Rapp collect nearly 30% of the bands touring revenues (representing the shares their husbands would have earned had they lived), and hold a proviso which forces any band touring as Lynyrd Skynyrd to include at least three from the pre-crash era. As the years have gone on, however, and continued lineup changes occurred for various reasons, this so-called rule of three was eventually no longer made a requirement. The reconstituted Lynyrd Skynyrd has gone through a large number of lineup changes and continues to record and tour today. One by one, the members of the pre-crash band have left, been forced out, or have died. Artimus Pyle left the band in 1991 and his place has been taken by a variety of drummers since, with Michael Cartellone finally becoming his permanent replacement. Randall Hall was replaced by Mike Estes in 1993. Ed King had to take a break from touring in 1996. In his absence, he was replaced by Hughie Thomasson. The band did not let King rejoin after he recovered.[citation needed] At the same time, Mike Estes was replaced by Rickey Medlocke, who was briefly the second drummer and a vocalist (playing also mandolin) with the band in the early 1970s. Leon Wilkeson, Skynyrds bassist since 1972, was found dead in his hotel room on July 27, 2001; his death was found to be due to emphysema and chronic liver disease. He was replaced in 2001 by Ean Evans. The remaining members released a double collection album called Thyrty, which had songs from the original lineup to the present. Lynyrd Skynyrd also released a live DVD of their Vicious Cycle Tour and on June 22, 2004, Lynyrd Skynyrd released the album Lynyrd Skynyrd Lyve: The Vicious Cycle Tour. On December 10, 2004, Lynyrd Skynyrd did a show for CMT, Crossroads, a concert featuring country duo Montgomery Gentry and other genres of music. In the beginning of 2005 Hughie Thomasson left the band to reform his disbanded Southern Rock band Outlaws. Thomasson died in his sleep on September 9, 2007 of an apparent heart attack in his home in Brooksville, Florida. He was 55 years old. On February 5, 2005, Lynyrd Skynyrd did a Super Bowl party in Jacksonville with special guests 3 Doors Down, Jo Dee Messina, Charlie Daniels and Ronnie and Johnny Van Zants brother Donnie Van Zant of 38 Special. On February 13 of that year Lynyrd Skynyrd did a tribute to Southern Rock on the Grammy Awards with Gretchen Wilson, Tim McGraw, Keith Urban and Dickey Betts. In the summer of 2005, lead singer Johnny Van Zant had to have surgery on his vocal cord to have a polyp removed. He was told not to sing for three months. On September 10, 2005, Lynyrd Skynyrd performed without Johnny Van Zant at the Music Relief Concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, with Kid Rock standing in for Johnny. In December 2005, Johnny Van Zant returned to sing for Lynyrd Skynyrd. The band performed live at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky, as a part of their 2007 tour. The concert was recorded in high definition for HDNet and premiered on December 1, 2007. Mark Sparky Matejka, formerly of the country music band Hot Apple Pie, joined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 2006 as Thomassons replacement. On November 2, 2007, the band performed at the University of Floridas Gator Growl, the worlds largest student-run pep rally, in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium – also known as The Swamp. The events 50,000-person attendance marked the largest crowd that Lynyrd Skynyrd had ever played in front of in the United States, until the July 2008 Bama Jam in Enterprise, Alabama where more than 111,000 people were in attendance. On January 28, 2009, keyboardist Billy Powell died of a suspected heart attack at age 56 at his home near Jacksonville, Florida. No autopsy was ever carried out. Powells death left Gary Rossington as the sole pre-crash member still in the band, unless Rickey Medlockes brief stint with the band in the early 1970s is counted. On March 17, 2009, it was announced that Skynyrd had signed a worldwide deal with Roadrunner Records, in association with their label, Loud & Proud Records, and released their new album God & Guns on September 29 of that year. They toured Europe and the United States in 2009 with Peter Keys of the 420 Funk Mob on keyboards and Robert Kearns of The Bottle Rockets on bass (in place of Ean Evans, who died of cancer at age 48 on May 6, 2009, at his home in Columbus, Mississippi] Scottish rock band Gun performed as special guests for the UK leg of Skynyrds tour in 2010 In addition to the tour, Skynyrd appeared at the Sean Hannity Freedom Concert series in late 2010. Hannity had been actively promoting the God & Guns album, frequently playing portions of the track That Aint My America on his radio show. The tour is titled Rebels and Bandoleros. The band continued to tour throughout 2011, playing alongside ZZ Top and The Doobie Brothers. On May 2, 2012, the band announced the impending release of a new studio album, Last of a Dyin Breed, along with a North American and European tour. On August 21, 2012, Last of a Dyin Breed was released. In celebration of its release, the band did four autograph signings throughout the southeast. While promoting the album on CNN on September 9, 2012, members of the band talked about its discontinued use of Confederate imagery. In September 2012, the band briefly did not display the Confederate Flag, which had for years been a part of their stage show, because they did not want to be associated with racists who had adopted the flag. After protests from fans they reversed this decision, noting it is part of their Southern American heritage and states rights symbolism.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 20:09:48 +0000
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