Lynyrd Skynyrd has a history that is unmatched in music. The band has been making music for more than half a century, an almost unheard of feat in any genre. It’s a success story that Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Rickey Medlocke says is bigger than any of the previous or former members.

“The legacy of the band, the brand name, I think now is bigger than anyone in the band,” Medlocke tells Everything Nash. “It almost outweighs anybody that’s been in the band, just that brand name. Everybody follows the brand name. And they know that the founding members, which were Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington and Allen Collins. Those names are synonymous with that brand name, and their legacy goes on forever as well as the name.”

Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd is the band’s first album, out in 1973. To celebrate their extraordinary legacy, Lynyrd Skynyrd is releasing Celebrating 50 Years – Live At The Ryman, a live double album and DVD, capturing the band’s 2022 concert at the Ryman Auditorium. No one could have known at the time how important that show would become for Lynyrd Skynyrd. The show became the final show that founding member Gary Rossington would play. Rossington was just 71 years old when he passed away in early 2023.

“We actually wanted to really celebrate that 50 years since that first release, because it was an important album,” Medlocke explains. “First of all, it brought the band to prominent attention. And we just felt the need to go out, have a 50-year celebration. And we wanted to really do it, honestly, I think because of Gary. He was the last of the founding members of the band. And at that point, he wasn’t in good health. His heart was giving him a lot of problems. I’m actually glad that we took it upon ourselves to go out, and really give it that celebration.

“We wanted to do it from Nashville,” he adds. “We wanted to do it from the Ryman, and I’m glad we undertook it because ironically, it was Gary’s last show. A short time after that, he succumbed to heart failure, and left this whole world. He got off the bus.”

 

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For a band that has traveled the world, celebrating the milestone anniversary at a place like the Ryman Auditorium was important to them, and especially to Medlocke.

“The Ryman is such a special venue,” Medlocke says. “My grandfather, Shorty Medlocke, played in and out of Nashville with a lot of country music artists. And he had appeared on that stage before. And so, other than that, of all the people that had ever been on that stage, and still continue to be on that stage, what other venue is so intimate? We couldn’t think of any other venue that we would rather do this film, and record a whole record live, and have special guests come out, other than the Ryman. It’s just so legendary, and so iconic. And boy, what a feeling on that stage. It’s incredible.”

Perhaps surprisingly, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s fan base continues to grow. It’s a testament to not only their music, but also their work ethic.

“We have a fan base – it’s just amazing to me –  of eight years old to 80 years old,” the 75-year-old reflects. “I had a record company, a person that was in the record business for many years, say, ‘How in the world does Lynyrd Skynyrd keep reinventing itself like they do?’ And I think it all has to do with the music. The music is so iconic and has been around, of course, all those years.”

Lynyrd Skynyrd has done far more than any other band in history, but they aren’t done yet. In fact, their tour schedule is taking them overseas this summer, with a schedule that rivals artists half their age. They still also have more music they want to make, and a lot of it.

“There must be 25, 30 – countless songs that have been written with Gary and some of our other members that have left us,” Medlocke maintains. “There are songs that are sitting there, and Johnny [Van Zant] and I really wanna put them out. We want to make another Skynyrd record and bring these songs out that people have never heard, some of which are really good. So maybe that’s what’s left for Skynyrd to do. The one thing that we promised Gary is that we would never let the music fade away with him. He was worried about that, and expressed his feelings that he never wanted the music and memories and stuff to leave with him. And we assured him that we would take it as far as we could, and that’s what we plan to do.

“I promised him when I got back in the band the second time in ’96, I said, ‘Gary, I want you to know I’ll be here until the last note of Free Bird’ is played, and here I am, 30 years later,” he adds. “So, is there anything else for Skynyrd to do? Yeah. Make new fans.”

Celebrating 50 Years – Live At The Ryman, out on June 27, includes songs with Jelly Roll, John Osborne, Marcus King and more. Order the project, and find all of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s music and upcoming shows at LynyrdSkynyrd.com.