The show goes on for cursed Lynyrd Skynyrd
Tiny Dancer
The show goes on for cursed Lynyrd Skynyrd
By Dean Goodman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lynyrd Skynyrd is the band that refused to die,
even if many of its members are now playing in rock 'n' roll heaven.
In the latest setback to hit the southern rock band during its three-decade
history, bass player Leon Wilkeson died in his sleep in July, his heart and
liver apparently succumbing to a lifetime of partying.
After canceling a few shows, the band returned to the road, with just two
original members in its seven-man lineup.
But Wilkeson's spirit lives on. Or more exactly, a hat-stand bearing many
of his outrageous hats gets its own spotlight on stage. As a banner bearing
Wilkeson's likeness is unfurled, singer Johnny Van Zant dedicates the song
``Simple Man'' to the band's practical joker.
``He would never want us to stop, and we're not gonna stop. We're gonna
keep going on,'' band leader and original guitarist Gary Rossington, 49,
said in a group interview with Reuters before a recent Los Angeles show.
Wilkeson, who was also 49, is the fourth member of the band to die. Singer
Ronnie Van Zant, Johnny's older brother, and guitarist Steve Gaines were
killed in 1977 when the group's chartered plane ran out of gas and crashed
in a swamp. In 1990, three years after the group reunited, guitarist Allen Collins
died of pneumonia, having been paralyzed from the waist down in a 1986
car crash that killed his girlfriend.
Often billed as the American version of the Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd
was almost as well known during its pre-crash heyday for its hell-raising
exploits as for a sizzling three-guitar attack that yielded such classic rock
staples as ''Free Bird,'' ``Sweet Home Alabama'' and ``That Smell.''
Ronnie Van Zant co-wrote the latter song, a blistering tirade about drug abuse,
with Rossington in mind.
DOGGED BY 'CLING-ON FANS'
These days, with a sober Rossington in charge and most of its players salaried
employees, the band's wild days are long gone. Wilkeson, who suffered from
hepatitis B and had missed many shows while on rehab stints, was the last link
to the bad, old days.
Gregarious and eager to show he was a regular guy, Wilkeson was befriended
by what Johnny Van Zant, 41, angrily terms ``all the cling-on fans that called
themselves ... friends of his.'' With Wilkeson's hotel suite doubling as Party
Central, his alcohol-free resolve inevitably crumbled.
His worried bandmates knew his generosity would be his downfall one day,
but his July 27 death still shocked them. Results of his autopsy are pending.
Pianist Billy Powell, the other original member, was especially affected.
Powell and Wilkeson had known each other since childhood in the band's
Jacksonville, Florida, hometown, and were kicked out of the Cub Scouts together.
``Our motto was that we would be hoods until the day we die,'' said Powell, 49.
Powell is still battling booze, and says Wilkeson's death is a wake-up call.
``I have lost sleep over it, to tell you the truth. I've woken up in a cold sweat,
man, with nightmares, with Leon talking to me.''
Referring to the band's apparent curse, Powell added: ''Somebody's trying
to take us down but they're not going to.''
Indeed, Wilkeson's death has helped make the band more defiant, looking
to step out from the shadow of its venerable past as well as from some bizarre
legal obligations.
Lynyrd Skynyrd is actually a company whose stockholders include the estates
of Van Zant, Gaines and Collins. The estates have no creative input, but take
a cut of anything bearing the Lynyrd Skynyrd name -- to Rossington's chagrin.
``We do it out of the kindness of our heart and because they were a part of us,''
said Rossington, who doubles as company president. ``People know that
Ronnie and Allen and Steve aren't here anymore, and people are coming
to see this band.''
'GO AHEAD ... SUE US'
Poor relations between the band and the estates used to produce some
rancorous stockholder meetings, but things seem to have improved recently.
Since Lynyrd Skynyrd is technically in breach of a legal covenant requiring
the lineup to consist of Rossington and at least two designated original
members, Van Zant's widow, Judy Van Zant Jenness, could take them to court.
The musicians dare her to. ``We've even told her that: go ahead and sue us,''
said Powell.
Adds guitarist Rickey Medlocke, 51, ``The bottom line of all this: him (Rossington),
Allen and Ronnie started the band. And if this guy can't do what he wants to do
with this band, then f--- everybody.'' (The group is rounded out by guitarist
Hughie Thomasson, drummer Michael Cartellone and bassist Ean Evans.)
A call and an email to Van Zant Jenness were not returned.
The band knows that the estates count on its existence, not only for merchandising
and ticket sales but also for royalties. Boosted by the touring, Lynyrd Skynyrd's
old albums sell about 1.5 million copies in the United States annually. If the band
called it quits, too many parents, widows, children and grandchildren would feel
the sting.
And so Lynyrd Skynyrd maintains a vigorous touring schedule, grossing $4.2
million in ticket sales for the year to date, according to figures reported to trade
publication Pollstar.
Its newer albums do not sell as well as those from the pre-crash era, which
have sold about 23 million copies in the United States, according to recent
conservative calculations by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The lively 100-minute concerts, attended by surprisingly young crowds,
barely acknowledge the post-crash output, instead focusing on the golden
oldies and obligatory ``Free Bird'' encore.
``We're all doing good (financially), but we're not old yet,'' says Rossington.
``So we need to keep going another'' -- and he pauses for a second -- ``thirty years.''
Cheers,
TD
If I leave here tomorrow
Would you still remember me?
For I must be travelling on, now
'Cause there's too many places I've got to see
from Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird"
For a good time call
http://the70s.cjb.net
The Sesame Street Lyrics and Sounds Archive
http://i.am/tinyd
recsec
continue to exist. The music matters. But two it is sad what it has become.
A company??? You mean I went to see LS Enterprises last July?? My God man
how sad is that?!?!? It's Gary's band. Or at least that's what one wants to
believe. When they are on the road he is in full control. They have been
know to be late getting to their hotels simply because their bus would pass
by a particularly good looking fishing hole & Gary would stop them their so
he could go fishing. He is one of 3 who started the band so why shouldn't it
be able to continue?? I guess it is all just the business of rock & roll.
Too bad that $$$$ has to get in the way of rockin' out!!!
Billy