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DARK SECRETS: Gary rossington - The Real Truth

"I used to sleep with my guitar next to the bed": Born in a dream, the guitar solos in one of classic rock's greatest songs were out of key, but band superstition kept them in

Lynyrd Skynyrd's down-home anthem was a retort to Neil Young's Southern Man, but decades on it's soundtracked everything from KFC to video games

Louder

“When Ronnie sang about Neil Young in that song, that was kind of a joke lyric about him. We loved Neil Young!”: The true story of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sweet Home Alabama

"Neil wanted to play the song with us!"

MusicRadar

“When we went to record it, the record company said, ‘Man, they won’t play that, it’s too long.’ But we said, ‘We don’t care!’”: How the young Lynyrd Skynyrd turned a simple love song into a southern rock epic

"Ronnie said, 'Just go till I tell you to quit!'"

MusicRadar

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“It’s a true privilege”: YouTuber gets the chance to try Gary Rossington’s legendary Free Bird Gibson Les Paul/SG – so he plays Free Bird

Tyler Larson of Music Is Win was brave enough to try some Free Bird licks on the actual Free Bird guitar

Guitar World

Watch Blackberry Smoke pay tribute to Gary Rossington with the guitar used during the recording of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird

Blackberry Smoke frontman Charlie Starr plays Free Bird and Tuesday's Gone on 1961 Gibson Les Paul/SG guitar in pro-shot video

Louder

“He used seashells as a pick, that's where he gets all that squank from”: Brilliant players of all persuasions have earned their stripes in Lynyrd Skynyrd's three-guitar army. Rickey Medlocke takes us through all of them, and what made them each special

Having served in Skynyrd as a pre-fame member and later as a crucial part of their reunion, Medlocke has more insight into the idiosyncrasies and genius of each of the band's six-string aces than just about anyone

Guitar World

“We said, ‘We’re calling the band Leonard Skinner!’ And everybody laughed and clapped and thought it was cool. So we kept it”: The early days of Lynyrd Skynyrd recalled by legendary guitarist Gary Rossington

Plus: the British band that inspired the young Skynyrd to work harder

MusicRadar

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“When Ronnie sang about Neil Young in that song, that was kind of a joke lyric about him. We loved Neil Young!”: The true story of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sweet Home Alabama

"Neil wanted to play the song with us!"

MusicRadar

"Ronnie said, 'Just go till I tell you to quit!'"

MusicRadar

"We hit the trees at what seemed like 100 miles an hour": The story of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the plane that fell from the sky

Fist fights, premonitions and a flight into hell: This is the tale of Ronnie Van Zant and Lynyrd Skynyrd

Louder

"He's the real deal. He came in reeking of pot": Johnny Van Zant on Lynyrd Skynyrd's new live album, life without Gary Rossington and new music

Iconic southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd play four UK shows in July. Will they play Free Bird? Good chance

Louder

Lynyrd Skynyrd announce live album recorded at Gary Rossington's star-studded final show

Watch the video for Tuesday's Gone featuring Jelly Roll, from Lynyrd Skynyrd's Celebrating 50 Years - Live At The Ryman

Louder

“I could see and hear my brothers dying. It was the worst thing that could ever happen to anyone”: The horror of a rock band’s plane crash - by the guitarist who survived it

Six people died, including the band's singer

MusicRadar

“No one has ever played these instruments live other than Gary”: Gary Rossington’s ‘Free Bird’ Les Paul/SG will be loaned out for a series of A-list gigs – and Blackberry Smoke have already used it for a Lynyrd Skynyrd medley

The Chicago Music Exchange is working with Rossington’s family to help put the iconic guitar in the hands of big-name players, in a new initiative that aims to honor the late Southern rock icon’s legacy

Guitar World

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Guitar World

“When I came back into Lynyrd Skynyrd, I knew that Free Bird was going to be my lead. I was the drummer in Muscle Shoals when we cut the original. I watched Allen. I knew the licks”: Rickey Medlocke unpacks his history with Skynyrd – and that guitar solo

Veteran guitarist (and former drummer) reveals how essential Damon Johnson has become, the secret to sounding like the late original guitarists, and the unfinished songs co-written with Gary Rossington

Guitar World

“Gary walked in and goes, ‘Alright, today’s the day.’ At the end, he came over, shook my hand, and goes, ‘Unbelievable job. I couldn’t ask for any better’”: Rickey Medlocke on the first time he played Lynyrd Skynyrd’s iconic Free Bird guitar solo

Medlocke rejoined Lynyrd Skynyrd as their new guitar player in the early 1990s, and one of his main responsibilities ever since has been to tackle Allen Collins’ legendary lead effort

Louder

“People go, ‘How can you write another Free Bird?’ And I go, ‘You can’t.’ Nobody could ever fill Ronnie’s shoes”: The unlikely second coming of Lynyrd Skynyrd

Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited a decade after the plane crash that killed Ronnie Van Zant to launch their second act

Louder

“I don’t get into many fights now cos you get hit on the throat and you miss a gig”: The explosive rise of Lynyrd Skynyrd, America’s greatest southern rock band

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s classic debut album (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) was released on August 13, 1973, setting them on the path to stardom

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Guitar World

“Gary wasn't feeling too good, but he was at rehearsal, and I played his solo. I saw a twinkle in his eye when I played that”: Marcus King recalls playing with Gary Rossington at the late Lynyrd Skynyrd legend’s final show

King joined his hero during the band's 50th Anniversary show in November 2022 to perform Saturday Night Special – a track that had hugely influenced him as an aspiring guitar player

Guitar World

“That amp quite literally changed my life”: Damon Johnson explains why finding the right amp kickstarted his career

Back in 1990, Johnson bought a pricey but career-changing amp that he says “was worth every penny”

Guitar World

“He said, ‘I never want the band to go by the wayside and the music just disappear’”: Rickey Medlocke defends Lynyrd Skynyrd’s decision to continue with no original members

Medlocke says he and vocalist Johnny Van Zant are continuing with the blessing of the late Gary Rossington – and they’re not just a cover band

Guitar World

“Thin Lizzy prepared me for Skynyrd. They said, ‘You need to learn these songs note for note.’ I said, ‘I wouldn’t dream of doing it any other way’”: Damon Johnson on having one of rock’s most enviable resumés – and why Eddie Van Halen gifted him a guitar

From touring with Van Halen, to finding his own niche as a blood-and-guts player with some of rock’s biggest names

Guitar World

“I played note-for-note. Those albums are the soundtrack to people's lives. I wanted to hear them how it was supposed to be”: Damon Johnson on how he came to play with Thin Lizzy and Lynyrd Skynyrd – and his identical approach for both gigs

Johnson has been tasked with filling roles held by a string of iconic guitarists – and he's been determined to do the source material justice every time

Guitar World

“If the mini-humbucker had remained exclusive to Epiphone, it may have been a mere footnote. It developed a following because they ended up in Gibson guitars”: The mini-humbucker’s surprising history – and why it deserves more love

Often passed over in conversations about the greatest electric guitar pickups, the mini-humbucker has a unique tone of its own, its story inextricably linked to Epiphone and Gibson

Louder

The 10 greatest slide guitar moments in rock

From Johnny Winter to Led Zeppelin, here’s how a hit of slide guitar can lift a song to the heavens

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