Last Of A Dyin' Breed: Lynyrd Skynyrd And Rock Immortality

They may have only one original member left from their 1970s heyday, but against all the odds Lynyrd Skynyrd are still packing out venues around the world. The band are currently playing a trio of dates in the UK, with fans flocking to see musicians who didn't write and record their classic songs. But what could their continued potency as a live act mean for the future of our favourite ageing bands?

The rock ‘n' roll landscape is on the verge of a shake up. Within the next 20 years, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Deep Purple, ZZ Top, Kiss, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Journey and many major rock acts who have dominated the last half century will be gone. However, if Lynyrd Skynyrd have taught us anything, it's that the public’s appetite for great bands playing much-loved material is still voracious, regardless of the personnel involved.

Skynyrd's countless line-up changes are the result of a tragic history. The 1977 plane crash that killed guitarist Steve Gaines, his sister and backing singer Cassie and vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, and the subsequent deaths of guitarist Allen Collins - who passed away in 1990 - bassist Leon Wilkeson and keyboardist Billy Powell, who died in 2001 and 2009 respectively, caused them to roll with the punches in order to keep the spirit of the band alive. Guitarist Gary Rossington is the sole survivor from Skynyrd's vintage era, and he's been careful not to replace his fallen comrades with faceless hired guns.  

It was imperative to find the right frontman to take over from their charismatic talisman, Ronnie Van Zant. Fittingly, the man for the job was his younger brother, Johnny. He knew their history intimately, possessed the same values as his older brother, and had been affected by the plane crash as much as anyone.  

“To have Johnny there now is like having part of Ronnie there,” Rossington told Uncut magazine in 2012. “You feel his spirit is on stage with us every night.” It also helps that he's an excellent singer and songwriter in his own right. Add to that the Van Zant name and the band wanting to honour the memory of the departed, and the fans were on their side from the get go. Similarly, each time the group have made a change, they've drafted in excellent musicians who are both steeped in the history of Skynyrd and well known characters on the southern rock scene.

For example, their current three-pronged guitar attack is completed by Rickey Medlocke and Mark “Sparky” Matejka. The former was actually Skynyrd's first drummer in 1970, featuring on some of their earliest recordings before leaving to form the legendary Blackfoot. The latter is a younger guy known for being part of Hot Apple Pie and the Charlie Daniels Band – a gig that affords sizeable kudos in southern circles.

But, having said that, with ‘70s drummer Artimus Pyle and retired guitarist Ed King alive but absent, it's been suggested Skynyrd are now just a very good tribute band. When asked about this, Rossington explained to Classic Rock Revisited: “It is not the original band, but we just carry the name, the spirit and the music onward. It is all about the music we wrote so long ago. We want to keep it alive.”  

Plus, tribute acts don't record original material. The current group have made some cracking albums and since 2003’s 'Vicious Cycle', each Skynyrd release has charted higher than the last, with 2012's aptly-named 'Last Of A Dyin' Breed' peaking at #14 on the US Billboard charts.  

Although that adds a contemporary relevance, and in a sense vindicates their decision to continue, the band’s game changing '70s albums remain the benchmark. With Sweet Home Alabama, Free Bird and Call Me The Breeze, they became the voice of a generation.  

“It reminds them of old times, when they were younger. We really are a soundtrack of their lives. A lot of emotion comes out and we have people write to us all the time and tell us how much our music means to them,” Rossington told Classic Rock Revisited.

That may forge an unbreakable bond, but the continued desire to watch a completely different line up suggests those ties are more to the material than the musician. The songs have accompanied fans through their trials, tribulations, triumphs and losses, resulting in a sense of ownership.

The popularity of the latter day Skynyrd is also down to the band attracting younger followers. Classic records are not bound by the same rules as their creators, after all. “The newer generation of fans hear the story of what happened and they learn,” Rossington added.

For all the positive feedback, some older fans won't embrace Skynyrd's second coming and will be aggrieved if they continue after Rossington has hung up his spurs. Younger devotees, on the other hand, didn't grow up with the musicians who wrote and recorded the material.

Now, this is where we get into tricky territory, and old school rock fans will undoubtedly find the idea completely sacrilegious. But, what if bands like Skynyrd become franchises, passed down from generation to generation with each new incarnation putting their own spin on things?

It's something that both Kiss and Slipknot have recently discussed, claiming that new versions of their groups could carry the torch when they retire. “Kiss is immortal,” Paul Stanley told News.com.au last month. “I look forward to a day when I’ll see Kiss play without me. Don’t want to do it next week, haven’t pencilled anything in, but it would be the culmination of what we’ve built and a consistent progression.”

If that seems too much to take, it's because we've never seen a situation like this in popular music before. The first wave of greats are nearing the end, so why not look to classical music for guidance? After all, and without wishing to be flippant, symphony orchestras do just fine playing Beethoven and Tchaikovsky 'covers' ad infinitum.

In the 1960s, the thought of anyone but Sean Connery playing James Bond – or anyone but Ian Fleming writing the novels - would have been unthinkable. Over 50 years, six actors, and a handful of authors later, it's accepted as the norm. The character doesn't belong to any one creator, writer or star, and is reinvented for fresh generations. Lynyrd Skynyrd have shown how rock ‘n' roll could embrace this trend.

Whether we like it or not, the music we hold close to our hearts will continue to evolve and be reinterpreted, probably in ways we won't like, during our old age. But just think about the enjoyment young kids will get from hearing live music by bands trusted to maintain legacies. Who are we to deprive them of that?

Lynyrd Skynyrd Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:

Tue April 21 2015 - GLASGOW Clyde Auditorium
Wed April 22 2015 - MANCHESTER O2 Apollo
Thu April 23 2015 - LONDON Eventim Apollo

Click here to compare & buy Lynyrd Skynyrd Tickets at Stereoboard.com.

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