Lynyrd Skynyrd vocalist Johnny Van Zant said the Southern rock titans “will leave that door open” for a new studio album without late co-founding guitarist Gary Rossington, according to a new Classic Rock interview.
Rossington was the longest-tenured and last surviving original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd at the time of his death in March 2023 at the age of 71. The band will commemorate Rossington’s final show with a new live album called Celebrating 50 Years: Live at the Ryman, which comes out tomorrow on Frontiers Records. The star-studded LP features country star Jelly Roll, rocker Marcus King, Shinedown frontman Brent Smith, 38 Special veteran (and Van Zant brother) Donnie Van Zant and more.
Skynyrd — whose latest studio album, Last of a Dyin’ Breed, arrived in 2012 — mentioned “exciting new projects” when they announced their signing to Frontiers. According to Van Zant, that could include new studio material they had in the works before Rossington died.
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Johnny Van Zant: New Lynyrd Skynyrd Music ‘Would Be a Question of Time’
“We recorded a song called ‘The Last of the Street Survivors,’ and we put it out [in 2020],” Van Zant told Classic Rock. “We were headed to doing a new studio album, and then Gary’s health got really bad. There are other songs written with Gary before he died that we could record. We will leave that door open for the future.”
As for whether those songs will ever see the light of day, Van Zant said: “It would be a question of time. For me, Skynyrd always made great records, but it was a live band, and that’s still true today. When I first joined [in 1987] we were all still into drinking and having a party on stage – just like the audience – but nowadays we soak that music up. It’s become more of a spiritual thing, and we never, ever phone it in. That’s something I’m very proud of.”
In the meantime, Lynyrd Skynyrd will keep doing what they do best: performing live. The rockers currently have dozens of European and North American tour dates booked through October.
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Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
