Gary Rossington Celebrating Lynyrd Skynyrd Thirty Years Strong

By: Arlene R. Weiss

In May 2003, I was honored to interview Lynyrd Skynyrd’s legendary guitarist, Gary Rossington. At the time, Gary was celebrating Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 30^th Anniversary which included the release at the time of a new Lynyrd Skynyrd Boxed Set, ® Epiphone Guitars Official 30^th Anniversary Lynyrd Skynyrd Les Paul Standard Gold Top, an honorary exhibit highlighting the band at The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, a worldwide tour, and the remastered reissue CD release of The Best Of Rossington Collins Band-20^th Century Masters The Millennium Collection.

Gary was also deeply honored that year by ® Gibson with their crafting and issue of the ® Gary Rossington Signature SG, and the ® Gary Rossington Signature Les Paul.

Moreover, Gary was particularly thankful and joy filled having suffered just a few months before, in February 2003, some serious cardiac related health issues, which were successfully treated.

Gary was very happy to be healthy and well, to be able to enjoy the anniversary of his iconic band, and was in a particularly introspective, reflective, and warmhearted state of heart and mind, circumstances withstanding.

Currently in 2015, Gary Rossington is the only and last surviving original, founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd that is still actively playing, writing, and recording with the band.

The band has endured its share of tragedy including the passing of original members Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and Leon Wilkeson, all in the years prior to this interview.

Since this 2003 interview was conducted, original member pianist, Billy Powell, and good friend The Outlaws’ Hughie Thomasson, who joined Skynyrd from 1996 to 2005,  have since passed on.

Through it all, Gary Rossington and Lynyrd Skynyrd have continued to possess an endless and inspiring resilience, a passion for making music, and a joyous exuberance in continuing to make their fans happy, rocking them to the band’s signature honky tonk, southern rock, blues and boogie.

In 2006, Lynyrd Skynyrd were honored by and inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.  They have continued to tour to sellout crowds, release new records, and influence, be name-checked by, and honored by, endless musical peers from Kid Rock to Bret Michaels.

On November 12, 2014, the band was celebrated and honored at a special tribute concert, Lynyrd Skynyrd: One More For The Fans.  The celebratory event was held at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia, and included a glittering who’s who of esteemed artists and peers, all tipping their hats in musical praise to Lynyrd Skynyrd, including Gregg Allman, Peter Frampton, Warren Haynes, John Hiatt, Don Was, Charlie Daniels, Robert Randolph, O.A. R., and Gov’t. Mule.

Here’s a fond look back with the legendary “Freebird” himself, Gary Rossington.

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This year marks a cornerstone benchmark for Lynyrd Skynyrd and original founding member, lead guitarist, songwriter Gary Rossington as the band takes its rightful place in music history, celebrating their 30^th Anniversary.

Gary Rossington, along with Lynyrd Skynyrd’s late Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins, proudly hails from Jacksonville, Florida, where all three musicians and friends were born, grew up, and went to school together.

From the time Rossington first heard Elvis, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones, music and significantly the guitar, both became his passion.  At just thirteen years old, the awe-struck Rossington was prompted to buy his first guitar, an eight dollar Silvertone acoustic from Sears.  He went on to play local gigs with his first band, You, Me and Him.

Then Rossington, along with childhood friends singer, songwriter Ronnie Van Zant  and guitarist Allen Collins, also in bands at the time, dropped their mutual daily routine of playing baseball together, in favor of pursuing and combining their musical aspirations.  The self taught Rossington practiced and honed his guitar chops day and night, determined to craft his new found life long love for the instrument.

Gary, Ronnie, and Allen then put together their own band, changing its name several times before cleverly thinking up and finally deciding on the name Lynyrd Skynyrd, named in jest after their Physical Education teacher at Robert E. Lee High School, Leonard Skinner, who took issue with their long hair.  The group braved, yet always held close to their hearts, the rough, yet somehow tight knit family valued blue collar streets of their hometown of Jacksonville, Florida.

After years of paying their dues playing local rowdy bars and clubs along the regional club circuit crossing into Georgia, Gary, Ronnie, and Allen were on their way to successfully chasing their dream of making music and landing their first major record deal. Thus began the career of one of music’s biggest and hottest multi-platinum selling recording acts.

Enlisting a host of musical compadres along the way, they forged Lynyrd Skynyrd to become the quintessential American rock & roll band. Loud, proud, unapologetically brash and outspoken. They melded rock, blues, and honky tonk roadhouse boogie into their signature trademark Southern Rock sound….a sound often praised by, and influencing many bands and artists since.

But, there is only one Lynyrd Skynyrd, and likewise, only one Gary Rossington.  A one of a kind original who set the standard.

Rossington and the Southern Rock outfit have since evolved that very standard, consistently raising the bar to the next level, as the band remarkably shifted creative gears with ease.   Writing, recording, and performing fierce, triple lead guitar powered rockers, segueing to introspective, often inspirational songs of resolute depth, to pointed narratives of social commentary.

Lynyrd Skynyrd has survived more than its share of tragedy, from the plane crash that took the lives of Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and backup vocalist, Cassie Gaines, to the tragic, untimely deaths of Allen Collins and most recently, the passing of bassist Leon Wilkeson.

The band persevered to see its current stellar lineup consisting of key flagship members Johnny Van Zant on lead vocals, former Blackfoot founder Rickey Medlocke on guitar, and former Outlaws founder Hughie Thomasson on guitar.

Rossington, who has become Skynyrd’s musical patriarch, and the band who defined the essence of resilience, have stalwartly marched forward, keeping their music fresh and vibrant with the ongoing introduction of new members into the band, regular new album releases, and diligent touring supported by loyal fans.  And all to now see their 30^th birthday.

And what a party it is!  Especially so for the proud Rossington, now the creative and business focal point of the band.  2003 will see the release of a new Lynyrd Skynyrd Boxed Set, ® Epiphone Guitars Official 30^th Anniversary Lynyrd Skynyrd Les Paul Standard Gold Top, an honorary exhibit highlighting the band at The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, a worldwide tour, and the remastered reissue CD release of The Best Of  Rossington Collins Band-20^th Century Masters The Millennium Collection.

Then with much fanfare, there’s the release of Skynyrd’s first new studio record in three years, “Vicious Cycle”.

And to cap everything off, ® Gibson Custom, Art & Historic Division has designed two Signature Guitars in honor of the legendary Southern Rock & Blues axeman. The ® Gary Rossington Signature SG, and the® Gary Rossington Signature Les Paul, precisely researched, custom built, and modeled after Rossington’s own original 1961 SG, and after Berniece, Rossington’s beloved, timeless Les Paul which he named after his mother who nurtured and helped him to realize his musical dream.

Rossington couldn’t be prouder with both Gibson’s tribute to him, and with the new Skynyrd album, Vicious Cycle.  Imbued with some of the finest quality songwriting and sparkling musicianship from the band in years, Vicious Cycle evokes the spirit and signature sound of the band’s original lineup and legacy while painting new dazzling colors on their latest musical canvas.

There’s the livin’ large, hard partying anthems “Pick ‘Em Up” [a duet with Van Zant and Medlocke playfully trading winking vocal verses, fondly conjuring up the rabble rousing “You Got That Right”], and the exuberant road tune, “Rockin’ Little Town”, turning a sharp corner to the stark social commentary of “The Way”.

But who would imagine the Southern rockpile’s stunning string section, Dobro, bouzuki, and tiple arrangements texturing and driving home the inspirational, resonant meaning of “Life’s Lessons”, “Hell Or Heaven”, and the sublime, reflective autobiographical band sentiment, “Lucky Man”.

Then there’s “Red, White and Blue”, the ultimate definition encompassing everything Lynyrd Skynyrd has ever been….and is still about, to this day.  A paean to American pride, working class roots, family values, and heritage, the song has struck a chord with the American public’s collective consciousness who have embraced it as an anthem of American patriotism.

The song resounds with Rossington’s fiery, yet graceful, crescendoing slide playing and his soaring bird call at song’s end, uplifting and conveying the full depth and conviction of the lyrics.  Rossington shines, articulating some of his most stellar, glittering, and striking guitar work in years, authoritatively phrased with command and precision.  His guitar phrasing is informed with equal parts eloquent slide, and scorching lead guitar wizardry throughout the album that literally has its own voice.

After three decades, as Rossington relates, “I think we had something to prove this time and show people that we were more than just an old band, playing old songs…..We really had something to prove to show people that we could still write a good album….and to show people that we still got it.”  And, indeed, so Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Rossington most certainly do, all with Rossington still masterfully burning up the fretboard.

Herein, Gary Rossington, the legendary freebird himself, and quite the delightfully charming Southern gentleman, discusses Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 30^th Anniversary, “Vicious Cycle”, his two ® Gibson Signature Guitars and the history behind his original two Gibsons, while affectionately and wistfully regaling autobiographical anecdotes of the life and times of this extraordinary musician, founding member, songwriter, and guitar playing songbird of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

At May 2003 press time, Rossington was successfully completing recovery following a quintuple bypass, open heart surgery performed in February 2003.  During the course of this interview, the obviously exuberant guitarist exhibited his, as always, appreciation for life and all its wonders, as well as an exceptionally joyful, playful, and contemplative side, proving once again the indomitable spirit and faith filled heart, so much an ingrained element of Rossington, and his celebratory band.

******

Arlene R. Weiss:  Hi Gary, how are you! You must be so excited because the tour kicks off in Europe!

Gary Rossington:  Yeah!  We kick off in Germany.  Then we go to Paris, London, Birmingham, and several cities over there.

Arlene:  Are you going to take in some of the sights over there too?

Gary Rossington:  I am.  Actually, I’m taking one of my daughters this time since it’s summer and we’re going to show her a few things.  Let her see Europe .  It’s going to be great fun.  She’s seventeen.  We go to Paris for two days.

Arlene:  Go and see the Louvre Museum and The Eiffel Tower.

Gary Rossington:  There’s so much to see there, it’s hard to do it all in two days, but we’re going to surely try to do some of it.

Arlene:  Well just don’t overdo it, because I know you’re just getting well.

Gary Rossington:  Yeah. But, she’s going to help me out there, so that’s the point of it.  She’s going to carry my bag for me and get me in and out of my room better, so it’ll be great!

Arlene:  Good! It’ll keep her out of trouble and she’ll help you! [Laughing]

Gary Rossington:  Yeah!  Keep me out of trouble! [Laughing]

Arlene:  You must be really, really proud with the 30^th Anniversary of the band.

Gary Rossington:  Yes.  I’m very proud of everybody.

Arlene:  And I’m so very proud of you.

Gary Rossington:  Thank you.  I’m proud of being a part of Skynyrd, from the old guys to the new.  I know we’ve had a lot of tragedy and misfortune, but that’s just life.  Some people do, some don’t.

Arlene:  You have so many things going on this year.  The boxed set, the new record.  I love “Vicious Cycle”.  It’s wonderful.

Gary Rossington:  I’m more proud of that than anything because we worked so hard on it.  We really tried to put our hearts and souls into it and show people that…. I know there’s a lot of new faces, but we’re the same band and the same spirit, and when we play the old songs….I feel Ronnie and Allen and Steve and Leon, all of them on stage with us playing, and it’s spiritual.

Arlene:  This album features some of the finest quality songwriting, depth, meaning, commentary, and musicianship of the band’s entire career.  What was the impetus in creating and what inspired the writing of this record?

Gary Rossington:  We tried very hard on this record.  We got a couple new writers that we met throughout the years.  One at a time would come in with the Skynyrd writers, sit around, and write a new song, with a little bit of a new freshness to it.  Some of the songs were taken from real stories that we learned through life.  We tried to write about things that are going on today.  It was just the way we felt.  We tried extra hard on this record and there’s a lot of magic to it.  I think we had something to prove this time and show people that we were more than just an old band playing old songs.

Arlene:  This is somewhat of a concept album.. Your songs have always had meaning, but this particular album, more so than ever, seems exceptionally contemplative and reflective, while still remaining true to Skynyrd’s fiery blues rock roots.

Gary Rossington:  We try to do that.  We try to keep our same style and sound being, just tell a story, be the real deal, and not use a bunch of effects so we can play ‘em live.  Everything we write or put on a record we want to be able to play live if people like it.  So we did all that on this record.  I believe this year we had something to prove, what with the new faces in the band.  There was a lot of talk about it, while and why we were still going on.  When you’re involved with something like this, it’s bigger than all of us.  People want to hear the old songs and the new.  We’re gonna play a bunch of ‘em this summer along with the old, so it’s going to be fun.

Arlene:  What inspires your songwriting process for both music and lyrics?

Gary Rossington:  Well, musically, I love guitar.  So I sit around playing guitar a lot and when I write a little lick or riff, it just kind of comes up.  I think it comes through you.  Any guitar player sitting down and playing can come up with a few riffs, if you’re any good.

Musically, I just sit around doing that and then I add it with Rickey, or Hughie.  Or Johnny’s got an idea to go with it or can expand on my idea.  But as far as the lyrics, once we get a music idea or a lyric idea, we all sit around and throw lyrics back and forth.  There’s four of us writing now.  We get together in one room, sit there and if there’s a little lull or a minute or two where nobody knows or can think of what lyrics should go there, somebody usually eventually does out of four people.

Arlene:  You spar off of one another.

Gary Rossington:  That’s how we did it this time.  We added all the best and we tried to really communicate.  I keep saying it. But we really had something to prove to show people that we could write a good album.

Arlene:  What inspired you to write “Lucky Man”, “Life’s Lessons”, and “Hell Or Heaven”?  They’re so beautiful.

Gary Rossington:  Most of them are true stories.  “Hell Or Heaven” is just, man, you can make it on this earth.  I see people every day.  It’s like they’re in hell because of their life, what they got themselves into, or the way they think about everything.  Or you can make heaven on earth if you just appreciate the good things in life.  We put that into words and music.  And “Lucky Man”, we just all feel so lucky, and we’ve been through….

Arlene:  That’s my favorite song on the record.  I cried when I heard that. I’m very sentimental.

Gary Rossington:  Well you know what?  Thank you.  So, are we actually.  We’ve been through a lot of tragedy and a lot of hard times, but you know when you’ve been through it, it’s just life.  And if you look at, God, I hate to say it, some places around the world, and you think how bad those people have it, they don’t even have food or water.

Arlene:  It puts things in perspective.

Gary Rossington:  It makes you go and think how lucky you are.  Just because we’ve had a lot of bad luck and bad accidents and this and that.  But man, we’re so lucky to be able to be playing music and be in America, and have fans come every night, and have families that love us.  You know, the simple things, kids, and dogs![Laughing], and Christmas and jobs.  What more do you need?

We’re lucky to be able to play music and do something that we love.  And to have people come every night and sing with us, and cry with us, and Skynyrd lives on.  The name, the music, and all the guys.  I feel as long as we can play the music they helped write and create that….they’re still alive and people remember them and it’s a big thing, so…. I feel lucky to be a part of it.

Arlene:  Is it a challenge for you, when you’re composing, and also when you’re playing the guitar, to change creative gears, where you’re going from these very wistful, eloquent songs of inspiration and commentary, to party anthem rockers?

Gary Rossington:  I think it’s whatever mood you’re in that day when you start writing.

Arlene:  What kind of vibe you’re in.

Gary Rossington:  The way we did this record, we actually would call times and say, “Alright, let’s go write these few days in a row”.  We’d go somewhere, sit down, somebody would come in, and depending on our mood that day, we would write a rocker or a mean one, or a real pretty, I’m inspired, I’m so lucky man type song.

Arlene:  I like “Rockin’ Little Town”!

Gary Rossington:  That was just, “Let’s write a road song.”  It’s so simple, but it’s about what we do every night.  We come in your town, hang out, and then rock it and leave…and we hope you’re all waitin’ on us too.  Because that’s the way it is.

Most people are going to a concert that night sitting around going “I can’t wait til five o’clock when I get off work and I can get ready.”  And that’s what we do.  Get into town, and then sit around and wait.  Then we all meet and rock and roll, and it’s great!  Every night is like Saturday night because it’s a party, and we’re playing at it, and we try to make it one anyway.

Arlene:  “Red, White and Blue” has really captured the American consciousness.  It’s been embraced as an anthem of American patriotism and pride, especially with what’s going on with the war in Iraq right now.  How did that song come about and what are your personal emotions in how the song has touched people in such an uplifting way?

Gary Rossington:  I love the song. That song was written by Johnny, Donnie, and the Warren Brothers.  The first time I heard it I loved it.  I hate to say it, but it’s just totally us.  The white hair, some of us dye it a little bit here and there.  But you know, our hair’s turnin’ white and we’ve always been red blooded Americans and rednecks [Laughing], and being from down South, having to fight our way out of bars and naval air stations, playing for the sailors all the time gettin’ our start.

Arlene:  Is Jacksonville near a naval base?

Gary Rossington:  Yeah!  There’s three navy bases there.  NAS, Cecil Field, and the big one out there.  But there’s a bunch of em’ there and we use to play at all those places, and also at clubs where all the sailors would come.  And we had to fight our way out of a lot of that!

Arlene:  Boy, you guys must have seemed like Jesuit Priests compared to the sailors! [Laughing]

Gary Rossington:  Oh yeah! We were!  And they were cussin’ and drunk and old enough to drink! [Laughing]  We were still teenagers.  We had long hair, you know.  So it was rough.  But we were rednecks and we were brought up in blue collar neighborhoods.  We love that kind of people.  Skynyrd fans are blue collar people.  And I think we are and all of our families are.  Just kind of simple lives, working for a living, and doing it right.  Right and real.

Arlene:  Your slide work on that is gorgeous!

Gary Rossington:  It’s such a pretty song and such a great song to play to.  I remember sitting in my basement writing a part to it and everybody played great on it.  We put this and that on it and it came together really good.  Billy Powell played great on it.  He’d only heard it a couple times.

Arlene:  Is that you playing the bird call at the end?

Gary Rossington:  Yeah!  At the very end, that’s me.  I did that with a slide. I did it for “Freebird” and for that.

Arlene:  What guitar were you using on “Red, White and Blue” when you did that at the end?

Gary Rossington:  I always use a Gibson Les Paul or a Gibson SG.  But on that song, I used a Stratocaster, Rickey’s Stratocaster, because it just happened to be plugged in.  It’s the only song I think I’ve ever played on a Strat.

Arlene:  It sounds gorgeous!  But then that’s the person behind the instrument.

Gary Rossington:  Some people say it’s the hands, but I don’t know. [Laughing]

Arlene:  What kind of slides did you use on that song and in general?

Gary Rossington:  I use a Coricidin bottle, a glass slide.

Arlene:  Like Duane Allman used to use.

Gary Rossington:  Yeah!  That’s where I got it from.  He was one of my big inspirations.  I just love him and I got to meet him and know him.  He always used Coricidin bottles.  And now I use ‘em.  I’ve got about a hundred of them, so hopefully I won’t break ‘em all or run out. [Laughing]

Arlene:  Is that your favorite kind of slide for the tone?

Gary Rossington:  Yes!  I always use glass.  There’s steel ones, some plastic ones that people use, metal ones like on steel guitars.  But, I think the best sound is glass.

Arlene:  You have a wonderful tone.  It’s very rich and warm.

Gary Rossington:  Glass slides give me more sustain and it gets that little scratchy sound.   I think that’s a true sound.

Arlene:  What’s your technique for the bird sound?

Gary Rossington:  I turn the slide upside down and sort of click, hit the string and it just makes it sing.

Arlene:  It gives the song eloquence at the end.

Gary Rossington:  Trick of the trade!  But, it’s just a side of the bottle you hit against.  It’s kind of fun, just makin’ bird sounds.

Arlene:  What tuning did you use when you were playing on the record?

Gary Rossington:  We always play in standard tuning and Rickey drops his D string down a lot, to where it’s all standard tuning and a standard E tuning.  But, it’s a drop D string for the E. But now on that song, “Dead Man Walkin’”, we all tuned to open G and played in open G.  That’s the way we wrote it, on an old Dobro blues guitar.

Arlene:  Is that you playing the Dobro?

Gary Rossington:  No.  Actually that was Rickey playing up front on the Dobro.  He plays Dobro too.  So does Hughie.  We all do.

Arlene:  What about that mandolin on “Lucky Man”?  It’s just beautiful.

Gary Rossington:  Yes.  It’s in the background and it’s gorgeous.  A studio musician came in and played that and it’s not really a mandolin.  I forget the name of it.  It looks like a Dulcimer.  But it has frets and you play it with your fingers.  It’s really cool.  It was a Martin.  This guy came in with it and it sounded so neat we used it.  Since nobody knew how to play it, we let him do it.  But we had the part we showed him and it was great.  It’s a real cool sound.  It’s a Gothic sound.

Arlene:  I thought it was so pretty.  It added depth to the song, to the words.

Gary Rossington:  That’s what we wanted.  That instrument is so cool.  I wish I could think of it better.  I just never see them or play them so I can’t recall what it is.

Arlene:  Do you compose and write on the guitar?

Gary Rossington:  Yeah I do.  I can’t play but a few chords on the piano.  I always write the music of course on guitar or in my head, thinking of a little lick and then transposing to a guitar.  Now as far as lyrics, like I said, we just all sat around, and threw ‘em back and forth until it sounded right to us.

Arlene:  How old were you when you first started writing?

Gary Rossington:  I was about fifteen or sixteen, and it was me and Ronnie and Allen. And that’s when we were still…. I guess we had changed the name to Skynyrd.  We still had Bob Burns and Larry Junstrom in our band.  We went to see the Allman Brothers but they were called The Allman Joys back then.  We loved them and I remember two or three times we saw them.  We got to know Gregg and we asked them how they wrote songs.  They had just put out an album called Power of Love.

Arlene:  I love that album!

Gary Rossington:  Yeah!  Do you really!  I’ve got that album!  I’ve still got it!  I’ve got it right here in my collection.  I’m sitting and looking at it.  We loved some of the songs on that album and we used to drive around in Florida ….Daytona and Gainesville, Florida to see them.  They’d be playin’ and we’d go to see them.  We asked them how they wrote a song.  And they said, “We just sit down on a floor and we don’t get up until it’s written”.  And we didn’t understand.  We thought they were kiddin’ with us, but that’s how you do it.  You sit down, write it, and just go for it.

Arlene:  When you’re writing, with three guitar players in the band, how do you orchestrate, arrange, and construct your own guitar lines, as well as the guitar lines for Rickey and Hughie to compliment and be complemented by one another, as well as writing the lead lines, the rhythm lines, the solos, so there is this counterplay between the three of you?

Gary Rossington:  We think about it and play off of each other.  Once you’ve got one part, you don’t want somebody redoing it, or doing what you’re doing, so you’ve got to write a counterpart.  We’ve been playing so long together that we know each other, what we’re going to do.  I’ll play my part.  I’ll show it to Rickey or vice versa.  Then he’ll come up with a counterpart to it that’s a little different.  Or one of us thinks something up if there’s enough rhythm.  Like on “Lucky Man” there was enough rhythm going so I just played slide.  The same with “Red, White and Blue”.  Or vice versa.

There’d be so much going on, you have to kind of listen to it and write your own part.  Then somebody writes their part to you.   I guess in days before, I have written or thought of parts to go with my part and I’d show Allen or Ed King or one of those guys, but usually they all do it themselves.  That’s why it’s a band.

When you get a band together instead of just studio cats or certain people, if you write a part or a song and then you go and present it to the band, everybody puts their parts to it.  It just grows and grows and grows.  And it sometimes becomes a great song.  If you go in with an idea, it can come out being a song with a band.  If you go in alone, then it’s just what it is.  Mostly it’s writing a part, a counterpart to what you’re hearing.  These guys do it on their own now and I do.

Arlene:  You come up with an idea and you play it and then that sparks one of the other guys to come up with an idea.

Gary Rossington:  Right. And I’ll go or they’ll go, “I’ll do this to that.”  It’s like a little puzzle fitting together.  Then the keyboards and the other musicians do something different or sometimes complement the rest of the band.  So, it’s pretty technical and you have to work at it.  A lot of people don’t think we work as hard as we do.

Arlene:  Oh, I know you do.  And I remember the stories about the band practicing for days at Hell House!

Gary Rossington:  We played and stood there for hours, two or three days, and we still do, just working on the background music behind the vocals. You’re usually listening to the vocals so you don’t hear what is all going on.  But it’s all thought out.

Arlene:  What about this year when Gibson…. How and when did they first approach you about designing and custom building the ® Signature SG and the ® Signature Les Paul guitars bearing your name this year?

Gary Rossington:  You know what?  I don’t even remember how it happened, or when.  It was about a year or so ago.

The guy from from Gibson called me into his office, Dick, I forget his last name.  Anyway, he called me in his office and said he wanted to do these old fashioned guitars, could he copy mine, and he was going to do a ® Signature model.  And I said yes.  I thought it was a great idea.

He said he was going to do guitars for Duane, and Bob Marley, reissues of their guitars.  So far he has done those artists and mine, and a lot of other artists.  They get the original and copy it.  So when he wanted to do that, I thought it was the neatest thing since sliced bread because I love ® Gibson guitars.

I’ve always played and owned Les Pauls and I’ve bought a lot of them. But they wanted to do this in honor of me, and it’s such an honor to me. I can’t believe it. I still can’t.

Arlene: You must be so proud. That is an honor. That was lovely of them to come to you about doing that.

Gary Rossington: Yes. It was very, very much an honor and a pleasure. It just made my whole life, well not my whole life, [Kidding] but it was like having a baby. I’m so proud. It’s unbelievable. I’m so happy about it!

Arlene: Did they involve you in the construction? Did they consult with you?

Gary Rossington: Yeah! They got Berniece, my original Les Paul for about a week. I left it over there, they drew it, copied it down, made the wood as heavy, and recreated the scars, nicks, and scratches on it. They put the same pickups, the same knobs, electronics, and hardware on it. So it looks just like my original. Same with the SG that I played “Freebird” on way back and now still.

Arlene: That’s your 61’ SG?

Gary Rossington: Right. I’ve had a few other guitars throughout the years, but I still got both those originals. They just copied them and put them out as ® Signatures and man they’re good. I use one now, live on stage because I don’t want to take the original out. I’m afraid to break it or that it might get stolen.

Arlene: Which one, the SG or the Les Paul?

Gary Rossington: Both of ‘em! I’ve used both for “Freebird” and one of the  Signatures for the whole set. Yeah, it’s the reissue. It’s real nice, it sounds great, and it stays in tune. I love it!

Arlene: What amps and gear are you using both for when you’re touring live, and in the studio?

Gary Rossington: In the studio I use Peavey Mace. I’ve always used the same Peavey Mace I used back in the old days. It’s thirty years old, twenty five years old. I just put new tubes in it, which I do every year. And new wires and fuses when it needs it. I rebuild it every now and then. It sounds really good.

Actually, we got a deal with them long ago with owner Hartley Peavey. He gave us a couple and we been using ‘em ever since. Of course, we got a million more Peavey things throughout the years, but I think their amps are great. We used to use Marshalls. Rickey still uses Marshalls. We also use an Amp Farm in the studio. It’s where you get a good sound with your amp out in the studio. Then the electronics create sounds on this computer that goes through the amp and it makes it sound like just about anything. So it’s pretty cool.

Arlene: What gauge strings do you typically use?

Gary Rossington: I use, I think we all use in the range….It’s .010, .012, .017, .026, .036, .046.

Arlene: What brand of strings do you prefer?

Gary Rossington: We’ve been using Dean Markley. They’re great. Sometimes Gibson and Fender, but mostly Dean Markley. I think we got a deal with him because he sends strings a lot.

Arlene: What about this exhibit honoring the band at The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame?

Gary Rossington: You know what? I’ve just been hearing about it too. It’s because of the 30th Anniversary.

Arlene: Are you involved in that too?

Gary Rossington: I should know more about it. Actually, it’s between them, our management, MCA Records, people like that. They’re all getting together to put a little exhibit together. I was supposed to send some stuff in and I got it together. Then I had my heart trouble, so I haven’t done anything with it. That’s why I’m not real sure about it.

Arlene: Well take care of yourself, because that’s more important.

Gary Rossington: Yeah! It’s only been two months since I had open heart surgery so….

Arlene: Well, I nearly had a heart attack when I heard about that, so please take care of yourself.

Gary Rossington: Thank you. I feel much better. I’ve been working out at cardio-rehab and walking on treadmills. I’m doing real good. I can’t wait to go on tour. I’ve been eating good. Veggies and fruits and chicken breasts! [Laughing]

Arlene: That’s good! What inspired you initially to become a musician, and how did the guitar become your main instrument?

Gary Rossington: Oh, wow! It was actually Elvis way back when. I loved Elvis. I used to take a broom and play it in front of a mirror like him on guitar. And then when The Beatles came out, The Stones, and all of the British groups; that’s what got me going. And Allen and Ronnie and me, all were friends, playing baseball together. When we saw those guys, we thought they were so cool. We wanted to be like them.

Arlene: How old were you about that time?

Gary Rossington: I was thirteen or fourteen when the Beatles came out. I was playing baseball and we were doing real good at that, but we decided….I wanted to play guitar! I thought guitar was the neatest thing. We taught ourselves and went for it.

Arlene: What was your first guitar? Do you remember?

Gary Rossington: Yeah! I still got it believe it or not. A Silvertone from Sears I got with a paper route.

Arlene: Gregg Allman told me the same thing!

Gary Rossington: Yeah!

Arlene: I take it that they must have been very affordable guitars back then.

Gary Rossington: Well you know what? They had an acoustic for eight bucks. Then they had this electric with a case and a speaker in it. That’s the one I got, that I still own. My first one was that eight dollar acoustic.

Arlene: Now you couldn’t get strings for eight dollars! [Laughing]

Gary Rossington: I know! To look at a guitar costs eight dollars!  But the electric had a little case. In the case it had the amp, the chord, and the guitar and everything. It was great! But, I got that Silvertone and I still got it in my closet. And it still works. It’s great. Actually, some people still use those old Silvertones.

Arlene: What year would that be from?

Gary Rossington: Man, it’d have to be 62’….probably 63’ or 64’. Right when The Beatles came out, I remember what was happening. I remember learning stuff from The Ventures, and “Walk, Don’t Run” and all of those kinds of groups too. That was pre-Beatles. I had a guitar, but I wasn’t very good. I was still playing baseball and liking it so the guitar was just laying around.

Arlene: But I know that you’re self taught on the guitar.

Gary Rossington: For guitar. Yeah. So when I saw The Beatles and The Stones, I just went crazy on the guitar. That’s all we did is play guitar all day and night. I’d get in trouble!

Arlene: You did not! [Laughing] I’m just kidding!

Gary Rossington: Yeah! I’d make my mother mad and she’d kick me out, and she’d say
“Get outside!” [Laughing] She’d make us go outside on the steps and play if it was too late.

Arlene: What was the first band that you were in?

Gary Rossington: Oh man! It was one that was called You, Me and Him.

Arlene: That’s cute!

Gary Rossington: It was three guys. A bass player that sang, me, and a drummer. We played a couple of parties. Then Ronnie and Allen were both in bands. One of them was called Us and one of them was called The Mods. [Laughing]

Arlene: That’s got a nice British sound to it, The Mods. Because The Who, who you opened for….Remember their film, “Quadraphenia”, was about The Mods?

Gary Rossington: Yes, that’s true. But then we got in a band. We called ourselves The Pretty Ones, The One Percent. Me and Ronnie and Allen had a bunch of different names back before Skynyrd. There was one called The Conqueror Worm. And The Noble Five when it was five of us.

Arlene: The Conqueror Worm? I read The Conqueror Worm and I’m a big Edgar Allan Poe fan. Is that where you got that from?

Gary Rossington: Well we saw the film with Vincent Price.

Arlene: Yeah! The movie. I was into all those Vincent Price, Roger Corman films. That’s cool!

Gary Rossington: So when we saw the movie in Jacksonville, we went back and practiced and went, [Gary narrating in playful, pretend, scary movie voice], “We changed the name to Conqueror Worm.” So, we were Conqueror Worm for a few months and then we changed it again.

Arlene: What’s the story about how you got your very first Les Paul and how you named it after your mother, Berniece?

Gary Rossington: I was in Nashville . It was the first time I think that we were ever in Nashville , playin’ a club called The Briarpatch. I remember that. I just went out in the country one night and it was some girl….I remember this girl….She said she had a Gibson Les Paul in her closet. That’s all she knew.

So we went out to her house and I looked at it. It was a nice, great Gibson Les Paul and it had dust all over the case. It was in great shape, but you could see it had been put up for a long time. They didn’t know what they had and they wanted to sell it for a thousand dollars. Somebody in town told them that. And it was worth about two or three then. So I went back, got a check, and went out with a thousand and they said no. They said they knew that I knew I was buying it, so they called some more people. And they wanted two grand for it then! [Laughing] So I think I waited a week or two and told them not to sell it and came back. We were playing that club once again. A few weekends went by. We came up, were playin’, I went over and got it.

Arlene: What made you want to name it after your Mom, which is lovely?

Gary Rossington: When I was ten, my father died, so my mother raised me. And she helped us get goin’ in the band too and helped me buy guitars with paper routes. And she put money in, even though we didn’t have much money, she’d help. I just loved her alot and missed her a lot on the road, so I called it Berniece.

Arlene: That’s sweet.

Gary Rossington: After my mama and that’s who. It’s that simple.

Arlene: What about your first SG? How did you acquire that?

Gary Rossington: Actually, that one’s just named SG! [Laughing] I never named it. I named this reissue.

Arlene: Call it Conqueror Worm. No! I’m just kidding! Just kidding!

Gary Rossington: I named this new one I’m playing live, after my wife Dottie. I mean her name’s Dale, but I call her Dottie sometimes.

Arlene: Your management sent me The Best Of Rossington Collins Band that they reissued and put out on that Millenium Collection. I have all of the Rossington Collins Band’s records. I was so glad that they remastered it and put it out on CD.

Gary Rossington: Yeah! I’m happy they did that too! She’s a great singer!

Arlene: Oh, I love Dale. To me, she’s so underrated. She’s Janis Joplin meets Stevie Nicks, to me.

Gary Rossington: That’s a good description of her. Actually, this year we’ve been asked to do a blues album after this Skynyrd tour, this winter, and the Christmas Holidays. We might go up and do a blues album with her singing.

Arlene: I would love to hear her do more lead vocals, because I love her vocals.

Gary Rossington: Yeah! She’s great. Well she’s out with us singing background, but one day, like I say, we might do this album later this year. If we just get some time!

Arlene: I know. Well that’s why I said, don’t be too hard on yourself with this tour and everything, with you recently having had surgery.

Gary Rossington: Yeah. I got it. I know exactly what I’m doing. I got all these nurses around me, not around me, but telling me what to do. Taking good care of myself.

Arlene: Just take it easy.

Gary Rossington: Oh, yeah. I’ve got my daughter going out with me, so I told you.

Arlene: Well like I said, that works. It’ll give her something to do.

Gary Rossington: Well, she’ll go off with Dale and give me some peace and quiet all day I guess! [Laughing] And resting up. I think it’s going to be fun.

Arlene: Lynyrd Skynyrd is renowned for its improvisational musicianship and jams, especially when performing live. How have you, Rickey, and Hughie developed such a warm chemistry, and exuberance, cohesive synergy, timing, and phrasing, all when you’re performing live, as well as when you’re recording, sparring off of and pushing one another in your musicianship?

Gary Rossington: Wow! That’s a good written question. Did you do that?

Arlene: Yes I did!

Gary Rossington: Well God bless you.

Arlene: Thank you. That was lovely and kind of you to say that. Thank you.

Gary Rossington: I noticed each question was well thought out and well worded and everything is detailed. These guys are such good friends and we know each other so good. And Rickey and me go back to…. He was in the beginning of Skynyrd. He played drums for me and Ronnie and Allen. So he was in Skynyrd from way back at the very beginning for three years. So that was great, knowing him.

Then we separated because he did Blackfoot. But even though we didn’t talk much during that time period, we still respected and loved each other as friends. You know how you don’t see somebody for a long time and all of a sudden, they’re back in your life. That’s what happened with him.

Now we’re the best of friends. Hughie, we used to tour with The Outlaws back in the old days, the early ’70s. Hughie always used to be around in the old days. We knew him, and The Outlaws and Skynyrd played together a lot. There were a few nights…. One time Billy Powell got real sick. And one time, he was drunk and hit his window, and he had stitches in his hand.

Arlene: Oh, boy!

Gary Rossington: Well, this was back in the good old days. [Laughing]

Arlene: I like the way you put it! [Laughing]

Gary Rossington: We’d have Hughie come out and play guitar with us, so he would do a solo wherever Billy’s solo was. Ronnie would point to him, or me and Allen would, and then he would play. Then he would sit there and not play much in terms of lead or rhythm, during the tune. He did that and so he was with us. And there were a few times back when Ed King quit the band, when it was just Allen Collins and me on guitar.

So there were a few times when we were looking for other guitar players. We thought of Hughie. Hughie’s always been around and we’ve known him and played with him. So, I think getting back to the question, that’s how we know how to play with each other on stage. We’re just so used to playing with each other for so many years.

Arlene: It’s a friendly and an artistic camaraderie.

Gary Rossington: Yeah! You have to be on your toes because these guys are good. That’s the way it is. And we just love each other so it’s fun.

Arlene: For you as an artist, when you’re performing, how do you use your guitar almost as a second voice, as a duet voice in counterplay, not only to the other guitarists, but to Johnny’s vocals? Your guitar playing, when it duets with his vocals, it evokes the atmosphere and it emphasizes the depth and the meaning of the lyrics, whether it’s a party anthem, or an introspective song.

Gary Rossington: That’s my style. Even in “Freebird” I just followed in back of Ronnie’s vocals. And when there are two or three guitarists going, sometimes it’s better to play something off the wall, or play a few notes and let them sustain, or to play a bunch of chords or notes. I just try to follow the vocals sometimes. I think that’s a great melody for guitar. Also, if you listen a lot to the older tunes….

Arlene: I’ve always liked the party anthems. I like that with any band. But I guess I’m more…. Like I said, I’m sentimental. There are certain songs, like “I Never Dreamed”.

Gary Rossington: Yeah!

Arlene: That’s my favorite song from the old days.

Gary Rossington: Is it!

Arlene: I love that!

Gary Rossington: That’s a pretty tune. Steve Gaines co-wrote that. We played that a bunch of different times. I played those chimey notes all through it. I tried to chirp it each time using harmonics and it was hard because we did it about five times. It’s hard to make it chirp each time.

Each note is hard to make it do that, so I overdubbed it. But it was fun. It’s a great tune. That’s one of my favorites too. We never did that tune live. It’s not a rocker. Maybe we should. It’s a good tune. I love songs like that. They’re fun to play instead of rock and roll. I mean rock’s fun too, but to play something real melodic and pretty. That’s why I love The Beatles. That’s why I love old songs like that.

Arlene: That’s what I was saying about this album, with “Lucky Man”.

Gary Rossington: That’s like I said with older songs, with The Beatles….and George Harrison. And if you play the same melody as for the lyrics and vocals, but for a guitar solo, or for certain notes on the guitar, it’s real cool.

Arlene: What creative goals do you have for the future for yourself as an artist and as a guitar player, and also for Lynyrd Skynyrd, in continuously crafting music that has become such a beloved element of the collective American consciousness?

Gary Rossington: My plans and dreams are to keep on going with Skynyrd, to tour every year, and every couple years, do a new album….to show people we still got it.

As far as Lynyrd Skynyrd, I don’t ever want to do a farewell tour, where we say this is the last time, and then we go back out again another time like a lot of groups do, like say, Fleetwood Mac. There are a lot of groups that have “final toured” ten different times.

As far as Lynyrd Skynyrd, I want it to be with us that we just won’t be there one day. We’ll just all be gone because we’ll all have passed on. I would like to keep touring for ten or twenty more years, writing songs and getting on like The Rolling Stones or B.B. King or Clapton. All the old blues guys just keep on goin’! I think we’ll do that.

Arlene: And maybe even get into film. A lot of rockers now are doing motion picture scores and soundtracks.

Gary Rossington: Oh, yeah! That’d be fun. Actually, we have a few tunes that our Manager is getting in some movies. Like, “Sweet Home Alabama”.

Arlene: Yes. And “Sweet Home Alabama” has been used in movies so much, not only in the movie with Reese Witherspoon, but in “Forrest Gump.” I just watched it again, and that has “Freebird” and “Sweet Home Alabama” in it. And those songs really evoke the time period when you’re watching it. When you’re watching a movie that traces a certain period in time and history, in American history, when you grew up, certain songs create… It’s like a time capsule for you.

Gary Rossington: Yeah! That’s cool. I like that. I noticed the same thing. It’s such an honor to hear that, when you notice it when you’re watching a movie. I get chills. But our songs have been in a lot of movies and it’s a great pleasure to hear and think that people still like them. I love it. Like I say, we’re still touring. Every night people sing with us and cry with us and come out. Usually our shows are sold out. We’re just going to keep going til it’s all…. We can’t do it anymore. I have no plans to quit.

Arlene: Well just so you know, my hair is getting white with you, so….[Laughing]

Gary Rossington: Oh good! I think everybody’s does. You know what! I think it’s a pleasure to get older. I mean a lot of people don’t make it. And I thank God for every day.

© Copyright March 9, 2015 By Arlene R. Weiss-All Rights Reserved
© Copyright May 10, 2003 By Arlene R. Weiss-All Rights Reserved