Johnny Van Zant recently revealed his biggest regret about Gary Rossington in a recent interview with UCR. When the Lynyrd Skynyrd singer was asked why he always dedicated ‘Tuesday’s Gone’ to the late guitarist during his performances, Johnny said:
“There was nothing better for me than when Gary [Rossington] would go into that first [part]. When he passed, we were in a difficult situation. He was coming down to Plant City, where we had a show. I had talked to him. I was at my grandboy’s batting practice.”
He continued:
“Me and Gary loved baseball. He called me and said, ‘Hey Bubba!’ I was like, ‘Hey, Brother Man.’ He goes, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘I’m at my grandboy’s batting practice.’ He said, ‘Oh, shit, man. Go ahead on. Enjoy it and call me later.'”
Johnny went onto tell his biggest regret after Rossington’s sudden passing this past March; he added:
“I didn’t call him, because by the time we got done doing everything, [it was late]. I’ve got big regrets, [because] he passed on that Sunday and that [call] was on that Saturday.”
Van Zant also shared the Plant City show they couldn’t cancel as he recalled:
“We had to play a show after he’d passed. He was supposed to come down to that show. We were going, ‘OK, we’ve got to cancel.’ His wife was like, ‘Gary’d kick y’all’s butt if you canceled.’ So we went out and played the show after his passing and then came back, and I buried my brother. He’s buried in Jacksonville.”
Even though Gary couldn’t be a part the band’s show at the Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City, they performed ‘Tuesday’s Gone’ with the giant screen showing performances and home videos of Rossington as a tribute. After the emotional show the band took to Facebook and wrote:
“We felt you there with us last night, Garyç Looking down from Rock N’ Roll Heaven and helping us get through one of the toughest shows of our lives. We felt you during the nuances of ‘Free Bird,’ ‘Tuesday’s Gone,’ ‘Saturday Night Special.'”
You can read Johnny Van Zant’s interview with UCR here and listen to ‘Tuesday’s Gone’ below.
