Rickey Medlocke thinks he could have done something to save Ronnie Van Zant if he had been on the plane during the crash.
In a new chat with The Monthly Social host Guido Pirano, Medlocke said when he rejoined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1996, he remembered talking to Gary Rossington about the tragedy:
“I’m sitting right next to Gary, and he slaps me on the arm, I look over at him, and he goes, ‘Where were you?’… I said, ‘We were pulling into Columbia, South Carolina as you guys were leaving.’ And I say, ‘Gary, always thought, maybe, had I have been there, I might have been able to say something, or do something, or that might have made a difference.'”
How Did The Late Musician React To Rickey’s Words?
Then the guitarist shared Rossington’s response to him:
“He goes, Rickey, look. No. There was no stopping it. That’s the way it was gonna be.’ And he goes, ‘To be honest with you, Rickey, it wasn’t meant for you to be there then — it’s meant for you to be here now.”
Medlocke also recalled when Ronnie invited him to ride on their plane, but he couldn’t go because of his commitments with Blackfoot. Just before they were supposed to leave, Blackfoot got booked for shows, so he had to stay. Later, he found out that the plane crashed after their last show.
Medlocke Intends To Stay In Lynyrd Skynyrd
The rocker previously said that even though some people criticize the band for not having all original members, he believes it’s still Lynyrd Skynyrd because Gary and Johnny Van Zant are there. Medlocke promised Gary that he would stay with the band until the last note of ‘Free Bird’ after Ronnie’s passing. Rickey noted:
“I told Gary when he got me back into this band — what, 27 years ago? I said, ‘Gary, here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to come into this thing and be here with you and Johnny.’ I said, ‘I’ll be with you guys until the last note of ‘Free Bird’ is finally played.’ And I meant that, and here I am. I still hold true to that, and I’ll be here for whatever remaining time we have.”
Medlocke also revealed last month that he and Johnny have been planning to make a new album together for a while now. They have a lot of material to work with. So, there’s a possibility of a new album from Lynyrd Skynyrd in the future.
You can listen to his whole conversation below.
