Print-friendly Version
Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist undergoes heart surgery, album and tour on hold
Gary Rossington, founding lead guitarist of Southern rock standard-bearers Lynyrd Skynyrd , underwent successful open-heart surgery on Tuesday (2/25), the band announced in a press release.
"He came in for a routine screening and was found to have severe coronary artery disease," said Dr. Martha Smith, Rossington's cardiologist. "He was taken immediately to surgery and had a successful quintuple bypass. He is doing extremely well and a full recovery is expected within two to three months."
Lynyrd Skynyrd had been scheduled to release a new album titled "Vicious Cycle"--the band's first new studio album in four years--on May 6. That release date has been pushed back to late June because of Rossington's surgery, according to the press release.
The band will also reschedule all of its tour dates through May 25 for later in the year.
"Gary is doing fine after his surgery, and we want him to take the time to properly recover so he can return to his first love, which is the band he started 30 years ago," Rossington's bandmates said in a joint statement. "For all the fans who've bought tickets to the upcoming shows and who've been waiting for the new album, hang in there--we'll be back soon."
