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Lynyrd Skynyrd bridges 2005 and 2006 with live shows
Soon-to-be Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Lynyrd Skynyrd will close out this year on the road, and will waste no time tackling more shows in the New Year.
The Southern rockers kick off their December schedule with a three-night stand in Las Vegas that begins on Friday (Dec. 2), and will play a handful of subsequent shows in the Pacific Northwest before ushering out 2005 with a New Year's Eve show in Pikeville, KY. The group's 2006 itinerary so far features several January shows in the Northeast, and a February stop at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. Details are included below.
On Monday (11/28), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announced that Lynyrd Skynyrd will be among the acts inducted into the Rock Hall next year.
"I'm thankful to everyone involved," guitarist Gary Rossington said in a statement. "It's a great thing and a great day for all of us. I'm glad those we've lost--[original bandleader] Ronnie [Van Zant], [guitarist] Allen [Collins], [bassist] Leon [Wilkeson], [guitarist] Steve [Gaines] and [backing vocalist] Cassie [Gaines]--will get the honor and recognition they deserve. I'm also thankful to Rickey Medlocke and Larry Junstrom, who were with us in the beginning and Rickey's even in the band with us now. Those two also deserve a piece of this honor. We're just all really thankful for this."
"Obviously this proves that the music is here to stay and I feel I made a contribution to the industry and it certainly completes a lifetime accomplishment for me," keyboardist Billy Powell added. "I'm more excited to receive this honor especially on behalf of our brothers who can't be here, but are watching from above."
Formed in 1973, Lynyrd Skynyrd rose to fame in the '70s thanks to a string of hits that included "Freebird" and "Sweet Home Alabama." Ronnie Van Zant, Cassie Van Zant and Gaines were killed in October of 1977 when a chartered plane carrying the group crashed in Mississippi. Collins was paralyzed in a 1986 car accident that killed his girlfriend, and died of respiratory failure in 1990. Wilkeson, who reportedly suffered from chronic liver and lung disease, died in 2001.
Skynyrd's most recent studio set is 2003's "Vicious Cycle." The group followed that up with last year's "Lynyrd Skynyrd Lyve," a double album and companion DVD that features the group's 2003 performance at the Nashville-area's Amsouth Amphitheatre.
Earlier this year, the band's 2003 best-of set, "Thyrty"--which marked the group's 30th anniversary--went platinum, signifying U.S. shipment of 1 million copies. In all, the group's catalog has been certified for sales in excess of 26 million albums.
