Grab your lighters, it’s time to request ‘Freebird’

Few bands carry the legacy and prestige of a 40-year career as well as Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Original member Gary Rossington, joined by Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Mark “Sparky” Matejka, Michael Cartellone, Jonny Colt, Peter Keyes, Dale Krantz Rossington and Carol Chase, continue to tour, with a powerhouse of music, lyrics and sound pushing them forward.

For many, Lynyrd Skynyrd remains the definitive Southern rock band, fusing blues-rock with a rebellious Southern image and regional pride. The band will bring its hard rock swagger to the stage Saturday night for at concert at the Georgia National Fair.

“We saw the Beatles on ‘Ed Sullivan’ like everybody else in our generation, and freaked out and wanted to start a rock ’n’ roll band,” Skynyrd guitarist Rossington said on the group’s Facebook page. “But then we got serious, and we really had this dream to become something, to make a mark. We just worked and sweated our way to it. We had that fire in our eyes.”

With more than 60 albums of music, including songs like the ever-requested power ballad “Freebird” and beloved rock classic “Sweet Home Alabama,” Lynyrd Skynyrd has no problem keeping the music going, the crowds dancing and the performance hopping. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, and was ranked on Rolling Stone magazine’s “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.”

“It’s just that we love the music,” Van Zant said on the group’s website. “It’s bigger than the money; it’s not even about that anymore. We have to make a living, sure, but it’s about the legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd and what it stands for, what the fans are all about. There’s nothing like getting out there playing a great show with Skynyrd and seeing people love this music.”

According to their Facebook page, “Skynyrd does not offer high-concept gloss. Instead, since its emergence from the Jacksonville, Florida, music scene, Skynyrd has consistently spoken about the harsh humanity facing the American everyman.”

For now, though, the band focuses on making their music endure, looking to the future and celebrating their past, and they do all three in riotous, boisterous and energetic stage performances designed to have every fan dancing and singing along at the top of their lungs.

This story was originally published October 13, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Grab your lighters, it’s time to request ‘Freebird’."