Carmen Macri
Photo provided by Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Facebook
Words by Carmen Macri
Since 1987, Ronnie Van Zant’s younger brother Johnny Van Zant has taken the reins of the band, keeping their sound alive and well. Johnny’s kept the Skynyrd spirit going strong, honoring his brother’s legacy while making sure the band’s influence continues to live on.
In 1987, 10 years after the tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of his brother and several original members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny stepped up to lead the band as its new frontman and primary songwriter — something he initially did not want to do and was surprised the other members wanted to. But he went on embracing the weight of the Skynyrd legacy. He emphasized that Skynyrd has always been more than just a band — it’s a family. Witnessing the joy and renewed spark among the survivors of the tragic plane crash was a powerful moment that made it impossible for him to walk away. The experience, he shared, also brought him closer to his brother. Johnny helped breathe new life into the group, steering them into a new era while honoring their Southern rock roots. Over the years, he’s been a driving force behind the band’s continued success, contributing to notable albums like “Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991” (1991), “The Last Rebel” (1993) and “Last of a Dyin’ Breed” (2012), all while keeping the Skynyrd spirit alive on stages around the world.
“I’ve been doing it for 37 years. Heck, I think this year is 38 years. Let me even go back to say that I’ve had people go ‘Hey why don’t you wear a hat like Ronnie?’ ‘Why don’t you go barefoot like Ronnie?’” Johnny shared. “I say you know what, I’m not Ronnie and I’ve never started out singing these songs thinking that I was gonna sing better than Ronnie or too much different than Ronnie. I’m gonna be Johnny. And it seems to have worked for me over the years, people keep coming back.”
He shared that they had considered retiring in 2020 due to Gary Rossington’s declining health, but Rossington ultimately had a change of heart, saying, “You know what? I figured it out. I can’t retire—we need to keep this music going.” Because it’s not just about the older fans, Skynyrd has continued to captivate audiences of all generations.
Carmen: You have carried the Skynyrd legacy for decades. What is one lesson from Ronnie that still shapes the way you approach your music?
Johnny: I think, from him, as far as playing stuff live is always go out and give 110 % even if you don’t feel good, music is a great medicine. You know I’ve had kidney stones on stage. I’ve had my appendix actually bursting, I didn’t know, on stage but performed and you know it’s a pretty amazing thing. Whenever I was a kid that used to do rehearsal Riverside, there was a place called Kona Skate Park and they offered me, I think it was 50 bucks, to come play a little show and I was telling Ronnie about it. He said ‘hey you take that gig because you know that’s where you’re gonna build your chops, doing shows like that’ and I was like ‘what? they’re paying no money.’ He said ‘why are you trying to become a billionaire? You might wanna get out of the music business.’ So yeah, just to go out and give 110 no matter what because people pay their hard earned dollar for two hours to get away from their worries and relax and enjoy music.
Carmen: Southern rock has evolved over the years, how do you balance honoring Skynyrd’s classics while keeping it kind of fresh for the newer generations tuning in?
Johnny: I’ve been doing it for 37 years. Heck, I think this year is 38 years. Let me even go back to say that I’ve had people go ‘Hey why don’t you wear a hat like Ronnie?’ ‘Why don’t you go barefoot like Ronnie?’ I say you know what, I’m not Ronnie and I’ve never started out singing these songs thinking that I was gonna sing better than Ronnie or too much different than Ronnie. I’m gonna be Johnny. And it seems to have worked for me over the years, people keep coming back. It seems like the music just keeps growing every year. 2020 was gonna be our last year, we were actually we’re gonna retire because Gary’s health was getting bad and Covid came along but Gary said ‘you know what? I figured it out. I can’t retire you know we need to keep this music going.’ I call us the Grateful Dead of the south because people follow us around. You know the Grateful Dead, their audience goes from town to town and that happens with Skynyrd and it’s a whole new generation out there. I mean it’s amazing to me sometimes. I think if they could come back, all the original ones who started this great music years ago, what they would think. They would probably be like ‘I told you so.’
Carmen: Ha ha ha. No, they definitely would
Johnny: Yeah, so you know again the generational thing is just amazing cause I’m in the middle of the stage and I’m a people watcher. You know, watch what people do in the audience and how they’re reacting and we still get criticism for carrying it on from somebody older fans, but the newer ones are out there by the thousands. Whenever I was asked 30 something years ago to be a part of it, I was like no way. I can’t you know we can’t carry this on and keep this going. What made me a true believer was playing Charlie Daniels volunteer jam in 87 and looking at the audience and looking at the people who had survived that awful plane crash and looking at all these people we’re making happy with this great music.
Carmen: It really is something. You took over this band and you’re continuing this incredible legacy and there’s still fans, like you said, coming in the thousands. I mean I’m 25 and I know all of my friends still listen to Skynyrd. I have an older dad so this is the kind of music that I grew up on, so it’s really cool.
Johnny: Yeah, and he taught you well, young lady.
Carmen: You know what, I am currently wearing his Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt. Figured now would be the best time.
Johnny: Oh my God that’s great. That’s awesome. I always say right now, there’s some kid skipping school learning the beginning of Sweet Home Alabama on the guitar somewhere in this world.
Carmen: Oh, there’s tons of em’. You’ve seen the music industry change dramatically, what is one thing you miss about the old days and what is one modern change you think has made music better?
Johnny: Well, me and my brother just did a gospel album. It’s called Van Zant Always Look Up and when we were shopping for that album, we were like well we’re old school, we wanna make records and CDs you know, and a lot of the companies these days: ‘no we’re just gonna put it out digital.’ So we went with a company called Frontier Records out of Italy. Because they make CDs and that’s the one thing that I miss about here in America. But you know what, records are coming back. There was something as a kid that was very magical about putting the record on the turntable and hearing that needle. You wouldn’t care if you scratched it and it would skip. But as far as these days, I think you have a lot more outlets to get your music out you know with the Internet. We brought out the gospel album and really, to be honest, the first record that I put out probably in, God I don’t know maybe 8, 9, 10 years and to see how far the digital stuff has come kind of blows me away. You can have it out on the Internet on YouTube and all the streaming things and you really get to the masses. In the old days, how did you get to the masses? You tried to get on radio and go out and play as much as you can.
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