Johnny Van Zant and Rickey Medlocke are keeping the music of their band Lynyrd Skynyrd alive.
The rock band is releasing an upcoming film, "The 50th Anniversary of Lynyrd Skynyrd," which centers on their last concert with founding member Gary Rossington, taped last year. Rossington died of cancer in March.
"Gary had been very sick And we were going, 'Ok, well, we want you to come to this show cause we're taping it,' of course and you know, God works in mysterious ways, and he gave Gary enough energy to come out there and play with us," Van Zant told CNN in an interview this week. "Gary had been through everything, plane crashes, car wrecks, bar fights. Anything you could think about, he lived through and he came and he did his job, and we loved it."
Van Zant and the band were faced with enormous tragedy in 1977, when a plane carrying his older brother, Ronnie Van Zant, the lead singer of the group at the time, crashed in Mississippi after running out of fuel. Six people died in the crash, including Ronnie, guitarist Steve Gaines and backup singer Cassie Gaines.
"[It was] very traumatic for our whole family ... and actually I was gonna go down and I could have been on that plane myself, but I was in high school and everybody said, 'Hey, if you skip school, Ronnie's gonna beat your butt when he sees you. So you better not go down to see a show. You better be in school.' So, it was just very dramatic."
Van Zant, who was 17 at the time, said he answered the phone at his family's home and was the first to learn of the crash from the band's former manager.
"I looked up at the TV and it was on and I hollered for my dad. And after that you kind of go blank, you know, when bad things happen. I think your mind has a way of just kind of making it fuzzy. It was a very long, very sad night, and the days after were very sad ... you just don't think of something like that. But we were a strong family and we got through it."
Medlocke, who started with the band in the early '70s as a drummer, rejoined in 1996 when Rossington called and asked him to return as the lead guitarist.
"I'm one of the proudest members of this band because every night that I climb up there, I give it 110% every night. And I know that Johnny does, and I know the rest of the band does," he said. "You know, because when you look out there and you see everybody singing the songs, I mean, that's incredible."
When asked if viewers of the film will get to watch them perform iconic Skynyrd hits like "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird," their answre was a resounding yes.
"The 50th Anniversary of Lynyrd Skynyrd," presented by Unbranded Events, premieres July 8 at drive-ins theaters and other venues nationwide.
