Rickey Medlocke (born February 17, 1950) is a musician best known as the frontman/guitarist for the southern rock band Blackfoot and, more recently, as a guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd. He was a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd briefly in 1970 as a drummer before he left to pursue other musical interests but rejoined the band in 1996 as a lead guitarist. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music. ... Hard Rock redirects here. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... Blackfoot are a Southern rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. ... Lynyrd Skynyrd (pronounced lĕh-nérd skin-nérd) (pronounced ) is an iconic U.S. Southern rock band. ... is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Blackfoot are a Southern rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. ... For the UK magazine, see Guitarist (magazine). ... Lynyrd Skynyrd (pronounced lĕh-nérd skin-nérd) (pronounced ) is an iconic U.S. Southern rock band. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the comic book character, see Drummer (comics). ...

Early life

Rickey started performing onstage at the age of three. His grandfather, Shorty Medlock, was a well-known delta blues musician and he taught Rickey how to play a miniature banjo. From there on his musical abilities grew and he had taught himself how to play guitar by the age of five and he was playing drums in Shorty's band at the age of eight. Over the next several years Rickey had mastered not only the banjo, guitar and drums but a variety of instruments such as the mandolin, dobro and keyboards. He also had a melodic singing voice and had taught himself how to sing and play guitar at the same time. By the time he was in high school Rickey had performed in all the school plays including, "The West Side Story," "Oklahoma!" and "Brigadoon," in addition to his musical pursuits. After graduating high school Medlocke had formed his first band, Blackfoot, where he was the lead vocalist and lead guitarist. Delta blues are named for the Mississippi Delta. ... For other uses, see Banjo (disambiguation) The banjo is a stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... This article is about the musical instrument. ... A modern Gibson Dobro Dobro is a trade name now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... This article is about the musical. ... Oklahoma! was the first musical play written by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II (see Rodgers and Hammerstein). ... DVD cover Brigadoon is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, first produced in 1947. ... Blackfoot are a Southern rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. ...

In Lynyrd Skynyrd

Drummer

Medlocke grew up with the founding members of Lynyrd Skynyrd. When Blackfoot's attempts to move north and play places like New York and New Jersey weren't successful enough for him, he called up Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ronnie Van Zant and was asked to play drums for that newly-formed band. Medlocke played the drums and sang lead on a few songs for them during 1970 but came to feel that sitting behind a drum kit could never satisfy his energetic personality, so in 1971 he reformed Blackfoot and began touring incessantly with them, producing hits like "Train Train" and "Highway Song" until he finally decided to disband the group in the early 1990s. This article is about the state. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Ronald Wayne Ronnie Van Zant (January 15, 1948 – October 20, 1977) was the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and a founding member of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. ... A drum kit (or drum set or trap set) is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as a cowbell, wood block, chimes or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ...

Guitarist

For a while in the 1990s Rickey thought about pursuing other careers (such as acting) until he received a phone call in 1996 from Gary Rossington inviting him to rejoin Lynyrd Skynyrd as a lead guitarist and primary songwriter. Rossington asked Medlocke if he remembered how to play such tunes as "Freebird", "Tuesday's Gone", and "Workin' For MCA", to name a few. Medlocke gave Rossington the reply he wanted, rejoined Skynyrd and has been a member of that band ever since. Occasionally, as in 2006 during Skynyrd's tour, Rickey steps away from Skynyrd briefly to join musicians like Shooter Jennings on stage for a few dates during the Double Trouble Tour with 3 Doors Down in 2006. Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Gary Rossington (born December 4, 1951 in Jacksonville, Florida) is a founding member and lead guitarist of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. ... Waylon Albright (Shooter) Jennings (born May 19, 1979) is an American country music singer, and the only child of Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter. ...

Vocalist

Rickey sang vocals on the Lynyrd Skynyrd songs White Dove, Ain't Too Proud to Pray and The Seasons, all early 1970's Skynyrd songs. These three are most of the few Skynyrd songs recorded without Ronnie Van Zant singing lead vocals (guitarist Steve Gaines, who joined Skynyrd in 1976, sang lead vocals on "Ain't No Good Life" and shared lead vocals with Van Zant on "You Got That Right", both from the original band's final album "Street Survivors", released after Van Zant died in the crash of Skynyrd's tour airplane). Rickey also sang lead vocals with Johnny Van Zant on the song "Pick 'Em Up", which appeared on the reconstituted Lynyrd Skynyrd album "Vicious Cycle". Lynyrd Skynyrd (pronounced lĕh-nérd skin-nérd) (pronounced ) is an iconic U.S. Southern rock band. ... Ronald Wayne Ronnie Van Zant (January 15, 1948 – October 20, 1977) was the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and a founding member of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. ...

Acting

Rickey Medlocke has been interested in acting since he was in high school, where he was part of many school productions. In 2000 Rickey decided to pursue his acting career further and was cast in William Shatner's movie Groom Lake. He has also appeared on TV and in another yet-to-be released film. Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... William Alan Shatner (born on March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor who gained fame for playing James Tiberius Kirk of the USS Enterprise in the television show Star Trek from 1966 to 1969 and in seven of the subsequent movies. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

References

• Biography at IMDB
• Rickey Medlocke Yahoo Group
• Tribute page on MySpace