Lynyrd Skynyrd Deny Johnny Van Zant Heart Attack Rumors; Gary Rossington Undergoes Another Heart-Related Procedure
Lynyrd Skynyrd have been temporarily forced off the road - but not, they insist, because singer Johnny Van Zant had a heart attack.
Last Tuesday (Aug. 1) the band announced on Facebook (via the Quad-City Times) that "due to an unforeseen medical emergency by one of the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, the band will be unable to perform on August 3 in Davenport, Iowa at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds and August 4 in Washington, Missouri at the Washington Town & Country Fair."
Apparently, this led people to believe that Van Zant - who has been the band's singer since their post-crash reformation in 1987 - suffered a heart attack.
However, the group has now revealed that founding guitarist Gary Rossington underwent a medical procedure last Friday (Aug. 4) to "address some blockage in his arteries to his heart," and has been advised to stay off the road for a week. Rossington previously suffered a heart attack in 2015, and underwent heart surgery that cause the band to cancel part of their tour last summer as well.
Accordingly, earlier today (Aug. 7) the band announced that they would also be unable to perform in Sturgis, S.D. tomorrow evening. The official statement on the band's Facebook page explains the whole situation:
Skynyrd Nation,
There have been false reports (fake news) of Johnny Van Zant suffering a heart attack, which is not true.
This past Friday, Gary Rossington had to undergo a procedure to address some blockage in his arteries to his heart. Gary was released Friday evening and has been home recovering and in good spirits. Doctors have advised that he recover this week, forcing the band to cancel this past weekend's shows and tomorrow at the Buffalo Chip in Sturgis, SD. The band will commence touring, this Friday in Virginia Beach with Hank Williams Jr and Aaron Lewis.
We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused the fans and hope to see you on the road in the near future.
Vector Management
Lynyrd Skynyrd currently has 23 more North American dates scheduled for the remainder of 2017, starting with the above-referenced show Aug. 11 in Virginia Beach. You can get complete date and ticket information at their official website.
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