| Rickey Medlocke | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Born | February 17, 1950 Jacksonville, Florida |
| Genres | Southern rock, hard rock |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals, drums |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Associated acts | Blackfoot, Lynyrd Skynyrd |
| Notable instruments | |
| Gibson Explorer with tremolo | |
Rickey Medlocke (born February 17, 1950) is an American 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 after Gary Rossington asked him to join.
Being of Blackfoot ancestry, Medlocke was inducted into the Native American Music Hall of Fame in 2008.[1]
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Medlocke started performing onstage at the age of three. His grandfather, Shorty Medlock, was a well-known delta blues musician and he taught Medlocke 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. Medlocke was raised by Shorty and his grandmother. Over the next several years Medlocke mastered the banjo, guitar, drums, mandolin, dobro and keyboards. He had a melodic singing voice and had taught himself to sing and play guitar at the same time. After graduating high school, Medlocke formed his first band, Blackfoot, where he was lead vocalist and lead guitarist.
Medlocke grew up with the founding members of Lynyrd Skynyrd. When Blackfoot's attempts to move north and play New York and New Jersey weren't successful enough for him, he called up Ronnie Van Zant and was asked to play drums for Lynyrd Skynyrd. Medlocke very briefly played the drums and sang lead on a few songs for them in 1970, sometimes playing alongside the band's original drummer Bob Burns 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.
For a while in the 1990s, Medlocke thought about pursuing other careers 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 "Free Bird", "Tuesday's Gone", and "Workin' For MCA", among others. Medlocke rejoined Skynyrd and has been a member since. Occasionally, Medlocke will step away from Skynyrd briefly to join musicians like Shooter Jennings on stage. He joined American Idol finalist Bo Bice on stage for a rendition of "Sweet Home Alabama" when the top three finalists from season four returned home.
Medlocke sang vocals on Lynyrd Skynyrd songs White Dove, Ain't Too Proud to Pray, The Seasons, and You Run Around.