| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Heart surgeon says Lynyrd Skynyrd's Gary Rossington OK to tour
Thursday April 17, 2003LOS ANGELES (AP) Seven weeks after heart bypass surgery, doctors cleared Lynyrd Skynyrd founding lead guitarist Gary Rossington to return to touring with the southern rock band starting in June.
Rossington, 51, underwent the quintuple bypass surgery Feb. 25 at an Atlanta area hospital. Band spokesman Lathum Nelson said Thursday in Los Angeles that the cardiologist gave Rossington the green light to return to stage June 13 in Karlsruhe, Germany.
``Since his surgery, Gary has done well. However, as expected, he has required a period of rest and rehabilitation. He should complete at least four to six weeks of cardiac rehab before returning to work,'' Dr. Martha Smith said in a statement.
The first eight European shows set to begin May 29 in Belgium will be rescheduled.
Because of the surgery, the scheduled May 6 release of Lynyrd Skynyrd's new Sanctuary Records CD ``Vicious Cycle,'' their first album in four years, was delayed. It has now been scheduled for a May 20 release, Nelson said.
The band's hits the past 30 years include ``Gimme Three Steps,'' ``Simple Man,'' ``Freebird,'' ``'Sweet Home Alabama,'' ``Saturday Night Special,'' ``Gimme Back My Bullets,'' ``What's Your Name?'' and ``That Smell.''
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