RICKEY MEDLOCKE of Lynyrd Skynyrd - Rickey Medlocke has been performing onstage since he was 3 years old. His grandfather was well-known Delta blues musician, Shorty Medlock. Rickey accompanied Shorty on the air, and at live shows, and over the years his musical talents and natural abilities grew. By age 5, Rickey had taught himself how to play guitar and by age 8 he was playing drums in Shorty's band, playing local dances and auditoriums. Rickey’s love of music and performing pushed him to excel not only at the banjo and guitar and drums, but at a variety of instruments; mandolin, dobro, keyboards, and particularly the guitar. In addition, Rickey has been gifted with a melodic singing voice. When he graduated from high school, there was a blossoming music scene in southern Florida, and Rickey couldn't resist. He formed a band with his childhood friends and called it Blackfoot in honor of their Native American heritage. Rickey (Lakota/Creek) had also grown up with the members of another Jacksonville band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and when Blackfoot's attempts to move to the northeast didn't seem to be successful, he called Skynyrd leader Ronnie Van Zant who asked him to come play drums with the soon to be legendary band. Rickey wrote and sometimes sang with Skynyrd, but his energetic, charismatic performing personality eventually lead him to re-form Blackfoot, where he sang and played lead guitar, in addition to writing or co-writing most of the songs. Blackfoot was a southern band, but they were a hard rock band and that helped pave the way for their success and incessant international touring. With featured hit singles like "Train Train", "Highway Song" and "Fly Away", Blackfoot have sold 5 million records throughout their career. By the early 1990s, Rickey finally decided to break up the band and thought about pursuing his other career goals including acting. However, a phone call from Lynyrd Skynyrd founder, Gary Rossington inviting Rickey to rejoin the band, this time as lead guitarist and as one of the primary songwriters, was something he could never turn down. Since Rickey rejoined the band in 1996, Lynyrd Skynyrd has been enjoying a major resurrection, and to date, the band has sold almost 40 million albums worldwide. In 2000, Rickey decided to pursue acting. William Shatner cast him in his first role, the recently released Groom Lake. Since then he has appeared on TV, several other films, and in print ads and radio commercials. In his limited spare time, Rickey is working on a book about his music career and on a solo album.