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Lynyrd Skynyrd

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Lynyrd Skynyrd
File:Skynyrd.jpg
Photoshoot for their 1973 debut album Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd
Background information
OriginJacksonville, Florida
Years active1964 - present
MembersJohnny Van Zant
Gary Rossington
Billy Powell
Ean Evans
Rickey Medlocke
Michael Cartellone
Dale Krantz Rossington
Carol Chase
Past membersRonnie Van Zant
Bob Burns
Ed King
Larry Junstrom
Steve Gaines
Cassie Gaines
Allen Collins
Leon Wilkeson
Artimus Pyle
Websitehttp://www.lynyrdskynyrd.com

Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American Southern rock band, described by All Music Guide's Stephen Thomas Erlewine as "the definitive Southern rock band, fusing the overdriven power of blues-rock with a rebellious, Southern image and a hard rock swagger." [1] The band reached prominence during the 1970s, under the leadership of vocalist and primary songwriter Ronnie Van Zant, until his death in 1977.

Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006. Lynyrd Skynyrd was one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed Southern Rock groups of the 1970's. Their distinctive triple-lead guitar sound made their songs "Freebird", and "Sweet Home Alabama" American anthems and staples of FM radio. Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Members inducted include: Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Leon Wilkeson, Bob Burns, Billy Powell, Ed King, Artimus Pyle and Steve Gaines.

Background

The band, first called My Backyard, was formed in Jacksonville, Florida in the summer of 1964 by teenage friends Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Allen Collins (guitar), Gary Rossington (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass), and Bob Burns (drums). Their early influences included British Invasion bands such as Free, The Yardbirds, and The Beatles, as well as Southern blues and country & western music.

During the 1960s, the band changed names several times (most notably The Noble Five and One Percent) while playing local dances and clubs in Jacksonville. In 1968 they won a local Battle of the Bands contest, using the prize money to record the songs "Need All My Friends" and "Michelle", the former released as their debut single on Jacksonville-based Shade Tree Records. They also won the opening slot on several Southeast shows for California-based psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock.

Classic years, 1970-1977

In 1970, the band began constant rehearsals at the "Hell House", an isolated farm in Green Cove Springs, a small city in Clay County on the outskirts of Jacksonville. Roadie Billy Powell joined as keyboardist around this time. The final band name also came about, inspired as a mocking tribute to Rossington's and Burns' gym coach at Robert E. Lee High, Leonard Skinner. Skinner would strictly enforce the school's dress code, which did not allow boys to have long hair touching the collar or sideburns below the ears. Some of the band members were even expelled for having their hair too long. After being punished several times, the bandmates played a show, still as One Percent, but Van Zant jokingly announced from the stage that they were now called Leonard Skinner. The name stuck, soon becoming Lynard Skynard, and finally Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Lynyrd Skynyrd continued to perform throughout the South in the early 1970s, further developing their hard-driving, blues-rock sound and image. In 1972, Leon Wilkeson replaced Larry Junstrom on bass. Wilkeson left just before recording their first album. Strawberry Alarm Clock guitarist Ed King was called in to fill the role as bass player. After the album was completed, Van Zant informed King that he was "the worst bass player he'd ever played with". He suggested King move to guitar so they could reproduce the studio album's three-guitar sound. Soon the band's triple-guitar attack became a signature sound. Van Zant married girlfriend Judy Seymour in 1972.

Producer Al Kooper was impressed with the band during a performance at an Atlanta club called Funocchio's in 1972, and signed them to MCA Records. He produced their first album, 1973's Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd, which featured the song "Free Bird." "Free Bird" began to receive national airplay, eventually reaching #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The song has also become the subject of a Rock and Roll cliché, which is the shouting of a request to hear the song at almost any live concert, regardless of the performer. This practice has become so commonplace at live concerts it has largely evolved into a parody of itself.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's fan base continued to grow rapidly during 1973, due in large part to their opening slot on The Who's Quadrophenia tour in the U.S. During one of these shows, at the Cow Palace in California, The Who refused to go on after them, because the crowd was still calling for more. Their second album, 1974's Second Helping, was the band's breakthrough hit. It featured their most popular single "Sweet Home Alabama" (#8 on the charts in August 1974), an answer song to Neil Young's "Alabama" and "Southern Man". In a response to their response, Warren Zevon recorded his song "Play it All Night Long" which contains the chorus: "Sweet Home Alabama / Play that dead band's song." However, the belief that Van Zant and Young were rivals is incorrect; they were actually fans of each other's music and talked of collaborations together. Young has covered Lynyrd Skynyrd songs at his own live concerts as a tribute to Van Zant. Second Helping reached #12, eventually going multi-platinum. The band also toured the U.K. in 1975 with Golden Earring and in 1976 with The Rolling Stones.

In July 1974 Lynyrd Skynyrd was one of the headline acts at The Ozark Music Festival, at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia Missouri. Some estimates have put the crowd count at 350,000 people which would make this one of the largest music events in history.

In 1975, Burns left the band and was replaced by North Carolina drummer Artimus Pyle. The new lineup's first album, Nuthin' Fancy, was released, becoming their first Top Ten album. It features the hit song "Saturday Night Special" (#27 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart). Gimme Back My Bullets followed in 1976, but didn't reach the same success as the previous two albums. In December 1975 backup singers Leslie Hawkins, Cassie Gaines and JoJo Billingsley (collectively known as the Honkettes) were added to the band. Guitarist Steve Gaines, brother of backup singer Cassie Gaines, replaced King in 1976, just in time to record the double-live album One More from the Road, the band's second Top Ten hit. While at their peak, Skynyrd's unique sound was complete with a triple guitar attack, usually including one slide and a rocking Gibson Explorer. Adding to the wall of sound was the melodic bass playing, the wild yet rhythmic percussion section, along with Van Zant's strong vocals and the furious keyboard/piano playing of Powell.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's sixth album, Street Survivors, was released in October of 1977. It would be the final album released by the original line-up.

Original cover for Street Survivors, 1977
Updated cover after plane crash, 1977

Plane crash, 1977

Lynyrd Skynyrd's legend is grounded in a plane crash that occurred on October 20, 1977, three days after the release of Street Survivors. A chartered airplane carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana crashed near a forest in McComb, Mississippi. The plane had been having engine trouble before leaving Greenville and literally ran out of gas. The crash killed singer/songwriter Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist/vocalist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray. Other band members were injured, some suffered serious injuries. Drummer Artimus Pyle crawled out of the plane wreckage with several broken ribs, yet ran nearly a mile to a farmhouse to try to get help. In an ironic twist, the farmer Johnny Mote, on first seeing the wild-haired blood- and mud-encrusted drummer babbling incoherently, greeted him with a (fortunately non-fatal) shotgun blast to his shoulder. Only when Mote realized that this person was connected with the plane crash he had just heard did he call for help. Allen Collins suffered two cracked vertebrae in his neck, and both Collins and Leon Wilkeson nearly had arms amputated as a result of crash injuries. Wilkeson suffered severe internal injuries and a punctured lung and had most of his teeth knocked out. Gary Rossington broke both of his arms and both of his legs in the crash, and took many months to recuperate. Leslie Hawkins sustained a concussion, broke her neck in three places and had severe facial lacerations.

Only pianist Billy Powell was relatively uninjured in the accident, but nearly had his nose torn off and suffered severe facial lacerations. He later caused a controversy by giving a lurid account of Cassie Gaines' final moments on a VH1 Behind The Music special about the band. Powell's version of events has been discounted by both Artimus Pyle and Judy Van Zant Jenness, who posted the autopsy reports on the band's website in order to set the record straight.

Street Survivors became the band's second platinum album, and was the #5 top selling album on the U.S. album chart. The single "What's Your Name" reached #13 on the single airplay charts in January of 1978. Lynyrd Skynyrd disbanded after the airplane tragedy. On the original pressing of the cover of Street Survivors was a photograph of the band engulfed in flames. MCA Records, out of courtesy and good judgment, withdrew the sleeve and replaced it with a cover of the band striking a similar pose against a plain black background.

Hiatus, 1977-1986

Rossington and Collins formed The Rossington-Collins Band between 1980 and 1982, releasing two albums. Pyle formed The Artimus Pyle Band in 1982. Collins formed The Allen Collins Band in 1983. Tragedy struck the band again in 1986 when Collins crashed his car while driving drunk near his home in Jacksonville, killing his girlfriend and leaving him permanently paralyzed from the waist down.

Reunion years, 1987-present

In 1987, Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited for a full-scale tour with crash survivors Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson and Artimus Pyle and former guitarist Ed King. Ronnie Van Zant's younger brother, Johnny, took over as the new lead singer and primary songwriter. Due to Collins' paralysis, he was only able to participate as the musical director, choosing Randall Hall, his former bandmate in the Allen Collins Band, as his stand-in. Collins became stricken with pneumonia in 1989 and died on January 23, 1990.

The reunited band was meant to be a one-time tribute to the original lineup, captured on the double-live album Southern By The Grace Of God/Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour - 1987, but because of an overwhelmingly positive reaction by fans, the band decided to stay together and record new material. The reunited Lynyrd Skynyrd has gone through several lineup changes and continues to record and tour today. Leon Wilkeson, Skynyrd's bassist since 1972, died of lung and liver failure on July 27, 2001. Ronnie Van Zant's widow, Judy Van Zant, currently owns and operates Freebird Live, one of Jacksonville's premier live music venues, located just 1 block from the ocean in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

On November 28, 2005, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced that Lynyrd Skynyrd would be inducted alongside Black Sabbath, Blondie, Miles Davis, and the Sex Pistols. They were inducted in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on March 13, 2006. Lynyrd Skynyrd had been nominated 7 times. They are currently scheduled to perform at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia, Alabama.

Controversy

  • Since the singer's interment in 1977, rumors have existed that Ronnie Van Zant was buried in a Neil Young T-shirt as a supposed curse against him, although truthfully there was no feud between the two (see above, band history). Some fans believe this rumor was the reason the gravesites of Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines were broken into on June 29, 2000, in Orange Park, Florida. Others believe that this desecration was motivated by the 1986 Dead Kennedys track A Commercial [2] which mockingly referred to exhuming the bodies of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Van Zant's casket was dragged onto the grounds, but was not opened. Gaines' cremated remains, which were in a plastic bag in an urn, were scattered on the ground near his site. 99% of his ashes were recovered. The families decided to move their remains to an undisclosed location, leaving the mausoleums as memorials for fans to visit.

Trivia

  • Leonard Skinner was the name of the gym teacher of the boys who went on to form the band. He once told them, "You boys ain't never gonna amount to nothin'."
  • Southern Rock Opera, is a critically-acclaimed 2001 double album by alt-country band Drive-By Truckers. A song cycle rather than a real opera, the album largely focuses on the mythology surrounding Lynyrd Skynyrd but also deals with issues of race and politics in America's South. Song titles include "Ronnie and Neil", "Birmingham", "Cassie's Brother", and "Greenville to Baton Rouge".
  • "Simple Man" was used as main theme for the Italian movie, Renegade (1987)

Band members

Classic lineup

Present lineup

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

  • Skynyrd's First And... Last - 1978, collection of early demos
  • Gold & Platinum - 1980, best of
  • Best Of The Rest - 1982, best of
  • Legend - 1987, unreleased demos, b-sides
  • Skynyrd's Innyrds - 1989, best of
  • Box Set - 1991, collection
  • The Essential Lynyrd Skynyrd - 1998, collection
  • Lynyrd Skynyrd's Greatest Hits - 2000. best of
  • Thyrty : 30th Anniversary Collection - 2003, collection
  • Gold- 2006

Lives and videos

  • One More from the Road - 1976 live album
  • Freebird The Movie - 1995 video of live concert footage
  • Freebird The Movie - 1996 video soundtrack

Present lineup

Studio albums

  • Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 - 1991
  • The Last Rebel - 1993
  • Endangered Species - 1994
  • Twenty - 1997
  • Edge of Forever - 1999
  • Christmas Time Again - 2000
  • Vicious Cycle - 2003

Compilations

  • Then and Now - 2000

Lives and videos

  • Southern By The Grace Of God/Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour - 1987 - 1988 live album
  • Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour - 1988 tour video
  • Lyve From Steel Town - 1998 live album
  • Lyve From Steel Town - 1998 tour video
  • Lynyrd Skynyrd Lyve : The Vicious Cycle Tour - 2004 live album
  • Lynyrd Skynyrd Lyve : The Vicious Cycle Tour - 2004 tour video

Singles

Shade Tree Records

  • 1968 "Need All My Friends"
  • 1971 "I've Been Your Fool"

MCA Records

  • 1973 "Free Bird"
  • 1973 "Gimme Three Steps"
  • 1975 "Don't Ask Me No Questions"
  • 1974 "Sweet Home Alabama" #8 US
  • 1975 "Free Bird" reissue, #19 US
  • 1975 "Saturday Night Special" #27 US
  • 1976 "Double Trouble" #80 US
  • 1976 "Gimme Back My Bullets"
  • 1977 "Free Bird (Live)" #38 US
  • 1977 "What's Your Name" #13 US
  • 1977 "You Got That Right"
  • 1978 "That Smell"
  • 1978 "Down South Jukin'"
  • 1978 "When You Got Good Friends"

See also

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