![]() ![]() The band was on tour and on their way to a show in Baton Rouge Louisiana when their plane crashed, killing Van Zant, Gaines, his sister Cassie (one of the three backing singers) and road manager Dean Kilpatrick. But only a few days after its release, on October 20, tragedy would hit. Things were going great for the band in 1977 as they recorded their next studio album, Street Survivors, which would turn out to be one of the band’s biggest hits. This album also would feature King’s replacement, guitarist Steve Gaines and a trio of female backup singers, and it became Skynyrd’s second Top Ten album. This would lead to another album release in ’76, the live album One More For the Road, which also was a huge hit. In 1976 they had a new producer, Tom Dowd for their next album Gimmie Back My Bullets and after heavy yearly touring, they now had a strong following on the road. They released their third album Nuthin’ Fancy in 1975 and it was a Top Ten hit. By the end of ’74 King would also leave and for a time Skynyrd would be a sextet. But the band and Young were best of friends and Skynyrd even opened some shows for him.Īfter the release of Second Helping, Burns left the band and Artimus Pyle took over on the drums. In the song the lyric “I hope Neil Young will remember, southern man don’t need him around anyhow,” was a amusing shot at Young who had wrote the songs “Southern Man” and “Alabama”. Although a tongue-in-cheek song, it would solidify their redneck image. The single “Sweet Home Alabama”, which appeared on their second album Second Helping in 1974, would. ![]() As great a song as “Free Bird” was, it would not turn out to become their biggest international hit. The song is still today considered one of rock’s best ever. But it was the song “Free Bird,” a tribute to Allman Brothers deceased Duane Allman, with it’s great three lead guitar-army attack ending, that really got the band going. Being the opening act for The Who’s Quadrophenia tour in 1973 also helped expose the band to a nationwide audience. Their debut album, Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd, was a big hit, and was stronger than any other debut album released by any other band. As they began work on their first album, guitarist Ed King (formerly of Strawberry Alarm Clock) joined and their triple guitar attack lineup was now in place. The group was discovered in Atlanta by Al Kooper in 1972 while they were playing a gig and he signed them to his Sounds Of The South label. Shortly after they changed their name Leon Wilkeson joined the group on bass replacing Jungstrom and also around this time they added keyboardist Billy Powell. The name came as a mock against their high school gym teacher Leonard Skinner, who was notorious for punishing male students with long hair and proclaimed that Van Zant and his friends would never amount to anything good in life. They played the first few years under various different names (Noble Five, Wildcats, Sons Of Satan and My Backyard), after they released a single in 1968, they changed their name to Lynyrd Skynyrd. The band was formed by a bunch of high school friends in 1965, vocalist/songwriter Ronnie Van Zant, guitarists Gary Rossington and Allen Collins, bassist Larry Jungstrom and drummer Bob Burns. More than the Allman Brothers, their blues-hard rock, three-guitar weaving line-up was a Southern Rock image hard to forget. When you think of southern rock, the first band to come to mind is Lynyrd Skynyrd. ![]() Members that passed away: Ronnie Van Zant (1977), Steve Gaines (1977), Allen Collins (1990), Leon Wilkeson (2001), Billy Powell (2009), Bob Burns (2015) ![]() Group’s Main Members: Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Bob Burns, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson, Ed King, Artimus Pyle, Steve Gaines ![]()
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