Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Larry Junstrom, and Bob Burns. The band spent four years touring small venues under various names and with several lineup changes before deciding on "Lynyrd Skynyrd" in 1968. The band released its first album, , in 1973. By then, they had settled on a lineup that included bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboardist Billy Powell, and guitarist Ed King. Burns left and was replaced by Artimus Pyle in 1974. King left in 1975 and was replaced by Steve Gaines in 1976. At the height of their fame in the 1970s, the band popularized the Southern rock genre with songs such as "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird". After releasing five studio albums and one live album, the band's career was abruptly halted on October 20, 1977, when their chartered airplane crashed, killing Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines, and seriously injuring the rest of the band.
Lynyrd Skynyrd reformed in 1987 for a reunion tour with Ronnie's brother, Johnny Van Zant, as lead vocalist. They continued to tour and record with Johnny Van Zant and Rickey Medlocke, who first wrote and recorded with the band from 1971 to 1972 before his return in 1996. Over the years, other founding members of the band have died either during or after their time in the band. In January 2018, Lynyrd Skynyrd announced its farewell tour, and continued touring until 2022. Members were still working on the band's fifteenth album at the time of Rossington's death in 2023, after which no founding members remained in the band.
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Lynyrd Skynyrd No. 95 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006. As of 2023, the band has sold more than 38 million records in the United States. AllMusic called them "the definitive Southern rock band".
History
Early years (1963–1973)
received his first guitar in 1963 and was later in a band called The Mods in Jacksonville, Florida. The Mods' membership included J.R. Rice and Larry Steele. In early 1964, Ronnie Van Zant joined another local band, The Squires, which he soon renamed to Us. That year, at a local 'Battle of the Bands', Us performed against The Mods and won the competition. Van Zant, however, left Us shortly afterward. In the early summer of 1964, bassist Larry Junstrom, drummer Bob Burns, and guitarist Gary Rossington formed a trio called Me, You, and Him.Later in the summer of 1964, teenagers Van Zant, Rossington, and Burns all became acquainted while playing on rival baseball teams. The trio decided to jam together one afternoon after Burns was injured by a ball hit by Van Zant. They set up their equipment in the carport of Burns' parents' house and played The Rolling Stones' hit "Time Is on My Side". Liking what they heard, they immediately decided to form a band. Bassist Larry Junstrom rounded out the lineup. They soon approached guitarist Allen Collins to join the band, and he agreed to join just two weeks later. The band later rehearsed in Junstrom's carport after Burns' parents said the band was too loud. The band settled on the name My Backyard, later changed to Conquer the Worm for a day or two, then The Noble Five, and finally The One Percent by 1967.
File:RobertELeeHSJacksonvilleFlorida.jpg|thumb|left|Leonard Skinner was a physical education instructor at Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, Florida, known for his strict enforcement of the school's regulations on male hair length.
In 1968, Van Zant sought a new name after growing tired of taunts from audiences that the band had "one percent talent". At Burns' suggestion, the group settled on Leonard Skinnerd, which was in part a reference to a character named "Leonard Skinner" in Allan Sherman's novelty song "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" and in part a mocking tribute to P.E. teacher Leonard Skinner at Robert E. Lee High School. Skinner was notorious for strictly enforcing the school's policy against boys having long hair. Rossington dropped out of school, tired of being hassled about his hair. The more distinctive spelling "Lynyrd Skynyrd" was adopted at least as early as 1969.
By 1970, Lynyrd Skynyrd had become a top band in Jacksonville, headlining at some local concerts, and opening for several national acts. Pat Armstrong, a Jacksonville native and partner in Macon, Georgia-based Hustlers Inc.; along with Phil Walden's younger brother, Alan, became the band's managers. Armstrong left Hustlers shortly thereafter to start his own agency. Walden stayed with the band until 1974, when management was transferred to Peter Rudge. The band continued to perform throughout the South in the early 1970s, further developing their hard-driving blues rock sound and image, and experimenting with recording their sound in a studio. Skynyrd crafted this distinctively "southern" sound through a creative blend of country, blues, and a slight British rock influence.
During this time, the band experienced some lineup changes for the first time. Junstrom left and was briefly replaced by Greg T. Walker on bass. At that time, Rickey Medlocke joined as a second drummer and second vocalist to help fortify Burns' sound on the drums. Medlocke had grown up with the founding members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and his grandfather, Shorty Medlocke, was an influence in the writing of "The Ballad of Curtis Loew".
Peak (1973–1977)
In 1972, the band was discovered by musician, songwriter, and producer Al Kooper of Blood, Sweat & Tears, who had attended one of their shows at Funocchio's in Atlanta. Kooper signed them to his Sounds of the South label, which was to be distributed and supported by MCA Records, and produced their first album. Wilkeson, citing nervousness about fame, temporarily left the band during the early recording sessions, playing on only two tracks. He rejoined the band shortly after the album's release at Van Zant's invitation and is pictured on the album cover. To replace him, Strawberry Alarm Clock guitarist Ed King joined the band and played bass on the album, and also contributed to the songwriting and did some guitar work on the album. After Wilkeson rejoined, King stayed in the band and switched solely to guitar, allowing the band to replicate its three-guitar studio mix in live performances. The band released their debut album on August 13, 1973. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. The album featured the hit song "Free Bird", which received national airplay, eventually reaching No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.Lynyrd Skynyrd's fan base continued to grow rapidly in 1973, thanks to their opening on the Who's Quadrophenia tour in the United States. Their 1974 follow-up album, Second Helping, featuring King, Collins and Rossington all collaborating with Van Zant on the songwriting, cemented the band's breakthrough. Its single "Sweet Home Alabama", a response to Neil Young's "Southern Man", reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 that August. Young and Van Zant were not rivals, but fans of each other's music and good friends; Young wrote the song "Powderfinger" for the band, but they never recorded it. During their peak years, most of their records sold over one million copies, but "Sweet Home Alabama" was the only single to crack the top ten.
By 1975, personal issues began to take their toll on the band. In January, drummer Burns left the band after suffering a mental breakdown during a European tour, and was replaced by Kentucky native and former US Marine Artimus Pyle. The band's third album, Nuthin' Fancy, was recorded in 17 days. Unhappy with the band's lack of preparation for the album's recording, Kooper and the band parted ways by mutual agreement after the tracking was completed, with Kooper mixing the album while the band left for the tour that had precipitated the constricted recording schedule. Though the album fared well, it ultimately had lower sales than its predecessors. Midway through the Nuthin' Fancy tour, guitarist Ed King abruptly left the band after a falling out with Van Zant. King's guitar roadie and Van Zant were arrested together and spent the night in jail. With his guitar roadie unavailable, King played that night's show with old strings that broke, causing his performance to be substandard. Van Zant subsequently belittled him in front of his bandmates. King quit and returned home to Los Angeles, believing Van Zant had been responsible for his guitar roadie being in jail in the first place.
Collins and Rossington both had serious car accidents over Labor Day weekend in 1976, which slowed the recording of the follow-up album and forced the band to cancel some concert dates. Rossington's accident inspired the ominous Van Zant/Collins composition "That Smell", a cautionary tale about drug abuse that was aimed towards him and at least one other band member. Rossington has admitted repeatedly that he was the "Prince Charming" of the song who crashed his car into an oak tree while drunk and stoned on Quaaludes. With the birth of his daughter Melody in 1976, Van Zant was making a serious attempt to clean up his act and curtail the cycle of boozed-up brawling that was part of Skynyrd's reputation.
The Street Survivors album of 1977 turned out to be a showcase for guitarist/vocalist Steve Gaines, who had joined the band just a year earlier and was making his studio debut with them. Publicly and privately, Ronnie Van Zant marveled at the multiple talents of Skynyrd's newest member, claiming that the band would "all be in his shadow one day". Gaines' contributions included his co-lead vocal with Van Zant on the co-written "You Got That Right" and the rousing guitar boogie "I Know a Little", which he had written before he joined Skynyrd. So confident was Skynyrd's leader of Gaines' abilities that the album featured Gaines delivering his self-penned bluesy "Ain't No Good Life", the only song in the pre-crash Skynyrd catalog to feature a lead vocalist other than Ronnie Van Zant. The album also included the hit singles "What's Your Name" and "That Smell". The band was poised for their biggest tour yet, with shows always highlighted by the iconic rock anthem "Free Bird".