Lynyrd Skynyrd (Official Thread)

[0000]

I saw the new band, but it was sort of terrible.. I had much higher hopes for the show, but everything from the sound to their playing wasn't very good at all.. I've heard most people say the exact opposite when talking about the new Skynyrd, but that was my experience

Anyways..

The original band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, named after this man, a high school gym teacher of Van Zandt..


The band formed much earlier than their years of success that began in the early 70s, they formed some time around 1965 under the name "The Noble Five".

In 1973 they released their first, and one of their very iconic albums.. Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd.

Official Website

1973 (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)
1974 Second Helping
1975 Nuthin' Fancy Platinum
1976 Gimme Back My Bullets
1977 Street Survivors
1991 Lynyrd Skynyrd
1993 The Last Rebel
1994 Endangered Species
1997 Twenty
1999 Edge of Forever
2003 Vicious Cycle
2009 God & Guns


This album features some of their most popular songs, and a few of my favorites.. Such as, the entire first side
"I Ain't the One"
"Tuesday's Gone"
"Gimme Three Steps"
"Simple Man"
Side 2's biggest hit was a little song called, Free Bird

Through the early to mid 70s they continued to release brilliant albums.. They put out Second Helping in 1974, Nuthin' Fancy in 1975, Gimme Back My Bullets in 1976, and the original band's final album..Street Survivors in 1977..
Everything seemed to be going perfectly for Skynyrd.. They were on top of the world and on the road to becoming one of the most successful and iconic bands of all time(which they did anyways)..
But,

On Thursday, October 20, 1977, just three days after the release of Street Survivors, and five shows into their most successful headlining tour to date, Lynyrd Skynyrd's chartered Convair 240 ran out of fuel near the end of their flight from Greenville, South Carolina, where they had just performed at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium, to LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Though the pilots attempted an emergency landing on a small airstrip, the plane crashed in a forest in Gillsburg, Mississippi.[14] Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray were all killed on impact; the other bandmembers suffered serious injuries.
Following the crash and the ensuing press, Street Survivors became the band's second platinum album and reached #5 on the U.S. album chart. The single "What's Your Name" reached #13 on the single airplay charts in January 1978.
The original cover sleeve for Street Survivors had featured a photograph of the band, particularly Steve Gaines, engulfed in flames. Out of respect for the deceased (and at the request of Teresa Gaines, Steve's widow), MCA Records withdrew the original cover and replaced it with a similar image of the band against a simple black background .[15] Thirty years later, for the deluxe CD version of Street Survivors, the original "flames" cover was restored.
Lynyrd Skynyrd disbanded after the tragedy, reuniting just once to perform an instrumental version of "Free Bird" at Charlie Daniels' Volunteer Jam V in January 1979. Collins, Rossington, Powell and Pyle performed the song with Charlie Daniels and members of his band. Leon Wilkeson, who was still undergoing physical therapy for his badly broken left arm, was in attendance, along with Judy Van Zant, Teresa Gaines, JoJo Billingsley and Leslie Hawkins.

From 1977, the remaining members took a break, and some pursued other projects, such as the Rossington-Collins band, Vision, and the Artimus Pyle Band.. Allen Collins', life was pretty much ruled with tragedy after the crash, and after so much had happened, he crashed his car while drunk, killing his girlfriend and paralyzed himself from the neck down.. he was not given a prison sentence because his injuries sustained "made it obvious that he would never drive or be a danger to society again."

In 1987, Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited for a full-scale tour with five major members of the pre-crash band: crash survivors Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson and Artimus Pyle, along with guitarist Ed King, who had left the band two years before the crash. Ronnie Van Zant's younger brother, Johnny, took over as the new lead singer and primary songwriter. Due to Collins' paralysis from the 1986 car accident, 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. As part of his plea deal, Collins would be wheeled out onstage each night to explain to the audience why he could no longer perform (usually before the performance of "That Smell", which had been partially directed at him). Collins was 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. The fact that the band chose to continue after the 1987 tribute tour caused legal problems for the survivors, as Judy Van Zant Jenness and Teresa Gaines Rapp (widows of Ronnie and Steve, respectively) sued the others for violating an agreement made shortly after the plane crash, stating that they would not "exploit" the Skynyrd name for profit.

They continue to tour today under the name of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the legacy lives on.

My favorite Album is Gimme Back My Bullets, and Skynyrd has always been a favorite band of mine

 

[TeleCat]

Re: just saw lynyrd skynard

Shame 'bout the sound. I've never embraced the "new" Skynyrd. And Rick Medlocke needs to go back to Blackfoot IMO.

 

[Magic]

Re: just saw lynyrd skynard

I hate to say it, but if you just saw lynyrd skynyrd, you visited a grave site. The band will never be the same without the original members, and that isn't possible.

Just get yourself some good old Skynyrd CD's and enjoy what they made while they were alive.




click the image to hear Second Helping album.

 

[LG]

Re: just saw lynyrd skynard

I have all of Skynyrds albums, they are an all time classic southern rock band, and like Magic said after the plane crash they are a different band, kudos for carrying on but not the same as when Ronnie Van Zant was the frontman.

 

[Truckin]

Re: just saw lynyrd skynard

I saw Skynyrd in 1974 at the World Series of Rock concert in the old Cleveland Stadium. It was a strange mix of performers that day.

Skynyrd
Reo Speedwagon
Joe Walsh
The Beach Boys

 

[Magic]

Re: just saw lynyrd skynard

I saw Skynyrd in 1974 at the World Series of Rock concert in the old Cleveland Stadium. It was a strange mix of performers that day.

Skynyrd
Reo Speedwagon
Joe Walsh
The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys were last to play....I would hope! The others were a decent mix of groups, though. Dont get me wrong I love the Beach Boys, they just dont fit that band line up. lol.

I saw Skynyrd at the Cincy colliseum in 1975. I was only 15 at the time and really to young to really appreciate their music. But I still remember the concert like it happened yesterday!

 

[Truckin]

Re: just saw lynyrd skynard

The Beach Boys were last to play....I would hope! The others were a decent mix of groups, though. Dont get me wrong I love the Beach Boys, they just dont fit that band line up. lol.

I saw Skynyrd at the Cincy colliseum in 1975. I was only 15 at the time and really to young to really appreciate their music. But I still remember the concert like it happened yesterday!

Yea, that's what I meant to say. Which one of these groups doesn't belong in this set. HaHa

 

[Alrocks]

Lynyrd Skynyrd - The original band

For the past couple of days I have been listening to One More From The Road - Deluxe Addition (1976) and I have to say that the quality of the live music on this cd is outstanding . This was the best line up Skynryd ever had !
It was a real tragedy that Ronnie & Steve died in that plane crash . For me they were the driving force of the band .
I don't care what other people think I still think Freebird Live was there best music ever !

 

[Magic]

Re: Lynyrd Skynyrd - The original band

Lynyrd Skynyrd is an awesome band. I dont much care for the replacement band.



Band members in photo from left to right: Leon Wilkeson, Billy Powell, Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington (seated), Bob Burns, Allen Collins, and Ed King.



I Ain't the One" (Gary Rossington / Ronnie Van Zant) – 3:53
"Tuesday's Gone" (Gary Rossington / Allen Collins / Ronnie Van Zant) – 7:32
"Gimme Three Steps" (Allen Collins / Ronnie Van Zant) – 4:30
"Simple Man" (Gary Rossington / Ronnie Van Zant) – 5:57
"Things Goin' On" (Gary Rossington / Ronnie Van Zant) – 5:00
"Mississippi Kid" (Al Kooper / Ronnie Van Zant / Bob Burns) – 3:56
"Poison Whiskey" (Ed King / Ronnie Van Zant) – 3:13
"Free Bird" (Allen Collins / Ronnie Van Zant) – 9:18


This album is Essential to any country rock collectors. What is so weird about this album cover is it shows 7 band members on the cover. Bassist Leon Wilkeson left the band before the album was released...but still was included on the cover.

 

[0000]

Re: Lynyrd Skynyrd - The original band

my favorite album from them is Gimme Back My Bullets, its such an underrated album