Archive for November, 2009

Classic Rock Rewind with–> Lynyrd Skynyrd

I can’t think of another band that has had more heartache shoved in the laps of the band members, their fans, friends, and family than the band “Lynyrd Skynyrd” has had.  But on the same note, the band has enjoyed a cruise of success along that bumpy ride.

High school friends Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, and Allen Collins, formed a band in 1964 that would eventually become Lynyrd Skynyrd. The band broke into the limelight in 1973 with the release of their first album pronounced ‘lĕh-’nérd ’skin-’nérd which featured their first big hit “Free Bird”, a song still loved by many, including myself. Skynyrd opened for “The Who” on their “Quadrophenia” tour in the U.S. helping to explode their fan base. It has been said that most every band that ever opened for “The Who” were eventually booed to make way for the headline act, accept Lynyrd Skynyrd who was actually cheered for an encore.

In 1974 Lynyrd Skynyrd released their second album titled Second Helping which featured another big hit called “ Sweet Home Alabama”, a response to “Neil Young” songs “Alabama” and “Southern Man”. Many fans considered them as enemies but in reality were good friends.

In 1975 their third album titled “Nuthin’ Fancy“ was released which featured the debut of drummer “Artimus Pyle”. This album wasn’t quite as popular as the first two but did include the songs “Saturday Night Special” and one of my favorites “On The Hunt”.

In 1976 their fourth album was released titled “Gimme Back My Bullets“. This was when the female backup singers called “The Honkettes” were introduced. Leslie Hawkins, Cassie Gaines, and JoJo Billingsey were added to the band that year. This same year both Allen Collins and Gary Rossington each had serious car accidents which slowed the progress of the band. The bands only live album featuring the original band members in concert was also released that year called “One More From the Road” .

1977 was a tragic year for the band. The album “Street Survivors“ was released that year which featured the addition of guitarist “Steve Gaines” who was the younger brother of Cassie Gaines. Then tragedy struck the band and shocked the world. Three days after the release of the album, the band was headed to LSU for a concert date when their jet ran out of fuel in Mississippi and crashed. Killed were singer Ronnie Van Zant, new guitarist Steve Gaines, and his sister Cassie Gaines. The remaining band members survived but suffered serious injuries.

The band reunited in 1987 with a reunion tour featuring Ronnies brother Johnny Van Zant as the new front man. Returning members Ed King, Artimus Pyle, Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, and Leon Wilkeson, joined together for the tour. This long awaited return of the band was highly welcomed by the distraught fans of Lynyrd Skynyrd. The tour was a big hit and fueled the return of the band.

Sadness and heartache would still be present though as different band members continued to suffer and were eventually lost. Among those were Allen Collins who died in 1990, Leon Wilkeson who died in 2001, Hughie Thomasson died in 2007, Billy Powell died in January of 2009, and former bassist Ean Evans died in May of 2009. Ed King is still alive but cannot tour with the band due to chronic heart problems. Artimus Pyle is still playing with his own band The APB. Gary Rossington is the lone survivor and only original member of the band and is still playing today with Lynyrd Skynyrd.

 Below are several videos of Lynyrd Skynyrd performing through the years.

The first video here is a classic as Lynyrd Skynyrd performs Cry For The Bad Man in 1975.

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The second video features Lynyrd Skynyrd still in the early years doing one of my favorites live called I Aint The One in 1977.

This next video is also in 1977 with the performance of That Smell.

This next video is a vintage classic of the true original members of the band including Ed King as they perform Don’t Ask Me no Questions.

This next one is more for your listening pleasure as Lynyrd Skynyrd plays a very well done version of Crossroads in 1976.

The next video is a slightly more recent version of Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1997 performing Saturday Night Special.

This next one is from a concert in Nashville in 2007 featuring their big hit Sweet Home Alabama.

And we will finish up here with a partial video of Lynyrd Skynyrd performing the rock anthem Free Bird in 2009.

Thanks for taking the time take a ride back in time with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Music OverDrive. Hope you enjoyed the trip and I hope to see you next time.