Lynyrd Skynyrd

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There are like 50 guitar players in Lynyrd Skynyrd. How they made a living after paying out to everyone after each gig is beyond us. Lynyrd Skynyrd started way back in 1964 as a band called The Noble Five, and later called My Backyard, in Jacksonville, Florida. In 1968, the band won a battle of the bands, and it wasn't long before they began searching for a new band name. They initially settled on naming the band after their high school physical education teacher, Leonard Skinner, who strictly enforced the no long hair policy of their school. In later years, the band became on more amiable terms with Mr. Skinner, who actually participated in some of their propaganda. In 1972, the band changed the spelling of their name and began working on a studio album for MCA records.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's first release, (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd), hit shelves in 1973 (and yes the italicized text was the name of the album). You might remember the song "Free Bird" from this album. The band went on tour with The Who in support of this release. The band's follow up album, Second Helping, was a huge success, and featured the hit song "Sweet Home Alabama". The band continued producing albums and hits throughout the 1970's. Other hits songs you may remember: "Gimme Three Steps", "Gimme Back My Bullets", "That Smell", "Simple Man", "What's Your Name", "Saturday Night Special", and "You Got That Right".

In 1977, the bands airplane ran out of gas, and after a crash landing, several band members died (Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines). After this tragedy, the remaining members dissolved Lynyrd Skynyrd. A few of the members created a new band, called The Rossington-Collins Band, that released a few albums in the early 1980's. It was in 1987 that Lynyrd Skynyrd reformed, with Ronnie Van Zant's little brother, Johnny, taking over vocals. As the years have gone on, Lynyrd Skynyrd has been both in studio and on stage with different band members. At the time of this writing, the Lynyrd Skynyrd Discography was as follows:

Listen for free or download any Lynyrd Skynyrd track for just 12 cents per song!