Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd were a 1970s Southern rock band. The name of the band came from Leonard Skinner, the assistant principal at Lee High School, their senior high school. Mr. Skinner required them to get their hair cut. Rather than do that they transferred to a nearby school, Fletcher High. When the band gained some fame, Leonard Skinner would attend their performances.The group became known for their triple guitar lineup, as seen in their hit "Freebird", a tribute to Duane Allman, the lead singer of the Allman Brothers Band who died in a motorcycle accident. "Freebird" has become the subject of a rock concert cliche, the joke being that you can't go to a concert without hearing somebody shouting a request for that song.
In 1974 they released the album Second Helping, featuring the hit single "Sweet Home Alabama". Another well-known song is "Give Me Three Steps". While it is fairly well known and obvious from lyrics that "Sweet Home Alabama" was something of a rebuttal to the Neil Young song "Southern Man", the belief that Young and the members of Skynyrd were rivals is incorrect. Young and Skynyrd had actually considered collaborating on several occasions and, after the breakup of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Young performed "Sweet Home Alabama" on stage on rare occasions. There was a "feud", but it was of a strictly amicable nature.
The leader was Ronnie VanZant, who was killed in a tragic plane crash in 1977, along with two other band members, Steve Gaines, and his sister Cassie.
The group broke up after the air crash. They reunited in the late 1980s and 1990s and are still recording and touring.
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Lineup
Discography
External Links
