Lynyrd Skynyrd

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Lynyrd Skynyrd
Origin	Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Genre(s)	Southern rock, hard rock, blues-rock
Years active	1964–1977 1979–present
Label(s)	MCA, Atlantic, Capricorn, SPV Records, CMC International, Sanctuary, Universal
Associated acts	.38 Special, Van Zant, Rossington Collins Band, Allen Collins Band
Website	LynyrdSkynyrd.com
Members
Johnny Van Zant Gary Rossington Billy Powell Ean Evans Rickey Medlocke Michael Cartellone Mark Matejka
Former members
Ronnie Van Zant (deceased) Allen Collins (deceased) Bob Burns Larry Junstrom Leon Wilkeson (deceased) Ed King Artimus Pyle Steve Gaines (deceased) Cassie Gaines (deceased) Randall Hall Hughie Thomasson (deceased) Byron Glover

Lynyrd Skynyrd (pronounced /ˌlɛnɚdˈskɪnɝd/) is an American Southern rock band. The band became prominent in the Southern United States in 1973, and rose to worldwide recognition before several members, including lead vocalist and primary songwriter Ronnie Van Zant, died in a plane crash in 1977 five miles northeast of Gillsburg, Mississippi. A tribute band was formed in 1987 for a reunion tour with Johnny Van Zant, Ronnie's younger brother, at the helm, and continues to record music today.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006, with members Gary Rossington and Billy Powell, former members Ed King, Bob Burns, and Artimus Pyle, and family members representing deceased members Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Steve Gaines, and Leon Wilkeson in attendance.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early years 1.2 Peak years (1973–1977) 1.3 Plane crash (1977) 1.4 Hiatus (1977–1987) 1.5 Reunion years (1987–present) 2 Tours 3 Recognition 3.1 Honors 3.2 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 3.3 Tributes 4 Discography 4.1 Studio albums 5 References 6 Works cited 7 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Early years

In the summer of 1964, teenage friends Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Allen Collins, and Gary Rossington (guitar), formed the band "The Noble Five" then later in 1965 changed to "My Backyard" along with Larry Junstrom (bass) and Bob Burns (drums) in Jacksonville, Florida. Their early influences included British Invasion bands such as Free, The Yardbirds, the Rolling Stones, and The Beatles, as well as Southern blues and country & western music, and later The Allman Brothers Band.^{[citation needed]} In 1968, the group won a local Battle of the Bands contest and the opening slot on several Southeast shows for the California-based psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock.^{[citation needed]}

In 1970, roadie Billy Powell became keyboardist for the band, and Van Zant sought a new name. "One Percent" and "The Noble Five" were each considered before the group settled on Leonard Skinnerd, a mocking tribute to a gym teacher at Robert E. Lee High School, Leonard Skinner, who was notorious for strictly enforcing the school's policy against boys having long hair.^[1][2] The more distinctive spelling was adopted before they released their first album.

Despite their high-school acrimony, the band developed a friendlier relationship with Skinner in later years, and invited him to introduce them at a concert in the Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum.^[3]

The band continued to perform throughout the South in the early 1970s, further developing their hard-driving, blues-rock sound and image. In 1972, Leon Wilkeson replaced Larry Junstrom on bass, but left just before they were to record the first album (Wilkeson rejoined the band shortly thereafter at Van Zant's invitation).^{[citation needed]} Strawberry Alarm Clock guitarist Ed King filled in as bass player, later switching to guitar after the album's release, allowing the band to replicate the three-guitar mix used in the studio.

In 1970, the band auditioned for Alan Walden who would later become their manager on the newly formed Hustler's Inc. Walden worked with the band until 1974, when management was turned over to Pete Rudge.

[edit] Peak years (1973–1977)

In 1972 the band was discovered by musician, songwriter, and producer Al Kooper of Blood, Sweat, and Tears, who had attended one of their shows at a club in Atlanta. They changed the spelling of their name to "Lynyrd Skynyrd",^[4] and Kooper signed them to MCA Records, producing their first album the following year. 1973's (pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd) featured the hit song "Free Bird", which received national airplay, eventually reaching #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and is still considered a Rock and Roll anthem today.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's fan base continued to grow rapidly throughout 1973, largely due to their opening slot on The Who's Quadrophenia tour in the United States. Their 1974 follow-up, Second Helping, was the band's breakthrough hit, and featured their most popular single, "Sweet Home Alabama" (#8 on the charts in August 1974), a tongue in cheek response to Neil Young's "Alabama" and "Southern Man." (Young and Van Zant were not rivals, but fans of each other's music and good friends; Young even wrote the song "Powderfinger" for the band, but they never recorded it^[5]). The album reached #12 in 1974, eventually going multi-platinum. In July of that year, Lynyrd Skynyrd was one of the headline acts at The Ozark Music Festival at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, Missouri.

In 1975, Burns left the band and was replaced by Kentucky native Artimus Pyle on drums. Lynyrd Skynyrd's third album, Nuthin' Fancy, was released the same year, though guitarist Ed King left midway through the tour. In December 1975, backup singers Leslie Hawkins, Cassie Gaines and JoJo Billingsley (collectively known as The Honkettes) were added to the band, and guitarist Steve Gaines, brother of Cassie Gaines, replaced King in 1976. Lynyrd Skynyrd's fourth album Gimme Back My Bullets was released that year, but did not achieve the same success as the previous two albums. Despite this, the band recorded the double-live album One More From the Road in Atlanta, Georgia, and toured the UK with The Rolling Stones.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's sixth album, Street Survivors was released on October 17, 1977. It would be the final album by the "classic" line-up, and featured an image of the band members surrounded by flames.

[edit] Plane crash (1977)

Maps & Satellite Photos of N55VM Crash Site 31°04′19″N, 90°35′57″W[6]

On Thursday, October 20, 1977, just three days after the release of Street Survivors, and three dates into their most successful headlining tour to date, Lynyrd Skynyrd's chartered Convair 240 developed mechanical difficulties near the end of their flight from Greenville, South Carolina to LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Though the pilots attempted an emergency landing on a small airstrip, the plane ran out of fuel and crashed in a forest near Gillsburg, Mississippi. Singer/songwriter Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist/vocalist Steve Gaines, backing vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray were all killed on impact. Other band members were injured, some seriously. Drummer Artimus Pyle crawled out of the plane wreckage with several broken ribs, but was able to walk, as were road crew members Kenneth Peden Jr. and Mark Frank. The three injured men hiked some distance from the crash site, through swampy woods, and finally flagged down farmer Johnny Mote, who had come to investigate. Varying accounts have Mote either firing a warning shot into the air or actually shooting Pyle in the shoulder — no report is completely reliable. Pyle claimed in a February 2007 appearance on Howard Stern's Sirius radio program that Mote had shot him; Mote has always denied shooting the drummer. Video of a barechested Pyle at the 1979 Volunteer Jam does not show evidence of a gunshot wound.

N55VM

Summary
Date	October 20, 1977
Type	Stalled due to Fuel Exhaustion, destroyed on impact during emergency landing attempt.
Site	Heavily-wooded Swamp, five miles northeast of Gillsburg, Mississippi
Passengers	24
Crew	2
Fatalities	6
Survivors	20
Aircraft type	Convair CV-240 manufactured in 1947
Operator	L & J Company of Addison, Texas
Tail number	N55VM
Flight origin	Greenville, South Carolina
Stopover	McComb-Pike County Airport, Pike County, Mississippi (emergency attempt)
Destination	Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Medical personnel arrived and began to ferry out the injured and the dead. Victims were taken to the hospital in McComb, Mississippi by ambulances and other vehicles. Allen Collins suffered two cracked vertebrae in his neck, and both Collins and Leon Wilkeson nearly had arms amputated as a result of crash injuries. Wilkeson suffered severe internal injuries, including a punctured lung, and had most of his teeth knocked out. Gary Rossington broke both his arms and both his legs in the crash, and took many months to recuperate. Leslie Hawkins sustained a concussion (which led to ongoing neurological problems), broke her neck in three places and had severe facial lacerations. Road crew member Steve Lawler suffered severe contusions and facial lacerations. Security manager Gene Odom was seriously burned on his arm and face and lost the sight in one eye as a result of an emergency flare on board the plane that was activated during the crash. Keyboardist Billy Powell's nose was nearly torn off as he suffered severe facial lacerations, and he later caused a controversy by giving a lurid account of Cassie Gaines' final moments on a VH-1 Behind The Music special about the band, claiming that the backing singer's throat was cut from ear to ear and that she bled to death in his arms. Powell also claimed that Ronnie Van Zant's head had been smashed. Powell's version of events has been discounted by both Artimus Pyle and Judy Van Zant Jenness, who posted the autopsy reports on the band's website in early 1998 in order to set the record straight. ^[7] Despite this faux pas, Powell has been on good terms with the remaining band members since the incident.

Notably, the third member of The Honkettes, JoJo Billingsley, was not on the plane and in fact was home tending to a family member's illness. ^[8] She was planning to join the tour in Little Rock, Arkansas on October 23. Billingsley claimed that she had dreamed of the plane crash and begged Allen Collins by telephone not to continue using the Convair. ^[9] On hearing of the accident, Billingsley was so shaken that some of her hair fell out.

The Convair 240 itself had been inspected by members of Aerosmith's flight crew for possible use in the early summer of 1977, but was rejected because it was felt that neither the plane nor the crew were up to standards. Aerosmith's assistant chief of flight operations Zunk Buker tells of seeing pilots McCreary and Gray trading a bottle of Jack Daniel's back and forth while he and his father were inspecting the plane. Aerosmith's touring family was also relieved because the band, specifically Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, had been trying to pressure their management into renting that specific plane. ^[10]

"The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of this accident was fuel exhaustion and total loss of power from both engines due to crew inattention to fuel supply. Contributing to the fuel exhaustion were inadequate flight planning and an engine malfunction of undetermined nature in the right engine which resulted in higher-than-normal fuel consumption."

—NTSB Accident Report[11]

It was known that the right engine's magneto — a small power generator that provides spark and timing for the engine — had been malfunctioning (Powell, among others, spoke of seeing flames shooting out of the right engine on a trip just prior to the accident), and that pilots McCreary and Gray had intended to repair the damaged part when the traveling party arrived in Baton Rouge. Cassie Gaines was reportedly so fearful of flying in the Convair that she offered to ride in the band's equipment truck instead; Ronnie Van Zant had talked her onto the airplane on October 20. ^[9] It is possible that the damaged magneto fooled the pilots into creating an exceptionally rich fuel mixture, causing the Convair to run out of fuel. It was suggested on the VH-1 Behind The Music profile on Skynyrd that the pilots, panicking when the right engine failed, accidentally dumped the remaining fuel. Pyle maintains in the Howard Stern interview that the fuel gauge in the older model plane malfunctioned and the pilots had failed to manually check the tanks before taking off, although it is common practice in all but the largest transport-category aircraft to manually check fuel quantities to verify fuel gauge indications.

Lynyrd Skynyrd disbanded after the tragedy (although the surviving members, plus Judy Van Zant and Teresa Gaines, reunited to perform an instrumental version of "Free Bird" at Charlie Daniels' Volunteer Jam in January 1979). 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 of 1978.

MCA Records withdrew the original cover sleeve of Street Survivors and replaced it with a similar image of the band against a simple black background out of respect for the deceased.^[12] Thirty years later, the original "flames" cover was restored.

[edit] Hiatus (1977–1987)

Rossington and Collins formed The Rossington-Collins Band between 1980 and 1982, releasing two albums. Pyle formed The Artimus Pyle Band in 1982. Collins formed The Allen Collins Band in 1983. Tragedy struck the band again in 1986 when Collins crashed his car while driving drunk near his home in Jacksonville, killing his girlfriend and leaving him permanently paralyzed from the waist down. During the hiatus era, Billy Powell played keyboards in a Christian Rock band named Vision. The group toured with established Christian rocker Mylon LeFevre. During Vision concerts, Powell's trademark keyboard talent was often spotlighted and he spoke about his conversion to Christianity after the near-fatal plane crash.

[edit] Reunion years (1987–present)

In 1987, Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited for a full-scale tour with crash survivors Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson and Artimus Pyle and former guitarist Ed King. 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. 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. As part of the settlement, Jenness and Rapp collect nearly 30% of the band's touring revenues (representing the shares their husbands would have earned had they lived), and hold a proviso which forces any band touring as "Lynyrd Skynyrd" to contain at least two members of the pre-crash lineup. Since Collins and Wilkeson are now dead, Ed King unable to tour due to ongoing heart problems, and Pyle on the outs with the others and facing his own legal problems, that leaves Gary Rossington and Billy Powell as the Skynyrd standard-bearers.

Wilkeson's long time friend Byron "Red" Glover, was Skynyrd's fill-in guitarist and functioned as a substitute when needed. During several concerts, Red was dragged up on stage by Wilkeson to play with the band.

The reconstituted Lynyrd Skynyrd has gone through several lineup changes and continues to record and tour today. Leon Wilkeson, Skynyrd's bassist since 1972, was found dead in his hotel room due to liver / lung disease on July 27, 2001. The remaining members released a double album called Thyrty which had songs from the original line up to the present. Lynyrd Skynyrd also released a live DVD of their Vicious Cycle Tour and on June 22, 2004 Lynyrd Skynyrd released the album Lyve: The Vicious Cycle Tour. On December 10, 2004 Lynyrd Skynyrd did a show for CMT, Crossroads, a concert featuring country duo Montgomery Gentry and other genres of music.

In the beginning of 2005 Hughie Thomasson left the band to pursue other musical opportunites. On February 5, 2005 Lynyrd Skynyrd did a Super Bowl party back in Jacksonville with special guests 3 Doors Down, Jo Dee Messina, Charlie Daniels and Ronnie and Johnny Van Zant's brother Donnie Van Zant of .38 Special. On February 13 of that year Lynyrd Skynyrd did a tribute to Southern Rock on the Grammy Awards with Gretchen Wilson, Tim McGraw and Keith Urban. On May 10, 2005 Johnny and Donnie Van Zant released a country album called Get Right With The Man which featured the hit single "Help Somebody". In the summer of 2005, lead singer Johnny Van Zant had to have surgery on his vocal cord to have a polyp removed. He was told not to sing for three months. On September 10, 2005 Lynyrd Skynyrd performed without Johnny Van Zant at the Music Relief Concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, with Kid Rock standing in for Johnny. In December of 2005, Johnny Van Zant returned to sing for Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The band performed live at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky as a part of their 2007 tour. The concert was recorded in high definition for HDNet and premiered on December 1, 2007.

On September 9, 2007, former Skynyrd guitarist Hughie Thomasson died of a heart attack at his home in Florida.

On November 2, 2007, the band performed at Gator Growl, the world's largest student-run pep rally, in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium - also known as "The Swamp." The event's 50,000 person attendance marked the largest crowd that Lynyrd Skynyrd had ever played in front of in the United States; Until Bama Jam in Alabama where more than 111,000 people were in attendance.^[13]

It was announced on Lynyrd Skynyrd's official website that they are in the process of recording a new album. It is confirmed to have a recording of pre-crash Skynyrd lineup that was previously unreleased. It is expected to be released by early 2009.

[edit] Tours

• 1973 Tour (part of The Who's Quadrophenia Tour)
• The Torture Tour
• Bullets America '76 Tour
• One More From The Road Tour
• Street Survivors Tour (tour was cancelled after a few dates due to the plane crash)
• Tour Of The Survivors/1987 Reunion Tour
• 1997 Tour
• Edge Of Forever Tour
• European Tour 2000
• North American Tour 2001
• Vicious Cycle Tour
• Gimme 3 Days/Double Trouble Tour 2005
• 2007 Tour
• Rowdy Fryns Tour 2008
• 2008 Tour

[edit] Recognition

[edit] Honors

In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked the group #95 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[14][15]

[edit] Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

On November 28, 2005, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced that Lynyrd Skynyrd would be inducted alongside Black Sabbath, Blondie, Miles Davis, and the Sex Pistols. They were inducted in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on March 13, 2006. Lynyrd Skynyrd had been nominated 7 times.

On March 13, 2006, Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the 21st annual induction ceremony. The inductees included Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist and songwriter), Allen Collins (songwriting and guitars), Steve Gaines (vocals, guitars and songwriting), Ed King (backing vocals, guitars and songwriting), Gary Rossington (guitars and songwriting), Billy Powell (keyboards), Leon Wilkeson (backing vocals, bass guitar and songwriting), Bob Burns (drums, percussion), and Artimus Pyle (drums, percussion and backing vocals). The current version of Skynyrd, augmented by King, Pyle, Burns and former Honkettes JoJo Billingsley and Leslie Hawkins, performed "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird" at the ceremony, which was also attended by Judy Van Zant Jenness and Ronnie's two daughters, Teresa Gaines Rapp and her daughter Corinna, Allen Collins' daughters, and Leon Wilkeson's mother.

[edit] Tributes

• In 1994, various country music artists united to record a Skynyrd tribute album titled Skynyrd Frynds.
• Ronnie Van Zant's widow, Judy Van Zant Jenness, operates a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute website for the educational purpose of sharing the original Lynyrd Skynyrd band's history^[16], as well as Freebird Live^[17], a live music venue in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
• Kid Rock would cover Free Bird in concert with either an image on the confederate flag or a picture of Ronnie Van Zant showing behind him. Van Zant was also featured in a tribute video on Kid Rock's 2006 tour to the song Drift Away which included deceased musical icons. Kid Rock's 2008 hit song, "All Summer Long", samples both Sweet Home Alabama and Warren Zevon's Werewolves of London.
• When Skynyrd plays "Travellin' Man", a screen drops behind the band during the second verse and you see Ronnie singing it.
• Lynyrd Skynyrd was mentioned in the blockbuster hit Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby where John C. Reilly says, "I like to think of Jesus like with giant eagles wings, and singin' lead vocals for Lynyrd Skynyrd with like an angel band and I'm in the front row and I'm hammered drunk!"
• The Drive By Truckers dedicated their album Southern Rock Opera to Lynyrd Skynyrd.^[18]

[edit] Discography

Main article: Lynyrd Skynyrd discography

[edit] Studio albums

Year	Title	Certifications[19]
1973	(pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd)	2x platinum (USA)
1974	Second Helping	2x platinum (USA)
1975	Nuthin' Fancy	Platinum (USA)
1976	Gimme Back My Bullets	Gold (USA)
1977	Street Survivors	2x platinum (USA)
1991	Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991	—
1993	The Last Rebel	—
1997	Twenty	—
1999	Edge of Forever	—
2000	Christmas Time Again	—
2003	Vicious Cycle	—
" — " denotes albums that weren't certified.

And it is slated under Metacritic (http://www.metacritic.com/music/upcomingreleases.shtml) that in 2009 they are to be releasing a new album.

[edit] References

[edit] Works cited

• Brant, Marley. Freebirds: The Lynyrd Skynyrd Story. Billboard Books; New York, New York; 2002. ISBN 0-8230-8321-7.

[edit] External links

• Official Lynyrd Skynyrd website
• Lynyrd Skynyrd at MySpace
• Official Lynyrd Skynyrd History site
• The Official Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash Web Site
• Lynyrd Skynyrd - Verboo Article
• Lynyrd Skynyrd and Neil Young: Friends or Foes?
• Wall Street Journal: Rock's Oldest Joke: Yelling "Free Bird!" In a Crowded Theater
• NTSB brief of crash
• Ronnie Van Zant "A Big Man"'
• Boston Phoenix article naming Lynyrd Skynyrd the All-Time Best Band from Florida
• Works by or about Lynyrd Skynyrd in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

v • d • e Lynyrd Skynyrd Johnny Van Zant · Gary Rossington · Billy Powell · Ean Evans · Rickey Medlocke · Michael Cartellone Ronnie Van Zant · Allen Collins · Bob Burns · Larry Junstrom · Leon Wilkeson · Ed King · Artimus Pyle · Steve Gaines · Cassie Gaines · Randall Hall · Hughie Thomasson Studio albums (pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd) · Second Helping · Nuthin' Fancy · Gimme Back My Bullets · Street Survivors · Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 · The Last Rebel · Twenty · Edge of Forever · Vicious Cycle Live albums One More from the Road · Southern By the Grace of God · Lyve from Steel Town · Lynyrd Skynyrd Lyve: The Vicious Cycle Tour Compilations 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Lynyrd Skynyrd · All Time Greatest Hits · Boxed Set · The Best of the Rest · Endangered Species · The Essential Lynyrd Skynyrd · Gold & Platinum · Greatest Hits · Legend · Lynyrd Skynyrd · Skynyrd's First: The Complete Muscle Shoals Album · Skynyrd's First And... Last · Skynyrd's Innyrds · Old Time Greats · A Retrospective · Solo Flytes · Then and Now · Then And Now, Vol. 2 · Thyrty The 30th Anniversary Collection · What's Your Name Video Freebird... The Movie Spin-off bands The Rossington-Collins Band · Allen Collins Band · .38 Special · Van Zant · Artimus Pyle Band Related articles Discography · Band Members · Skynyrd Frynds

v • d • e Lynyrd Skynyrd Singles Singles "Michelle / Need All My Friends" · "Gimme Three Steps / Mr. Banker" · "Don't Ask Me No Questions / Take Your Time" · "Sweet Home Alabama" · "Take Your Time (demo)" · "Free Bird" / "Down South Jukin" · "Saturday Night Special / Made In The Shade" · "Double Trouble / Roll Gypsy Roll" · "Gimme Back My Bullets / All I Can Do Is Write About It" · "Gimme Three Steps (live) / Travellin' Man (live)" · "What's Your Name? / I Know A Little" · "You Got That Right / Ain't No Good Life" · "Down South Jukin / Wino" · "Truck Drivin' Man" · "Swamp Music" · "Smokestack Lightning" · "Keeping The Faith" · "Good Lovin's Hard To Find" · "Born To Run" · "Travelin' Man" · "Bring It On" · "Preacher Man" · "Red White And Blue" · "Sammy Del. SWR"/ "street survivors"