Lynyrd Skynyrd

Early years (1963–1973)

Allen Collins received his first guitar in 1963 and was later in a band called The Mods in Jacksonville, Florida. The Mods' membership included J.R. Rice and Larry Steele. In early 1964, Ronnie Van Zant joined another local band, The Squires, which he soon renamed to Us. That year, at a local 'Battle of the Bands', Us performed against The Mods and won the competition. Van Zant, however, left Us shortly afterward. In the early summer of 1964, bassist Larry Junstrom, drummer Bob Burns, and guitarist Gary Rossington formed a trio called Me, You, and Him.

Double Trouble

"Double Trouble" is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, written by Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins, which was recorded in 1975. It appears on the band fourth album, Gimme Back My Bullets, and was released as a single in the United States.

It peaked at number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 86 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles.

Gimme Three Steps

"Gimme Three Steps" is a song by American southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released from the band's debut album, (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) (1973). It was written by bandmates Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant.

Composition, lyrics and reception

Band member Gary Rossington based the lyrics on a real-life experience Ronnie Van Zant had at a bar in Jacksonville, Florida, having a gun pulled on him for dancing with another man's woman. While the narrator dances with a girl named Linda Lou at a bar called The Jug, a man (either the girl's boyfriend or husband) armed with a .44 revolver enters and catches them, angrily believing her to be cheating and threatening the narrator's life. In the chorus, the narrator protests that he has not even kissed Linda Lou and begs the man to give him a head start out of the bar: "Won't you give me three steps / Gimme three steps, mister / Gimme three steps towards the door? / Gimme three steps / Gimme three steps, mister / And you'll never see me no...

Saturday Night Special

"Saturday Night Special" is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. It is the opening track on their album Nuthin' Fancy.

The song addresses fatal tragedies involving guns.

Reception

Billboard called the song "ominous sounding", and said that the lyrics contain "interesting social commentary". Cash Box said it had a "stinging, vital" and "brash and bawdy sound manifested in the sneering vocals of Ronnie Van Zant and the razor sharp interplay between three guitars."

Cover versions

Country singer Waylon Jennings recorded the song in the 1970s and is set to be released on the posthumous album Diamonds in 2026 as the album's 2nd track.

In popular culture

"Saturday Night Special" is on the soundtrack of the 1978 movie Blue Collar, starring Richard Pryor, Yaphet Kotto and Harvey Keitel.

That Smell

"That Smell" is a song by the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, written by two band members, vocalist Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Allen Collins. JoJo Billingsley also allegedly took part in the writing; however, she was never credited.

It was said Ronnie claimed he wanted to fix it. Gene Odom, roadie and childhood friend of Ronnie Van Zant confirmed JoJo as a co-writer.

What's Your Name

"What's Your Name" is a Southern rock song by Lynyrd Skynyrd, the opening track on their album Street Survivors. It peaked at No. 13 on the U.S.

Billboard Hot 100 and No. 6 in Canada.

Background

Lynyrd Skynyrd lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Gary Rossington wrote "What's Your Name" while in Miami with producer Tom Dowd and Booker T. & the M.G.'s guitarist Steve Cropper. The lyrics depict life on tour for a band and its entourage, and one of the verses is based on a true story of the band drinking at their hotel bar during a tour when one of their roadies got into a fight. The band got kicked out of the bar, but they went into another room and ordered champagne. However, unlike the song suggests, the incident did not happen in the city of Boise, Idaho. Instead, when Van Zant found out that the band 38 Special (led by his younger brother Donnie) was starting its first national tour in that city, the lyric was changed.

Reception

Billboard praised the "strong, accessible melody" and the "excellent instrumentation." Cash Box said that it "tells the standard 'rock and rollers on the road' story with a punchy lyric and a rousing beat." Record World said that "it rocks with authority, powered by a driving brass section and Van Zant's ironic vocal work."

Music video

The music video, released after the plane crash that killed several band members, depicts Ronnie's brother Johnny along with a newly reformed Lynyrd Skynyrd live in concert (presumably at the Pensacola Civic Center as the video suggests). Interspersed within are shots of the road crew setting up for the show and the musicians tuning their instruments, having makeup done, meeting with fans, autographing albums and playing baseball together. At the end of the video, a hat in the style of Ronnie's trademark "High Roller" look is seen atop a microphone stand as a tribute to him.

You Got That Right

"You Got That Right" is a song written by Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines, who also trade off vocals on the song. It was recorded by the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd for their last studio album before the plane crash that killed both Van Zant and Gaines, Street Survivors, and released as a single in 1978.

The single peaked at No. 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the week of April 29, 1978. According to Billboard Magazine, "You Got That Right" contains "plenty of sparkling guitar and keyboard riffs." Cash Box said that it has "tough vocals, strong sliding guitar work, boogie beat, sparkling piano licks and tight hook." Record World said that "this tight, wisp rock 'n' roll song should stand as one of Lynyrd Skynyrd's best tracks."

Free Bird

"Free Bird", also spelled as one word "Freebird", is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, written by guitarist Allen Collins and lead singer Ronnie Van Zant. The song was released on their 1973 debut studio album.

Released as a single in November 1974, "Free Bird" debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 on November 23 at No. 87 and became the band's second Top 40 hit in early 1975, peaking at No. 19 on January 25. A live version of the song, recorded at Atlanta's Fox Theater and included on the album One More from the Road, re-entered the charts in late 1976, eventually peaking at No. 38 in January 1977.

Reception

Upon the single release, Record World said that the band "sees this country-tinged tune soar to further feather their hit nest."

Legacy

On Skynyrd's first live album, 1976's One More from the Road, Van Zant can be heard asking the crowd, "What song is it you want to hear?" The calls for "Free Bird" led into a fourteen-and-a-half-minute rendition of the song. It has become something of a humorous tradition for audience members at concerts to shout "Free Bird!" as a request to hear the song, regardless of the performer or style of music. For example, during Nirvana's 1993 MTV Unplugged in New York show, a shout-out for "Free Bird!" eventually resulted in a lyrically slurred, if short, rendition of "Sweet Home Alabama". An attendee of a Bob Dylan concert on June 9, 2016 in Berkeley, California, shouted during the last encore for "Free Bird" to be played, and Dylan and his...

Notable cover versions

A medley by the dance-pop band Will to Power combined "Free Bird" with the Peter Frampton song "Baby, I Love Your Way" in 1988. Titled "Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley," the song spent one week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

In popular culture

In the 1994 film Forrest Gump, the song is featured in the scene when Jenny is out on the balcony, about to jump.

Tuesday's Gone

"Tuesday's Gone" is the second track on Lynyrd Skynyrd's debut album, (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd). It also appears on the band's first live LP, One More from the Road.

Simple Man

"Simple Man" is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on their debut studio album, (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) (1973).

Sweet Home Alabama

"Sweet Home Alabama" is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on the band's second album Second Helping (1974). It was written in response to Neil Young's songs "Southern Man" and "Alabama", which the band felt blamed the entire Southern United States for slavery; Young is name-checked and dissed in the lyrics.

It reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1974, becoming the band's highest-charting single.

Background and recording

None of the three writers of the song were from Alabama; Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington were both born in Jacksonville, Florida, while Ed King was from Glendale, California. In an interview with Garden & Gun, Rossington explained the writing process: "I had this little riff. It's the little picking part and I kept playing it over and over when we were waiting on everyone to arrive for rehearsal. Ronnie and I were sitting there, and he kept saying, 'play that again'. Then Ronnie wrote the lyrics and Ed and I wrote the music."

Release

"Sweet Home Alabama" was a major chart hit for a band whose previous singles had "lazily sauntered out into release with no particular intent." The hit led to two television rock show offers that the band declined. In addition to the original appearance on Second Helping, the song has appeared on numerous Lynyrd Skynyrd compilations and live albums.

The Ballad Of Curtis Loew

"The Ballad of Curtis Loew" is a song written by Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant and recorded by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The song was first released on the band's 1974 album, Second Helping and again on their compilation, The Essential Lynyrd Skynyrd and later on All Time Greatest Hits.

It is on many of their compilation albums and before the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash, was performed once live on stage. Ed King says, "The original version of the band only played 'Curtis Loew' one time on stage.

Cover versions

In 2016, Greensky Bluegrass, joined onstage by Jerry Douglas, covered the song at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.