Lynyrd Skynyrd TShirTS,

Lynyrd Skynyrd PosTerS

'What song is it you wanna hear?'

MuSicCenTraL

Band and Artist TShirTS

Lynyrd Skynyrd is a U.S. Southern rock band, described by All Music Guide's Stephen Thomas Erlewine as "the definitive Southern rock band, fusing the overdriven power of blues-rock with a rebellious, Southern image and a hard rock swagger. Lynyrd Skynyrd reached prominence during the 1970s under the leadership of vocalist and primary songwriter Ronnie Van Zant until he died, along with several other members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, in a plane crash in 1977 in McComb, Mississippi.

Lynyrd Skynyrd was named after Leonard Skinner, an annoying gym teacher/coach some of the members had in high school. Leonard is said to have moved on to sell real estate in Jacksonville, Florida. Lynyrd Skynyrd was one of the most critically acclaimed Southern Rock groups (although the term did not exist at the time they formed) of the 1970s and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as of March 13, 2006. Lynyrd Skynyrd's distinctive triple-lead guitar sound made their songs "Free Bird", and "Sweet Home Alabama" American anthems and staples of FM radio. Lynyrd Skynyrd Members inducted include: singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarists Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Ed King, and Steve Gaines, bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboard player Billy Powell, and drummers Bob Burns and Artimus Pyle.

Musician, songwriter, and producer Al Kooper of Blood, Sweat, and Tears was impressed with Lynyrd Skynyrd during a performance at an Atlanta club called Funocchio's in 1972, and signed them to MCA Records. He produced their first album, 1973's (pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd), which featured the song "Free Bird". "Free Bird" began to receive national airplay, eventually reaching #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's fan base continued to grow rapidly during 1973, due in large part to their opening slot on The Who's Quadrophenia tour in the U.S. Lynyrd Skynyrd's second album, 1974's Second Helping, was Lynyrd Skynyrd's breakthrough hit. It featured their most popular single "Sweet Home Alabama" (#8 on the charts in August 1974), a tongue in cheek answer song to Neil Young's "Alabama" and "Southern Man". Today, Young claims that he and Van Zant were not rivals, that they were actually fans of each other's music and good friends, and that they had talked of collaborations together. Neil Young was going to give his song "Powderfinger" to Lynyrd Skynyrd to perform, a fact which Young has never denied.. Unfortunately, the Skynyrd plane crash happened just months after that song was penned, leading Neil Young to perform the song himself on his 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps. Young has occasionally included the chorus from "Sweet Home Alabama" as a tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd at his own live concerts, including at Young's first live performance following Van Zant's death. Finally, one of the last photos of Ronnie Van Zant prior to his passing features the frontman wearing a Neil Young t-shirt.

Second Helping reached #12 in 1974, eventually going multi-platinum. In July 1974. Lynyrd Skynyrd was one of the headline acts at The Ozark Music Festival, at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia Missouri. Some estimates have put the crowd count at 350,000 people which would make this one of the largest music events in history. Lynyrd Skynyrd also toured the UK in 1975 with Golden Earring and in 1976 with The Rolling Stones.

In 1975, Burns left Lynyrd Skynyrd and was replaced by North Carolina drummer Artimus Pyle. The new Lynyrd Skynyrd lineup's first album, Nuthin' Fancy, was released, becoming their first Top Ten album. It features the hit song "Saturday Night Special" (#27 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart). Guitarist Ed King left Lynyrd Skynyrd midway throughout the Nuthin' Fancy tour. Lynyrd Skynyrd decided to continue on as a 6-piece, with only two guitarists.

Gimme Back My Bullets followed in 1976, but didn't reach the same success as the previous two albums. In December 1975, backup singers Leslie Hawkins, Cassie Gaines and JoJo Billingsley (collectively known as the Honkettes) were added to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Guitarist Steve Gaines, brother of backup singer Cassie Gaines, replaced King in 1976, just in time to record the double-live album One More from the Road, Lynyrd Skynyrd's second Top Ten hit. At its peak, Lynyrd Skynyrd's unique triple guitar style included one slide and a rocking Gibson Firebird. Adding to the wall of sound was the melodic bass playing, the wild yet rhythmic percussion section, Van Zant's strong vocals, and the furious keyboard/piano playing of Powell.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's sixth album, Street Survivors, was released in October of 1977. It would be the final album released by the original Lynyrd Skynyrd line-up.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's legend is grounded in a plane crash that occurred on October 20, 1977, three days after the release of Street Survivors. A chartered Convair 240, N55VM, carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina to LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana crashed near a forest in McComb, Mississippi. The crash killed singer/songwriter Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist/vocalist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray. Other Lynyrd Skynyrd members were injured, some very seriously. Drummer Artimus Pyle crawled out of the plane wreckage with several broken ribs, but was ambulatory, as were road crew members Kenneth Peden Jr. and Mark Frank.

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.

In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Lynyrd Skynyrd #95 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. ( personally I think they should be higher)

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. Lynyrd Skynyrd had been nominated 7 times.