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Lynyrd Skynyrd

May 15, 2014 by strictlyrock Leave a Comment

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When friends Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington and Allen Collins came together to form a band in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964 they couldn’t have possibly known they were laying the foundation for what would become one of the most successful southern rock bands of all time. The next year Larry Junstrom and Bob Burns joined and the group played shows throughout Florida and its neighboring states. In 1970 keyboardist Billy Powell came on board and the band became known as Leonard Skinnerd, which was reportedly a reference to a former high school gym teacher of a similar name. The band continued to perform and Leon Wilkenson soon replaced Larry Junstrom in 1972. The band went about recording their first album and they were soon signed to MCA Records.

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Leonard Skinnerd, which also included guitarist Ed King, changed their name to Lynyrd Skynyrd and released their debut album “Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd,” on January 1st, 1973, which should have cleared up any confusion. The debut album produced the now unquestionable rock classics “Gimme Three Steps,” “Tuesday’s Gone,” “Simple Man,” and the unforgettable “Free Bird.” Although the album only rose to the #27 spot on the charts, it eventually sold more than 2 million copies and ranked #401 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.“ If releasing an epic first album hadn’t gotten fans attention, touring with The Who on their US Quadrophenia tour surely did.

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The band released the album “Second Helping,” on April 15th, 1974. The album produced the band’s biggest single “Sweet Home Alabama,” which reached #8 on the charts. The record itself made it to the #12 spot on the charts and eventually sold more than 2 million copies in the US alone. Bob Burns was soon replaced by Artimus Pyle and the band released the album “Nuthin’ Fancy,” on March 24th, 1975. The record didn’t sell as well as their previous attempts, but with the help of the now classic song “Saturday Night Special,” reached #9 on the charts. Leslie Hawkins, Cassie Caines and JoJo Billingsley started working with the group and Lynyrd Skynyrd released “Gimme Back My Bullets,” on February 2nd, 1976, which featured the album’s title track “Gimme Back My Bullets,” as well as others.

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Steve Gaines, who was the younger brother of back up singer Cassie Gaines joined the band and “Street Survivors,” was released on October 17th, 1977. The album included the now famous single “That Smell.” Ironically, “…Survivors” would be the last album to feature the band in its original form. Tragically, on October 20th, 1977, just 3 days after the album’s release, the plane on which the band was flying, crashed, killing Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines as well as the band’s road manager and the flight’s pilot and co pilot. Understandably the remaining members who survived the crash with serious injuries decided to disband.

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Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkenson, Artiums Pyle, and Ed King reformed Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1987 with Ronnie’s younger brother Johnny Van Zant taking over as lead singer. Allen Collins had been in a horrible automobile accident that left him paralyzed the year before, and was unable to rejoin the band fully. Since their reunion the band has continued to tour and release albums, but has taken on many different forms. On November 28th, 2005, Lynyrd Skynyrd, which included memebers Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Gary Rossington, Ed King, Steve Gaines, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkenson, Bob Burns, and Artimus Pyle, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band is currently active and touring and now consists of Gary Rossington, Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Mark “Spanky” Matejka, Michael Cartellone, Robert Kearns, Peter Keys, and the “Honkettes” (Dale Krantz Rossington and Carol Chase).

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100 Greatest Rock & Roll Bands

  1. The Beatles
  2. The Rolling Stones
  3. Led Zeppelin
  4. Jimi Hendrix
  5. Elvis Presley
  6. The Who
  7. U2
  8. Pink Floyd
  9. The Doors
  10. The Police
  11. Elton John
  12. Metallica
  13. AC/DC
  14. Van Halen
  15. Nirvana
  16. Guns N' Roses
  17. Santana
  18. The Allman Brothers Band
  19. Bon Jovi
  20. David Bowie
  21. Grateful Dead
  22. Rush
  23. Yes
  24. Black Sabbath
  25. Bob Dylan
  26. James Brown
  27. The Beach Boys
  28. Eric Clapton
  29. Fleetwood Mac
  30. The Eagles
  31. Bob Marley
  32. Van Morrison
  33. Bruce Springsteen
  34. The Clash
  35. Queen
  36. Janis Joplin
  37. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
  38. R.E.M.
  39. The Kinks
  40. Steely Dan
  41. Steve Miller Band
  42. Jethro Tull
  43. Tool
  44. The Scorpions
  45. Coldplay
  46. Stone Temple Pilots
  47. Rod Stewart
  48. Marilyn Manson
  49. Creedence Clearwater Revival
  50. KISS
  51. The Pretenders
  52. Green Day
  53. Aerosmith
  54. Tina Turner
  55. Pearl Jam
  56. Ted Nugent
  57. Pantera
  58. Motörhead
  59. Judas Priest
  60. ZZ Top
  61. Megadeth
  62. Motley Crue
  63. Alice Cooper
  64. Def Leppard
  65. Iron Maiden
  66. Billy Idol
  67. Journey
  68. Anthrax
  69. Rage Against the Machine
  70. Blue Oyster Cult
  71. Alice in Chains
  72. Genesis
  73. Red Hot Chili Peppers
  74. Chuck Berry
  75. Buddy Holly
  76. Little Richard
  77. Elvis Costello
  78. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
  79. Sex Pistols
  80. Cream
  81. Frank Zappa
  82. Talking Heads
  83. Stevie Ray Vaughan
  84. Billy Joel
  85. The Band
  86. Ramones
  87. Lynyrd Skynyrd
  88. Jerry Lee Lewis
  89. Doobie Brothers
  90. Foo Fighters
  91. The Cure
  92. Soundgarden
  93. Iggy Pop
  94. Peter Gabriel
  95. The Byrds
  96. Traffic
  97. Deep Purple
  98. Blondie
  99. Velvet Underground
  100. Heart

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