Lynyrd Skynyrd: Top 30 Songs

Lynryd Skynyrd Top 30 Songs

Southern-rock group formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. They named themselves after founding members’ junior high school gym teacher, Leonard Skinner. Group disbanded in 1977 after Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines were killed in a plane crash. Rossington, Collins Powell and Wilkeson formed the Rossington Collins Band in 1979, which lasted until 1982. Ronnie’s younger brother, Johnny, revived Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1987. Members: Highlighted names indicate which members of the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Ronnie Van Zant (vocals: 1964-77). Died 1977. Gary Rossington (guitar: 1964-77,1987-2023). Died 2023. Allen Collins (guitar: 1964-77). Died 1990. Bob Burns (drums: 1964-71, 1972-74). Died 2015. Larry Junstrom (bass: 1964-71). Died 2019. Billy Powell (keyboards: 1972-77, 1987-2009). Died 2009. Rickey Medlocke (drums, vocals, mandolin: 1971-72), (guitar vocals, mandolin: 1996-present) Greg T. Walker (bass: 1971-72) Leon Wilkeson (bass: 1972-77, 1987-2001). Died 2001. Ed King (bass: 1972-75, 1987-96). Died 2018. Artimus Pyle (drum: 1975-77, 1987-91) Steve Gaines (guitar: 1976-77). Died 1977. Cassie Gaines (backing vox). Died 1977. Johnny Van Zant (vocals: 1987-present) Randall Hall (guitar: 1987-93) Kurt Custer (drums: 1991-94) Mike Estes (guitar: 1993-96) Owen Hale (drums: 1994-98) Hughie Thomasson (guitar: 1996-2005). Died 2007. Jeff McAllister (drums: 1998-99) Kenny Aronoff (drums: 1999) Michael Cartellone (drums: 1999-present) Ean Evans (bass: 2001-09). Died 2009. Mark Matejka (guitar, backing vocals: 2006-present) Peter Keys (keyboards: 2009-present) Robert Kearns (bass: 2009-12) Johnny Colt (bass: 2012-17) Keith Christopher (bass: 2017-present) For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry. Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists. Spotify Podcast: Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcast episode Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 10 Best Songs based on this list. Premiere: March 7, 2023 at 7pm CST. New episodes based on Dave’s Music Database lists are posted every Tuesday at 7pm CST.

Awards:

Top 30 Songs Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. DMDB Top 1%: 1. Sweet Home Alabama (1974) 2. Free Bird (1973) DMDB Top 5%: 3. What’s Your Name (1977) DMDB Top 10%: 4. Simple Man (1973) 5. Saturday Night Special (1975) 6. Gimme Three Steps (1973) 7. Call Me the Breeze (1974) DMDB Top 20%: 8. You Got That Right (1977) 9. Tuesday’s Gone (1973) 10. That Smell (1977) 11. Don’t Ask Me No Questions (1974) 12. Red, White and Blue (2003) 13. Gimme Back My Bullets (1976) 14. Swamp Music (1974) Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 15. Brickyard Road (Johnny Van Zant, 1990) 16. Double Trouble (1976) 17. The Ballad of Curtis Loew (1974) 18. Workin’ for MCA (1974) 19. Truck Drivin’ Man (1973) 20. I Ain’t the One (1973) 21. I Know a Little (1977) 22. Workin’ (1999) 23. Smokestack Lightnin’ (1991) 24. Heartbreak Hotel (1994) 25. Travelin’ Man (live, 1976) 26. Who’s Right or Wrong (Johnny Van Zant Band, 1981) 27. Help Somebody (Van Zant, 2005) 28. Preacher Man (1999) 29. Good Lovin’s Hard to Find (1993) 30. Keeping the Faith (1991) Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Lynyrd Skynyrd Dave’s Music Database: “Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists” First posted 3/7/2023; last updated 3/8/2023.

Lynyrd Skynyrd members died in a plane crash

October 20, 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd members killed in plane crash.

Lynyrd Skynyrd formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964 as My Backyard. Singer Ronnie Van Zant played in high school with guitarists Gary Rossington and Allen Collins. They changed the group’s name to Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1969, naming themselves after the Robert E. Lee High School’s physical education instructor Leonard Skinner as a means of getting even. He was not a fan of long hair and loud music and he played a hand in getting them suspended from school. From 1973 to 1977, the group released five albums that all reached at least gold status. They churned out classic-rock staples such as “Free Bird” and “Sweet Home Alabama” on their way to becoming the premiere Southern rock band. On October 20, 1977, the band chartered a twin-engine, propeller-driven Convair 240 out of Texas. They were headed from a Greenville, South Carolina show to a scheduled show in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The plane crashed in a wooded area near Gillsburg, Mississippi – reportedly due to fuel shortage. Of the 26 passengers on board, six were killed. They included Lynyrd Skynyrd’s singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and his sister and backup singer Cassie Gaines. They were all 28 years old. The group’s assistant road manager, Dean Kirkpatrick was also among the dead. Walter Wiley McCreary and William John Gray, the pilot and co-pilot, were also killed. Others were critically injured. The tragedy sidelined the band for a decade. In 1987, five of the members launched a full-scale reunion tour with Ronnie Van Zant’s brother Johnny taking over vocals. While intended as a one-time tribute, the band ended up returning to the studio in 1991 for a new album. While they endured many lineup changes over the years, Lynyrd Skynyrd would end up releasing nine more studio albums through 2012. For more important days in music history, check out the Dave’s Music Database history page. Resources and Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “History Index” SouthernTribute.com Southern Tribute to Lynyrd Skynrd: The Tragic Plane Crash Related Links: First posted 10/20/2011; last updated 10/6/2023.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's “Free Bird” flies on to the chart

Free Bird Lynyrd Skynyrd

Writer(s): Allen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant (see lyrics here) First Charted: November 16, 1974 Peak: 19 US, 25 CB, 24 GR, 31 HR, 1 CL, 21 UK, 47 CN, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.11 US, -- UK, 2.11 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 3.0 radio, 128.84 video, 348.6 streaming

Free Bird Arnold McCuller

Released: September 12, 2000 (album cut on Duets soundtrack) Peak: 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 3.0 radio, 0.07 video, -- streaming

Awards (Lynyrd Skynyrd): Click on award for more details. Awards (Arnold McCuller):

About the Song: It “has become a rock and roll joke” to shout out “Free Bird!” at concerts, SF but it is also a tribute to “a towering rock anthem crowned with the mother of all guitar solos” BBC that “has entered hard rock folklore.” HL The song “extend[ed] the influence of Southern rock...started by the Allman Brothers.” RS500 The song was, in fact, a tribute to Allman Brothers Duane Allman and Berry Oakley, DT who died in motorcycle crashes in 1971 and 1972 respectively. “‘Free Bird’ is the tale of a restless spirit attempting to explain to his sweetheart” HL “why he can’t settle down and make a commitment.” SF Guitarist Allen Collins’ “steady girlfriend, who realized that the band would always come first, kept asking him questions like, ‘If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?’” KN He worked on the song on and off for two years. SF When he “first brought it into rehearsals, volatile singer Ronnie Van Zandt was unenthusiastic, claiming it had too many chords.” BBC The band first recorded the song as a ballad BBC in 1972 that clocked in at 7 ½ minutes. SF Club audiences didn’t respond until “the climatic guitar duel” BBC was added to the end, stretching the song to 10 minutes. The “record company…thought it was too long [for a single]. Even the band never thought this was going to be a hit.” SF After “Sweet Home Alabama” was a chart success, an edited “Free Bird” was released, but “the long version from the album has always been more popular.” SF “When Skynyrd reformed in the late ‘80s it was performed as an instrumental, with an empty mic stand...adorned with Ronnie’s trademark cowboy hat” BBC as a memorial to him. He was killed in a plane crash in 1977 along with two other band members. In 2000, the movie Duets focused on karaoke competitions. One of the contestants, Reggie Kane (Andre Braugher), is a convict. While he is performing a stripped-down, emotional version of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” the police arrive to arrest him. Resources: BBC BBC Radio 2 (2004). “Sold on Song Top 100” HL Michael Heatley and Spencer Leigh (1998). Behind the Song: The Stories of 100 Great Pop & Rock Classics. London, England: Blandford Books. Page 104. KN Steve Knight (2007). “The Top 25 Rock Songs of All-Time are…” RS500 Rolling Stone (2004). “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time“ SF Songfacts DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 91. Related Links: Last updated 4/1/2023.