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 released “Sweet Home Alabama”

Sweet Home Alabama Lynyrd Skynyrd

Writer(s): Ed King/Gary Rossington/Ronnie Van Zant (see lyrics here) Released: June 24, 1974 First Charted: July 21, 1974 Peak: 8 US, 7 CB, 4 GR, 8 HR, 1 CL, 31 UK, 6 CN, 56 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 3.68 US, 0.6 UK, 4.42 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 2.0 radio, 231.0 video, 1153.04 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: This ode to the state of Alabama was written by three non-natives. Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington both hailed from Jacksonville, Florida, while Ed King was born in Glendale, California. According to Rossington, the three of them came up with the tune while waiting for the rest of the band to get to rehearsal. WK The song was written as a response to Neil Young’s “Southern Man” and “Alabama,” songs implying that American Southerners were “racist and stuck in the past.” SF Lynryd Skynyrd responded with “Sweet Home Alabama,” an ode to Southern pride and which included the comment “Well, I hope Neil Young will remember/ A Southern man don’t need him around anyhow.” In his 2012 autobiography Waging Heavy Peace, Young acknowledged he deserved the attack in regards to his song “Alabama,” admitting the words “are accusatory and condescending, not fully thought out, and too easy to misconstrue.” WK Young reportedly loved Lynyrd Skynyrd’s song, saying, “‘I’d rather play ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ than ‘Southern Man’ anytime’…The admiration was mutual; Van Zant wore a Young T-shirt on the cover of Skynyrd’s final album, Street Survivors, and according to legend, he is buried in the shirt.” RS500 Lynyrd Skynyrd stirred controversy with lyrics misinterpreted as supportive of George Wallace, the Governor of Alabama and noted supporter of segregation. WK A line seemingly dismissing the Watergate scandal has been interpreted as a commentary by the band that the South wouldn’t judge all northerners by the failure of their leaders in Watergate and that Southerners shouldn’t all be lumped together as contributing to racial problems. WK Resources: 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 229. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 150. WK Wikipedia Related Links: Last updated 9/5/2023.