Artists & Legends
Three guitars, one voice, and a song about home that answered back.
Oldies Music Timeline
Photo: MCA Records (Billboard trade advertisement, 19 November 1977), via Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain in the United States.
Lynyrd Skynyrd are an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, best known for popularising Southern rock during the 1970s with “Free Bird” and “Sweet Home Alabama”. Their classic era ended in a plane crash in 1977; ten years later they reunited, and they have continued ever since.
At a Glance
- Formed: Summer 1964, Jacksonville, Florida, as My Backyard
- Original members: Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass), Bob Burns (drums)
- Genre: Southern rock
- Active: 1964–1977; 1979 (one-off); 1987–present
- Breakthrough: Debut album (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd) (1973); “Sweet Home Alabama” (1974)
- Studio albums: 14, from (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd) (1973) to Last of a Dyin’ Breed (2012)
The Biography
Jacksonville, 1964
In the summer of 1964, teenage friends Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins and Gary Rossington formed a band in Jacksonville, Florida, originally called My Backyard, with Larry Junstrom and Bob Burns. They settled on the name Lynyrd Skynyrd in the late 1960s — a playful jab at their gym teacher, Leonard Skinner, who hassled them for their long hair. Producer and musician Al Kooper discovered them at a gig in Atlanta in 1972, signed them to MCA Records, and produced their debut album.
The classic albums
The debut album, (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd), was released on 13 August 1973, featuring “Gimme Three Steps”, “Simple Man”, “Tuesday’s Gone” and “Free Bird”. Their second album, Second Helping (15 April 1974), became their breakthrough, featuring “Sweet Home Alabama” — a response to Neil Young’s “Southern Man” — and reached No. 12. Nuthin’ Fancy followed in 1975 and became the band’s first Top Ten album, and Gimme Back My Bullets in 1976. Guitarist Steve Gaines joined in June 1976, and the live album One More from the Road was released the same year.
The crash
The band released its sixth album, Street Survivors, on 17 October 1977. Three days later, on 20 October 1977, their chartered Convair CV-240 ran out of fuel and crashed in a forest near Gillsburg, Mississippi, on a flight from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and backing singer Cassie Gaines were killed, along with assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick and the pilot and co-pilot; the other band members were seriously injured. The original cover of Street Survivors, showing the band surrounded by flames, was changed after Van Zant’s death. The band disbanded after the crash.
The reunion
The surviving members reunited in 1987 for a reunion tour with Ronnie Van Zant’s younger brother Johnny Van Zant as lead vocalist. They have released eight more studio albums since, from Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 (1991) to Last of a Dyin’ Breed (2012), and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 13 March 2006. In January 2018 the band announced a farewell tour, and continued touring afterwards. The last original member, Gary Rossington, died in March 2023, but the band continues to tour.
Oldies Music Timeline
- Summer 1964 — Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins and Gary Rossington form a band in Jacksonville, Florida, as My Backyard.
- 1972 — Discovered by producer Al Kooper in Atlanta; signed to MCA Records.
- 13 August 1973 — Debut album (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd) released, including “Free Bird” and “Simple Man”.
- 15 April 1974 — Second Helping released, including “Sweet Home Alabama”.
- 24 March 1975 — Nuthin’ Fancy released; the band’s first Top Ten album.
- 2 February 1976 — Gimme Back My Bullets released; Steve Gaines joins in June 1976.
- 1976 — Live album One More from the Road released.
- 17 October 1977 — Street Survivors released.
- 20 October 1977 — Plane crash near Gillsburg, Mississippi, kills Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines.
- 1987 — Band reunites for a tour with Johnny Van Zant as lead vocalist.
- 11 June 1991 — Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 released, the first post-reunion studio album.
- 13 March 2006 — Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
- 21 August 2012 — Last of a Dyin’ Breed released.
- January 2018 — Farewell tour announced.
- March 2023 — Gary Rossington, the last original member, dies.
Studio Albums
- (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd) (1973)
- Second Helping (1974)
- Nuthin’ Fancy (1975)
- Gimme Back My Bullets (1976)
- Street Survivors (1977)
- Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 (1991)
- The Last Rebel (1993)
- Endangered Species (1994)
- Twenty (1997)
- Edge of Forever (1999)
- Christmas Time Again (2000)
- Vicious Cycle (2003)
- God & Guns (2009)
- Last of a Dyin’ Breed (2012)
Why They Matter
- Record sales: 28 million records in the United States, per the band’s discography summary. No single exact worldwide total is given here.
- Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: inducted on 13 March 2006.
- “Free Bird” and “Sweet Home Alabama” are two of the most enduring songs of 1970s rock — “Free Bird” became a major hit when released as a single in late 1974, and “Sweet Home Alabama” was the breakthrough single from Second Helping.
- The band popularised Southern rock, with a three-guitar front line that became the genre’s signature sound.
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