I remember it was in 1980 when my cousin came home one afternoon with a cassette tape and wanted me to listen to rock music. He handed me the tape but I could not pronounce the name of the band. The title of the cassette was Street Survivors.
He said to me not to worry how to pronounce the name Lynyrd Skynyrd but just wanted me to plug in the tape and listen to the music. He later he told me that the band was in a plane a crash some three years ago and some of the key members of the band did not survived.
Listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd made me feel that I needed to watch this band perform live! I was blown away with the sound the band produced. The solos in the songs were brilliantly played. To me it was a was a different sound of rock altogether.
From there on, I started reading magazines that featured Lynyrd Skynyrd so that know more about the band. I discoverer that the guitar players were just ordinary guys with humble beginnings. It is said that in the early days, the band had no much money. The guitarist had to collect pop bottles to sale because they could not afford to buy guitar strings.
It seems the plane crash happened at the peak of their performance. Why did this happen? This band was exceptional. They had so many fans but everything was cut short.
Even after the plane crash, some of the surviving members had some serious misfortunes that there were no sign that the band would come back to perform.
Time passed, and when everyone thought the years of Lynyrd Skynyrd were over, something miraculous happened. The surviving band members put the band together by recruiting new members.
The true miracle was when Johnny Van Zant replaced his older brother, the master mind Ronnie Van Zant, who died in the crash. Lynyrd Skynyrd was reborn!
A couple years ago watched the band play live at a concert. It was a great concert and they played the original songs. Of course the band is different but they have kept the sound of Lynryd Skynyrd intact.
This year 2018, the band is on a farewell tour. Never the less, all I can say Lynyrd Skynyrd is the band! The Essential Lynyrd Skynyrd.
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I remember the first time I heard “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird”. Awesome songs by an awesome band
Yes! Great Songs Great Band. I attended a concert in 2011. I was blown away! All are great songs. I love “Simple Man” and “The Ballad of Curtis Loew” Thank you!