Lynyrd Skynyrd Biography and interview with images whatsapp mobile Contact number and Address info

Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band best known for popularizing the Southern rock genre during the 1970s. Originally formed in 1964 as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, "Free Bird". At the peak of their success, three members died in an airplane crash in 1977, putting an abrupt end to the band's most popular incarnation. Surviving members re-formed in 1987 for a reunion tour with lead singer Ronnie Van Zant's younger brother Johnny as frontman. A version of the band continues to tour and record, with only Gary Rossington of its original members remaining as of 2012. Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006. In the summer of 1964, teenage friends Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, and Gary Rossington formed the band "The Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida. The band changed in 1965 to "My Backyard", when Larry Junstrom and Bob Burns joined. In 1968, the group won a local Battle of the Bands contest and the opening slot on several Southeast shows for the California-based psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock. In 1970, Van Zant sought a new name. "One Percent" and "The Noble Five" were each considered before the group settled on "Leonard Skinner", a mocking tribute to a physical-education teacher at Robert E. Lee High School, Leonard Skinner, who was notorious for strictly enforcing the school's policy against boys having long hair. Rossington dropped out of school, tired of being hassled about his hair. The more distinctive spelling was adopted before they released their first album. Despite their high-school acrimony, the band developed a friendlier relationship with Skinner in later years, and invited him to introduce them at a concert in the Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum. In 1972 the band (now Van Zant, Collins, Rossington, Burns, Wilkeson, and Powell) was discovered by musician, songwriter, and producer Al Kooper of Blood, Sweat, and Tears, who had attended one of their shows at a club in Atlanta, GA. They changed the spelling of their name to "Lynyrd Skynyrd" and Kooper signed them to his Sounds of the South label that was to be distributed and supported by MCA Records, producing their first album. Released August 13, 1973,[10] the album featured the hit song "Free Bird", which received national airplay, eventually reaching #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Lynyrd Skynyrd's fan base continued to grow rapidly throughout 1973, largely due to their opening slot on The Who's Quadrophenia tour in the United States. On their 1974 follow-up, Second Helping, the band successfully avoided any sophomore slump, with King, Collins and Rossington all collaborating with Van Zant on the songwriting. The album was the band's breakthrough hit, and featured their most popular single, "Sweet Home Alabama" (#8 on the charts in August 1974), a response to Neil Young's "Alabama" and "Southern Man". (Young and Van Zant were not rivals, but fans of each other's music and good friends.