Tradgedy Struck after the big run up of the famous band we know as Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Early yearsIn 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.[citation needed]
In 1970, Van Zant sought a new name. "One Percent" and "The Noble Five" were each considered before the group settled on "Leonard Skinnerd",
a mocking tribute to a physical-education teacher at Robert E. Lee High School, ,Leonard Skinner[2] who was notorious for strictly enforcing the school's policy against boys having long hair.[3][4] Rossington dropped out of school, tired of being hassled about his hair.[5] 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.[6]
Skinner allowed the band to use a photo of his Leonard Skinner Realty sign for the inside of their third album.[7] Skinner died on September 20, 2010, at age 77 after a battle with Alzheimer's disease.[8]
In 1970, the band auditioned for Alan Walden, who would later become their manager on the newly formed Hustler's Inc. Walden worked with the band until 1974, when management was turned over to Pete Rudge. The band continued to perform throughout the South in the early 1970s, further developing their hard-driving, blues-rock sound and image, and experimenting with making studio recordings.
During this time, the band experienced some lineup changes for the first time. Junstrom left and was briefly replaced by Greg T. Walker on bass. At the same time, Ricky Medlocke joined as a second drummer. Some versions of the band's history also have Burns leaving the band for a short time during this period of time. The band played some shows with both Burns and Medlocke participating, utilizing a dual-drummer approach similar to that of The Allman Brothers. In 1971, they made some recordings at the famous Muscle Shoals Sound Studio with Walker and Medlocke serving as the rhythm section, without the participation of Burns. Medlocke and Walker left the band to play with another southern rock band, Blackfoot, and when the band made a second round of Muscle Shoals recordings in 1972, Burns was featured on drums and Leon Wilkeson was Larry Junstrom's permanent replacement on bass. Also in 1972, roadie Billy Powell became the keyboardist for the band.
[edit] Peak years (1973–1977)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",[9] 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 (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd). Leon Wilkeson temporarily left the band during the early recording sessions for the album only playing on two tracks. Wilkeson rejoined the band shortly after the album's release at Van Zant's invitation and is pictured on the album cover.[citation needed] Strawberry Alarm Clock guitarist Ed King joined the band and played Wilkeson's bass parts on the rest of the album, which Wilkeson had already written, along with some guitar. King stayed in the band and switched to guitar after the album's release, allowing the band to replicate the three-guitar mix used in the studio for their live performances. 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.
Ronnie Van ZantLynyrd Skynyrd's fan base continued to grow rapidly throughout 1973, largely due to their opening slot on The Who's Quadrophenia
