![]() The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted the band in 2006 Skynyrd’s songs remain a staple of classic-rock radio calling for “Free Bird” during a concert is still a rite of passage 1973’s Pronounced Leh’nerd Skin-Nerd and 1974’s Second Helping (and sometimes 1977’s Street Survivors) regularly appear on lists of the greatest records ever recorded and “Sweet Home Alabama” is often called the National Anthem of the South, a cry of Southern pride no longer tied to the titular state – which, not incidentally, was not the homestate of Lynyrd Skynyrd, who by and large hailed from Jacksonville, Florida. Lynyrd Skynyrd remained a vital part of the cultural landscape for the next 40 years, which is the reason why their retirement from the road is garnering attention. ![]() The tragedy seemed to provide a neat conclusion to Skynyrd’s story, forever tying the band – and, specifically, Ronnie Van Zant – to the New South of the 1970s, an era when the states below the Mason Dixon line attempted to refashion themselves as progressive in the wake of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.Įxcept, that’s not exactly true. Their place in history seems secure not merely because they were one of the progenitors of Southern rock – the hybrid of country, blues and hard rock that swept through the 1970s – but also because the ending to their story seemed to be written decades ago, when its leader Ronnie Van Zant perished alongside guitarist Steve Gaines, backing vocalist Cassie Gaines and assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick in a Mississippi plane crash on October 20th, 1977. Lynyrd Skynyrd launched its farewell tour earlier this month, confident in the knowledge that they’ll be remembered as one of the great American rock & roll bands of the 20th century. ![]()
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