Howdy Frynds!

I am so thrilled to find the Frynds Forum. I don’t ususally join in with Internet groups, but I just couldn’t resist the Frynds – y’all are awesome! I’ve spent all afternoon and evening here, and I must say, the information contained here for Lynyrd Skynyrd fans is amazing – it’s been nothing but thrilling detail after thrilling detail revealed! I don’t know that I’ll have much to add, but will certainly support and relish with great gusto what the experts have to kindly offer.

My personal experience with the band is, I guess, pretty typical for a teenaged girl in the 70s. I grew up in Southern California (Just like Ed King, I can say, I’m from the South – Southern California, that is!) so had access to good radio, record stores, and concerts. I was therefore lucky enough to hear their music on the radio from the beginning in ’73? ’74?, and was able to see original line-up at the Long Beach Sports Arena in ’76? ’77? I’m pretty sure that Robin Trower opened for them, and I had to have had my driver’s license – it was a fantastic show!

In the ’70s, my favorite album, was ‘One More From the Road’. I loved the excitement of the live sound. I remember staring at the album photos while listening to the record on my cheap plastic turntable, and thinking that the Honkettes were just about the coolest girls on the planet. I looked to them for my style inspiration, trying to copy their outfits exactly, but needless to say, I never achieved such elegance! And the guys! Good grief! They were the last word in ’70s cool-guyness: That hair – my god! Gary’s barkcloth coat! (Where’d he get that coat, anyway? It’s amazing!) The jewelry! Those platforms! And then there was the music, which was (and still is!) the nec plus ultra in ’70s rock, let me tell you. I was such a huge fan – Lynyrd Skynyrd was constantly playing on high volume on that rattlely, cheap little turntable in my room.

Until recently, I hadn’t listened to Lynyrd Skynyrd for quite some time. The plane crash really hit me hard; in some ways, it coincided with the death of an idyllic and truely remarkable rock and roll era. The deaths and suffering caused by that horrible crash, the subsequent tradedy of dear Allen, and the current state of the band just made me want to stick my head in the sand and consider this a closed period of my life. I’d half-heartedly moved on to other musical genres, wondering if I’d ever feel as thrilled about music as I once had.

Anyhow, as I was saying, I’ve recently begun listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd again, but only recently, because I felt so dearly afraid that Skynyrd wouldn’t have aged well (I’d not listened to them for 30 years!) Though it may sound odd, I really would have preferred to hang on to my happy memories, to remember them in my own way, so to speak, rather than disappoint myself with unhappy ghosts from the past. They sounded fantastic, however, even better than I’d remembered. I’d forgotten the power and perfection of the music, I’m extremely happy to say!

This happy reunion between me and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s music has been truely wonderful. I’ve rediscovered their work, been watching all the live footage I can dig up, scoured the internet for interviews, and read everything I can get my hands on. I can finally see what the Internet is good for [laughs!] – it’s truly a miracle that we can find these old images, snapshots, some of them, and the utterly charming interviews with Ronnie and Gary that I’ve been able to find. Those guys really had “It”, and it’s exciting to see how many people are newly discovering and enjoying the thrill of this band.

I’ve just recently read Gene’s book, which has echoed much of what I feel about Skynyrd, namely, it’s genius in its accessable complexity and perfection. It’s intelligent, and oviously crafted by a group of musicians where the sum was so much greater than the individual parts. I was floored by the stories of Hell House, and the dedication of these self-taught, down-to-earth musicians. It’s utterly remarkable, and I’ve never heard anything like it, ever. What a story – so beautiful, so sad, so powerful, so American. How I’d love to see a feature length film made about them, about the struggle, the romance, the success, the excess, and the rest … What a story. What a story. Truth is truly more remarkable than fiction.

Thanks so much to Gene Odom for making this website for the fans, for writing the book which needed to be written, and for continuing to contribute to the legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd, the best American rock band! Please keep up this important work!

Best wishes to all,

Mrs. Jackson

LYNYRD SKYNYRD DOCUMENTARY

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Ronnie Van Zant In His 1954 White Mercedes

In 1968 and 1969, Ronnie and I worked for his brother-in-law, who owned an auto parts business. Ronnie was the manager and I delivered parts. Ronnie had all the parts numbers memorized and could tell me the number of a part without even looking in the parts book. He had a mind like a computer. He could tell you all there was to know about a baseball player, a football player, or any game. We worked there until I was drafted into the Army in 1969. The delivery truck I used for delivering the parts was supposed to have bucket seats, but the right seat had been taken out so it would hold more parts. I used to drive the truck home at night and I would pick Ronnie up in the morning.

One particular morning after I had picked Ronnie up for work, the left rear tire blew out. We were on the expressway and almost to our exit. Ronnie was asleep as usual. He used to practice all night and would get some sleep whenever he could. Well, anyway, the tire blew out and the truck went over on two wheels. Ronnie woke up in shock. I ran onto the median and the truck was spinning around and knocking over reflector poles. We came down on all four wheels and then slid down the side of the expressway. We pulled into a gas station and Ronnie was still in shock. I was laughing at the time because I was too scared to say anything and I was shaking all over from fright. Finally, Ronnie said, “That’s the best driving I’ve ever seen. LeeRoy Yarbrough couldn’t have done any better.”

Gene

LYNYRD SKYNYRD DOCUMENTARY

LYNYRD SKYNYRD - Asbury Park, New Jersey July 13, 1977

LYNYRD SKYNYRD
Asbury Park, NJ
July 13, 1977
By JAMES SIMON
Associated Press writer
ASBURY PARK, N.J. -
The rebellious, hell-raising image of rock groups is frequently just that — an image, say members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, a Florida band which does its best to uphold the rough and tumble ideal. “Nobody wants to read about ‘Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm ‘ , bassist Leon Wilkeson said with a smile after the band ended a year’s tour with a concert at Convention Hall here. “I’d love to read an article when an interviewer says, ‘Well, I went down to interview the notorious rebels of rock ‘n’ roll, expecting to get a black eye in the process.’ I’d like him to write the truth — they don’t get as drunk as you think, they really don’t get as high and they really don’t fight as much as they’re built up to.” Wilkeson said.

Despite the disclaimer, Lynyrd Skynyrd (pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd ) cultivated the image carefully for four years as the band criss-crossed the country, giving 200 or more concerts a year of rowdy, guitar dominated rock and blues songs and working its way up to headline status. Stories of wild parties, drunken brawls and smashed television sets followed lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and the rest of the band wherever they went.

“The band went on tour with the Who first, so I guess some of their insanity rubbed off,” said guitarist Steve Gaines, adding he hasn’t seen any “real violence” in his year with the band. Gaines replaced guitarist Ed King last summer in one of the band’s several personnel changes. He is one of three lead guitarists in the group who give Skynard a full, powerful sound on songs like the show closing “Free Bird,” one of the best extended songs to come out of the 1970s.

But even on the 11-minute “Free Bird,” which fans start calling for as soon as the band walks on stage, the band’s loose and ragged image hides the fact the song is as rigid as any three-minute AM radio hit.

“The song’s got a structure. And it’s always the same way, at least since I’ve played with the band anyway,” Gaines said. “That’s the song they used to play in clubs and Ronnie jokes that they used to throw it in in clubs because it’s a good time waster.” The band’s lineup includes singer Van Zant, bassist Wilkeson, guitarists Gaines. Gary Rossington and Allen Collins, drummer Artimus Pyle, keyboard player Billy Powell and several female backup singers. Most of the attention is on the guitarists, who trade off lead passages easily although their sound is so thick that Powell’s keyboards rarely can be heard.

GUITARIST STEVE GAINES

LYNYRD SKYNYRD DOCUMENTARY

The One Percent Band Would Later Become Lynyrd Skynyrd

Lynyrd and Me
(Retrospective: A Lynyrd Skynyrd Story)
By Jere Beery

The main reason I’m sharing this story now is because I just turned 60 years old in March and I have been reflecting on my life. This story relates a very unique relationship I had with one of America’s greatest Rock & Roll bands.

In 1969, I was discharged from the Navy after spending a year and a half hospitalized from severe wounds I received in Vietnam. I was only 21 years old and medically retired from the U.S. Navy. My wounds were so bad that I was not really expected to accomplish much in my life.

At that time, the one thing I truly found comfort and inspiration in was music. While I was in the Navy I played bass guitar in a four piece rock band, and my 6 string acoustic guitar was my best friend during times of depression while in the hospital. So, when I got out of the Navy in 1969 I decided to explore the world of music. I started hanging out at a bottle club located on Forsyth Street in Jacksonville Florida, ‘The Comic Book Club’. I discovered that not only did I enjoy the live music, but dancing was great physical therapy for my many injuries. And the waitresses wore really hot skimpy outfits consisting of white short shorts, and a white navy-type top that showed off their midsections. Good music, booze, and good looking gals, what more could a young man ask for?

The Comic Book Club was really two clubs in one. From 7pm until midnight the club was a teen club, catering to kids under 21 years of age. At midnight the club would run everyone out and reopen at 1am as a bottle club for adults only. The club only served ice, cups and setups, and people would pay a cover charge to bring in their own booze. It was the only club in Jacksonville at that time to do business both as a teen club and a bottle club. The local bars in town were required to close at 2am, so after they closed everyone would head uptown to party until dawn at the Comic Book. It was a very popular place to be, and as it turns out, a historic place for music.

Within a very short period of time I made friends with the club manager, Jimmy Provost, and the house band, ‘Kijafa’ (aka Sunshine). Before long, I was doing odd and end jobs around the club for a few bucks a week and all the live music and dancing I could ever wish for. I became good friends with the bottle club band; guitarist; Charles ‘Smitty’ Smith, bass guitarist; Carl Crawford, and drummer; Donnie Sharbino. I started doing special lighting for the band and running their sound board. I was damn near living at the Comic Book Club, putting in many hours designing and building new effects and lighting for the group, while simultaneously doing jobs around the club for Jimmy Provost.

During this period of time I also made friends with the band that played the teen club. Ronnie VanZant, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Larry Junstrom, and Bob Burns were the members of a rock band called ‘The 1%’. They were extremely popular with the young crowd in the Jacksonville area.

Ronnie and I were about the same age, but the other members of The 1% were a few years younger and still in high school. Allen, Gary, and Bob attended Robert E, Lee High School on the west side of Jacksonville. I don’t remember if Larry Junstrom was still in school or not. I seem to remember he was a little older. Larry and I didn’t talk much. I was closer to Ronnie, Allen, Gary, and Bob.

Since we all worked at The Comic Book Club, we spent a lot of time in each other’s company and we all became good friends – and we often partied together. On several occasions, when Ronnie wasn’t around, Gary and Allen would come to me and talk me into buying them some booze. Somehow, we managed to keep that secret from Ronnie for months before he found out it was me that was getting them liquor. That led to a brief confrontation between me and Ronnie. I remember Ronnie reading me the riot act and I promised him I would never buy them booze again. Ronnie was not a very large individual, in fact I was a couple of inches taller than he was. But, he was raised on the rough side of Jacksonville with a bad-ass reputation, and I didn’t dare cross him. I wasn’t necessarily scared of him, but Ronnie’s presents had a way of demanding respect, and I saw no reason to test him or his resolve. You had to know Ronnie to know what I’m talking about. Besides, I wasn’t in any physical condition to be fighting any one. After that encounter, Ronnie and I became even better friends. We had an ‘understanding’.

The Comic Book Club had the reputation of the place to go for great music and impromptu jam sessions. Bands from all over North Florida and South Georgia would show up at the Comic Book on the weekends. And local bands would drop by after the bars they played at closed. Therefore, there was never a shortage of musicians wanting to sit in and jam. During the two years that I worked there I heard some of the greatest music anyone could possibly imagine. Sometimes, after a concert had taken place at the Jacksonville Coliseum, well-known groups and musicians would come in and jam until dawn. This included band members from Three Dog Night, Allman Joy (Allman Brothers), Wayne Cochrane and the CC Riders, Joe Savage, and Led Zeppelin, just to name a few.

Jimmy Provost was the manager of the Comic Book Club, but the club was owned by a guy named Art Isner (spelling might be incorrect). Isner owned several topless bars in the Jax downtown area. Jimmy Provost was a very large man weighing around 400 pounds. He was a French Canadian with a thick French accent. It was no secret that Provost had ties with organized crime both in Canada and Florida. During a brief time in early 1970, Jimmy Provost acted as booking agent for Ronnie and the 1% band. Provost would line up gigs for the band and they would go play other small clubs in the Jacksonville area. On several occasions I was given the task of going to these local clubs (like the Little Brown Jug) and collect the band’s money. Provost would take his cut and give Ronnie the rest. This arrangement only lasted a few months.

There are virtually no photographs of the inside of the original Comic Book Club. There was a very good reason for this. Jimmy Provost prohibited anyone from taking pictures in the club. His reasoning was simple. Among average Joes that went to the Comic Book – there were also drug dealers, pimps, bookies, prostitutes, pool hustlers and ex-cons. The Comic Book was a very rough place at times, and these people did not want their picture taken. This is the reasons that very few pictures (if any) of Ronnie and the band inside the Comic Book Club exist.

Sometimes, Jimmy would have some gangster-type friends drop by from out of town and he would close the club down to everyone but him, his friends, selected girls, and me and the band. Jimmy would put a sign on the door ‘Closed For Inventory’. He would make jokes about counting the ice cubes and cups. The Comic Book became a private party place for Jimmy and his friends. I won’t go into details, but whatever Jimmy’s friends wanted, Jimmy provided, money was no object. Jimmy had ‘connections’ on the JPD as well. So, no one ever interrupted one of Jimmy’s private parties.

One local band the frequented the Comic Book was ‘The King James Version’, a three piece rock group. The bass player for the group was a guy named Leon Wilkeson. Leon’s nickname was ‘Thumper’, from Thumper the fictional rabbit character from Disney’s animated movie Bambi. He got that nickname for the consistent way he played bass.

Around the end of 1970, the teen club band, Ronnie and ‘The 1%’, were starting to get the attention of promoters in the Jacksonville area. One afternoon while ‘Kijafa’ was practicing at the club, Allen and Gary dropped by and asked our collective opinion of a new name they were considering, ‘Lynyrd Skynyrd’. As much as I hate to admit it now, we all thought it was a dumb name. Little did we know how wrong we were.

When I wasn’t at the club, or hanging out with Smitty, Carl, and Donnie, I spent a lot of time at a small recording studio off of Philips Highway. The studio was called ‘Counter-Point’, and was owned and operated by a good friend of mine, Wally Eaton. Wally was the original bass player for ‘Dennis Yost and the Classic Four’. Wally had been in an auto accident which caused him to quit the band, but not before he had acquired four gold records for; ‘Spooky’, ‘Stormy’, ‘Traces’, and ‘Every Day with You Girl’. Wally was trying to get back into the music business by opening up his own multi-track studio. One very attractive girl that worked as a session backup singer for Wally was Leslie Hawkins. Leslie wasn’t with any one particular band at that time, but she had a very good voice and hung out at Counter Point picking up a few bucks and experience singing backup on whatever project Wally would be working on. Leslie would later join the Skynyrd group as a backup singer. I used the time I spent at Counter Point to learn everything I could from Wally about multi-track recording.

I don’t remember the exact date, but one night at the Comic Book things got really hot. Without notice Leon Wilkeson quit ‘The King James Version’ and joined the newly formed ‘Lynyrd Skynyrd’ band. All of a sudden Larry Junstrom found himself without a job, and lead guitarist for the King James Version (Bill something) found himself without a bass player. Bill was furious! In one brief moment the King James Version went from a working three piece band to a two piece out of work band. After Bill shoved his guitar through the front of his Marshal amp, he stormed out of the club looking for Ronnie. Fortunately for Bill, he never found Ronnie that night. Ronnie was no wussy and would have taken Bill apart in a Westside second. I personally witnessed Ronnie knock a guy out cold in the parking lot of the R&R Bar for talking trash about Ronnie’s girl friend. The R&R was another popular Jax night spot off Main Street. The loud mouth never knew what hit him.

Leon Wilkeson was not Ronnie’s first choice to replace bass player Larry Junstrom. Carl Crawford was by far the best bass man in the Jacksonville area at that time. Anyone that remembers Carl will support this statement. Not only was he one hell-of-a bass player, but Carl had a great voice that was ideal for hard-driving rock & roll. Ronnie, Allen, and Gary made several unsuccessful attempts to recruit Carl into the newly formed Lynyrd Skynyrd band before approaching Leon. Carl declined their offer and continued to play with Kijafa.

Some time later, while hanging out at Counter Point, Wally received a call from a sound engineer from another recording studio in Jacksonville. After Wally got off the phone he asked me if I wanted to go with him to hear Lynyrd Skynyrd’s new demo over at ‘Shade Tree’ studio just off Beach Boulevard. When we got there we listened to the very first demo of ‘Free Bird’ ever recorded and another song titled; ‘Need All My Friends’. I had heard Ronnie and the band play Free Bird many times at the Comic Book. In fact, I heard Free Bird before it even had words. But this new version was very different. When they played Free Bird at the teen club it was a slow song from start to ending. This new demo of the very same song started out just like I remembered it, but half way through the song it went into a driving double-time jam all the way out. What an improvement! Quite frankly, as much as I hate to admit it, I always thought their original version of Free Bird was somewhat boring. But this new version changed the entire feel of the song and my opinion. It was definitely an attention getter. Little did I know at the time I was listening to Rock and Roll history in the making.

For the next few weeks it was obvious that the boys of Lynyrd Skynyrd had found backing for their blossoming career. On several occasions I was approached by Ronnie, Gary, and Allen to join the group as their roadie. I turned down the offer each time and continued to work for three more years with Kijafa. I heard later that Billy Powell was hired in my place as roadie. Billy would later become the group’s keyboard player. Larry Junstrom found a new home playing bass with Ronnie VanZant’s brother Donnie and his band, ‘38 Special.’

By mid-1972, Kijafa and me had moved to Atlanta and were playing at a popular club in Underground Atlanta, ‘The Palace’. We changed the name of the group to ‘Sunshine’ and gained a loyal Atlanta following of fans.

The last time I saw the Skynyrd band together was on December 4, 1972. They were playing at another popular Atlanta music hall called, Funocchio’s. It just happened to be Gary Rossington’s birthday and he invited me, Smitty, Donnie, and Carl to party with the band after the gig. They were staying at a mission-style apartment complex in Buckhead. I don’t even remember how we got home that night. But, I do know we had a ball! No one partied harder than the Skynyrd boys! Their partying would become legendary over the years, and for good reason. A Lynyrd Skynyrd party usually ended up with a large bill for damages.

In 1973, Smitty was murdered in Atlanta. The band ‘Sunshine’ was no more. We all went our separate ways. I don’t know what happened to Donnie Sharbino, but I did run in to Carl in 1998 in Newnan, Georgia. Decades of drug and alcohol abuse had reduced Carl to a mere shell of the man I had known in the 70’s. He was in a bad way and failing health. Carl told me he gave up music shortly after Smitty was killed in Atlanta. That was very sad for me to hear because Carl was so talented and he could have gone a long way in the music industry.

Gary Rossington, Bob Burns, Larry Junstrom are the only three surviving members of the original ‘1% band’. Ronnie was killed in the 1977 plane crash and Allen died in 1990 from complications connected to being paralyzed from a 1986 car crash. I ran into Bob and his wife Marsha in 2003 in Atlanta. But, I have lost track of him now.

Looking back on it now, I can draw some conclusions and observations. Ronnie VanZant was a very unique individual. Ronnie was a very talented poet and writer who drew on his observations of the street and experiences in everyday life to create one-of-a-kind lyrics. Ronnie never claimed to be a front man or entertainer and he never pretended to be a great singer. He would be the first to admit this fact. His gift was a pure and profound earthy southern writing style which resonated from the bare soles of his feet as he stood center stage. Ronnie wrote about life and death. He painted vivid portraits of life with his lyrics, and he touched people with his raw sincerity and honesty in every song. Even his humorous songs had a gritty reality to them, like ‘Gimme Three Steps’.

I can’t remember ever seeing Ronnie write anything down. I’m certain he probably did at some point, but I don’t remember that. I can only remember him with both hands draped over the microphone, his head down, standing as if the microphone and stand were apart of his very being, trying different phrases and wording until he found something he liked. Once he locked in to something, it became stone and he moved on to the next phrase. I spent many hours at the Comic Book listening to Skynyrd practice and arrange their material. At the time, I had no idea how special that opportunity was. They were just a band, and I was just a guy that worked at the club.

Ronnie ruled as leader of the Skynyrd band. Whatever Ronnie said was law, and no one dared challenge him. Ronnie demanded loyalty and commitment from Allen, Gary, Bob, and Leon – and they all fed off Ronnie’s passionate drive for perfection. It was all for one, and one for all. In my opinion, that was the real key to their success. Sure, they had their fights and arguments. And sometimes a busted lip or bloody nose was incurred. But in some strange way these spats only made them tighter as a group. Ronnie always won, no one was ever seriously injured, and all was forgiven in a very short period of time.

When Skynyrd played a song, it was performed in total unity, as if one person were producing all of the individual parts simultaneously. Each note played to complement the next. Allen and Gary would spend countless hours, day after day honing their guitar skills. Eating and sleeping came second to their quest for musical perfection. They fed off of one another and challenged each other to create sounds and playing techniques that were totally original and unique. Nine times out of ten, if you saw Allen, Gary was with him. They went everywhere together.

Bob Burns was born to play drums. His high-strung personality and hair-trigger attitude added an edgy driving force to the group and their music. Bob had a rough childhood and abusive father. Beating the hell out of the drums was a way for Bob to release his build-up inner anger and pain. I’m not telling you anything Bob wouldn’t tell you himself. Bob was always on the edge, and eventually he would quit the group because of emotional instability. Bob would be permanently replaced by drummer Artimus Pyle in 1974. That fact does nothing to dampen or taint Bob Burns’s contributions to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Rock & Roll history.

After the 1977 plane crash, surviving members struggled with what to do next. In or about 1979, Allen, Gary, Leon and Billy started their own group, the Rossington Collins Band. They cut two albums that were moderately successful and received high reviews. However, in 1986 tragedy struck yet again. Allen was involved in a car crash which paralyzed him and killed his girlfriend.

From what I have heard, after months of soul searching, and at the request of family and friends, Gary Rossington, Billy Powell and Leon Wilkeson agreed to revive the Lynyrd Skynyrd band in the form of a tribute group. Ronnie’s younger brother, Johnny VanZant took his brother’s place as front man and lead singer for the Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute band. In 2001, death visited the group yet once more. Leon Wilkeson died from liver failure. The current Tribute band continues to tour today playing sold out venues and performing all of Skynyrd’s hits. However, the song Free Bird is now performed as an instrumental without vocals in honor of Ronnie VanZant.

Over the years since the death of Ronnie and other key members of Skynyrd, Johnny VanZant has matured into a very confident performer and representative for Ronnie and the VanZant family. Most recently, Johnny teamed up with younger brother Donnie and recorded under the name ‘VanZant’. All in all, the VanZant family tradition of producing great music continues, and I’m certain Ronnie would be very proud of his younger brothers and the legacy he left them.

In the forty years since my days at the Comic Book Club, I have met many, many talented musicians, and I have listened to just as many tight and polished bands. However, I have never witnessed a group with the internal drive, raw talent, and undeniable passion, commitment, and fortitude for music that Ronnie VanZant and the Skynyrd boys had. Good bands are a dime a dozen, and great bands are born everyday. But, bands that leave an indelible mark on music and American history are extremely rare. The simple fact that Lynyrd Skynyrd songs continue to be featured in movies, television commercials, and ad campaigns on a regular basis provides credence to their historical influence. The artistic fiber of their music is permanently woven into the fabric we call ‘Americano’…

Well, that’s my story about Lynyrd and me. I am fairly confident that my recollection of dates is accurate. Although the many years that have passed have blurred some of my memories, my time at the Comic Book Club still remain crystal clear. I was witness to Rock & Roll history and for that I will always be humbly grateful.

As for me, I went on to do some fairly incredible things considering I’m a disabled veteran. During the 80’s I enjoyed a brief career in the motion picture business. However, my disabilities caused me to quit the movie biz. For the past 25 years I have been a veteran’s advocate fighting for improved healthcare for our men and women in uniform. Most recently, I have had the privilege of writing several public service announcements for Mr. Willie Nelson and Mr. Charlie Daniels. Both Willie and Charlie are big supporters of our veterans. I guess it would be fair to say, in a small way, I am one of the very few people on the face of this earth that has written anything for Willie Nelson and Charlie Daniels.

Sometimes, when I think back, I wonder ‘if’ I had accepted the offer to join Ronnie and the group as their roadie, would I have been on that airplane in 1977? That is a question that I will never know the answer to. One thing is for certain though, I am, and always will be an original member of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Family, and their biggest number one fan. And I am so grateful to have been a friend to Ronnie, Bob, Gary, and Allen.

There is no telling how far Ronnie and Skynyrd could have gone in the music World if they had not been torn apart by tragedy. Lynyrd Skynyrd was a one-of-a-kind band that will never be matched for the amount and quality of music they produced in their brief career. Their contributions to Rock & Roll defined an entire category of music, ‘Southern Rock’. Their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 was more than earned and well deserved. An interesting side note, Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006, my birthday…

What happened to the Comic Book Club? The entire city block where the club was located was eventually torn down to make way for new development in the downtown area. I have no idea what happened to Jimmy Provost, but he was not in good health when I knew him. So, I assume he has probably passed away also. The only thing that remains of the Comic Book Club and the Rock & Roll history that was made there – are the memories that those of us who were there still have…

Jere Beery

LYNYRD SKYNYRD DOCUMENTARY

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Artimus Pyle Held Onstage By Gene Odom

I traveled with the band off and on for a couple of years because I’d get tired of the road and want to come back home to work. Then, in late 1976, I decided to stay with the band full-time to try to stop their drinking and fighting habits. I was the only person that could say jump and they would say how high. This was because they knew I had never smoked or drank in my life and never will and because of this Ronnie Van Zant trusted me more than anyone in the world.

I told him that I could see what drinking before a gig was doing to their performance, so I started taking the first limo to the auditorium. I’d take one bottle of Jack Daniels, two bottles of champagne, and give them away or pour them out, leaving one bottle of Jack Daniels and one bottle of champagne for the band when they arrived. They never knew what I was doing until it was too late and then they’d have to go out and play, sober as judges.

I knew my help was appreciated when Ronnie, Allen, and Gary came up to me one night and said, “We never thought we could play in front of 15,000 people sober. We appreciate what you’ve done for us.”

I finally did away with all the whiskey and champagne. The only alcohol left in the dressing room when they arrived was a six-pack of beer and part of it was left when they went on stage. It made me feel great to see Lynyrd Skynyrd play and perform the way I knew they could. When the accident occurred, all of the members of the band were sober and going to stay that way; I know because I was there. The rough and rowdy band that everyone knew, left when I came. The most expensive thing they broke while I was with them was a lamp and it was broken by accident.

I probably cared for Lynyrd Skynyrd more than anyone. I didn’t work for the money. I did what I did for my friends because a friend is worth more than money. He is worth a lifetime.

Thanks,
Gene Odom

LYNYRD SKYNYRD DOCUMENTARY

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Allen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington

A friend was asking if Allen ever went fishing. Here is a hunting story.
On one of our hunting trips, Gary and Allen went with us to a place out in Middleburg. We were hunting for squirrels and weren’t having much luck so we all got back in the car to rest and get something to eat. We went back into the woods a couple of hours later. Ronnie, Gary, and Allen stayed together; I went another way. I was about fifty feet away from them when Ronnie fired a shot over my head into the trees and scared me to death. I said, “I’ll get you for that.” After about an hour or so I heard them hollering through the woods saying, “Let’s go home Gene. We’re ready to go. We’ll be at the car.” They didn’t know I wasn’t far away. I gave them about five minutes and then I started out. I saw them walking down the road side by side, so I crept up to them like an indian. When I got within about fifty feet of them, I hid in the bushes so they couldn’t see me. They were laughing, having a good time, and not expecting anything. I had twelve bullets in my automatic rifle and I started shooting the bushes and trees all around them. Ronnie and Gary hit the ground and Allen started running. It didn’t take long before my gun was empty and I came out laughing my guts out because they were screaming and hollering, “Hey, there’s people out here, stop shooting.” I said, “Get up from there and let’s go home. Ya’ll just made my day.” Allen was still running and Ronnie and Gary were so mad I thought they were going to shoot me. They were scared and shaking like limbs in a hurricane.

Every time I think about that I can’t help laughing. Those kind of days will be with me until I am dead and gone. Remembering days like that makes my life more livable today.

Thanks,
Gene

LYNYRD SKYNYRD DOCUMENTARY

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Ronnie Van Zant Recording Street Survivors At Studio One, August 1977

I was flipping the channels last night and ran across the movie “Jaws”.
It reminded me of a good story. It was the same creek me and Ronnie fed the wasp larvae to the bream.

You had to be careful because this creek had alligators that lived in it. They never bothered anything, but they sure would scare the hell out of you. There was a particular alligator that lived to the left of Ronnie’s house. This alligator was about thirteen feet long. It was the biggest alligator Ronnie and I had ever seen, so he named him Jaws.

Ronnie’s brother-in-law, David Seymour, used to be a guide in the Okefenokee Swamp for eight years and had seen a lot of alligators, but he said that this alligator was the biggest one he had ever seen. Ronnie wouldn’t get in the water if Jaws was around. Well, one day, Ronnie, David, and I were building a boat house. Ronnie and David were in the water holding up a twenty foot pole so I could jet it into the ground with a pump. I had started up the pump and suddenly got a wild idea to scare the hell out of Ronnie. I hollered, “There’s Jaws.” Ronnie screamed and splashed up the ladder. I laughed so hard, I think I wet my pants. Man, was he mad. He said, “Son, your time is coming.”

The next day, bright and early when we started to work, sure enough, there was Jaws, lying in his same old spot. We didn’t go in the water until after Jaws had left and had been gone for about an hour. We just worked on top of the dock. We decided it was safe to go in the water and I said, “Okay, I’ll start the pump.” Ronnie, David, and Judy were all standing on the dock watching. I had to start the pump with a pull rope, so I wrapped the rope around the crank and gave it a good pull, but the rope broke. I was splashing around trying to figure out what had happened when Ronnie yelled, “Look out, there’s Jaws!” It scared me so bad that I ran into the dock, bumped my head, and got all scratched up. By the time I got up on the bank I realized what he had done because they were all laughing their guts out. After that, we finished the boat house with no more Jaws jokes.

Thanks,
Gene

LYNYRD SKYNYRD DOCUMENTARY

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Heart and Soul – Ronnie Van Zant & Allen Collins

Got an email from a fellow who bought my first book off the internet. He asked what was the meaning behind the poems in the book. While in the hospital after the plane crash, my neurologist checked me for head injuries. He came to the conclusion that I did have some brain damage. Most likely it was in the area that controls memory. My motor skills and reactions and everything else was fine. Boy, that was 29 years ago and now my motor and reactions have lost a lot of horsepower. But he said I would have problems with my memory. I have probably have lost some and some may come back. I probably will have short term memory problems in the future. This doctor could see into the future because he was 100% right. So, while recuperating from the crash injuries I started writing things down. When I could remember old stuff or things I did not want to lose or forget I would just write it down.

It was hard sleeping. I was having nightmares, flashbacks of the crash and all kinds of other things. The doctor said it may take years to deal with the aftermath of the crash. After years of writing things down, stories, poems, and things about our lives together I had stacks of papers, not a book yet. About 5 or 6 years after the crash, the boys decided to try the Rossington Collins Band. That didn’t work and Allen and Gary decided to part ways. Gary formed his own band the Gary Rossington Band and Allen formed the Allen Collins Band. Allen asked me if I wanted to do his merchandising for him. Sure, I had a little insurance money left over from the plane crash, which was only 68,000 dollars. THAT’S ANOTHER GOOD STORY I WILL TELL SOON !!!

Allen also said finish your book, print some copies and you can sell them too. I found an independent printer and printed 10,000 copies. I had 2,500 Allen Collins Band T-Shirts printed. I can’t remember how much money I had invested, all I had I know that. Allen was having a hard time dealing with his wife’s death, which caused him great pain. I will get back to that later.

I wrote poems as I would remember, things that would come to me about our lives. When I put the book together which I published myself. I started and ended the book with a poem. The preface kind of explains it best I guess. Not wanting to forget or lose the memories of the life we shared together, this book was inspired by my emotions for my lost friend.

Ronnie and I were closer than brothers or even a father and son could be. We were friends. If you have ever been blessed with one true friend, you have been blessed with eternal wealth. This wealth can not be compared to money or fortune only to the emotions of true friends. This preface starts a story of life and emotions put into words.

Gone, but will never be forgotten
A true southern gentleman, I’m sure you’ll agree
That’s what Ronnie Van Zant was to me.
A singer, a writer, a friend of mine
Who I will remember till my end of time.
My dreams and memories will always represent
The joyous times that Ronnie and I spent.
He and Jesus were both common men;
They both died working for what they believed in.
God you could not have asked for and received
A finer man I do believe.
He sang of a bird that was free;
That bird to me is a great man named Ronnie.
If there is a Heaven and I hope there to be,
I’m sure he is there so deservingly free.
We were raised and grew up together day by day.
As I travel through this life I pray
That we may meet again and be together some day.

Your life long friend-
Gene Odom
December 23, 1977

As you read this poem you can see how words transform emotions and life. Others can’t feel the same emotions but they can see the words and have their own emotions from the feelings they have from reading about others lives. I guess its hard to explain. If we read each others minds then we wouldn’t have to read other’s writings.

This is the story of two boys in particular and a group of boys who grew up to be close friends. The book starts out in these words. This is my story. I did not have a person tell me what to say or how to say it. If you could hear me talk, then you could hear me write. I tell a short story about where we grew up and how we grew up on the west side of Jacksonville, Florida.

After about 10 pages into the book I start to talk about fishing. Ronnie had little time for fishing after he started getting his music going full time. But every time he could get away he would call me up. Lets go fishing I got a couple of days off. He loved to go large mouth bass fishing. We started fishing for black bass which is the other name for large mouth bass. I guess we started fishing together in the late 1950′s until his death. I was with him when he caught his 12 lb bass a couple months before he died. One of the greatest days of my life and I know it was one of his best days of his life. He would call me up, “Lets go to Delancy in the morning, I’ll call you about 4 or just come by and pick you up”. This poem will tell you just how I feel about him not being here to go fishing.

PHONE CALL

The bird still flys around my home,
the fish hangs on the wall.
That old truck still runs the same
And I’m just waiting on your call.
Those four-thirty calls we used to make
To wake each other up,
Are not forgotten to this day
And probably never will be.
The poles are now gathered with dust,
The boat sits idle and free.
Fishing trips I take these days
Are not what they used to be.
I lay and stare at the phone
And wait for it to ring.
All of a sudden I remember
I?m only in a dream.

I can lay back and remember the times we were fishing. Thanks to parts of this ole wore out brain, I can bring up pictures of us fishing. Our brain is a wonderful camera. I can see him dancing and jumping around in the boat, when I threw that big ole bass in the boat. We hugged and he said let’s go weigh it right now. I wished the whole world could see that picture in my mind. Hey. I’m the only person in this world with that image. I never thought of it like that! Oh yeah, he was a real good fisherman. On into the book, about 40 pages, the poem Ronnie’s Song is found. This poem came to me after a dream, one of many I have had about him.

RONNIE’S SONG

FIRST VERSE: I was asleep in my bed
In the middle of the night
When I awoke in a cold sweat.
I was dreaming of a happening,
A time in the past,
When I saw some friends of mine
In a distant place.

CHORUS: Was this a dream I was dreaming?
Was this a vision that I’d seen?
He told me to tell the boys to keep on playing
Cause there’s more to this song than I’m saying.

SECOND VERSE I saw a barefoot shadow
Walking toward me wearing a black hat
And a black shirt.
He spoke to me, I was in a daze.
Listen to me friend,
I’ve got something to say.
We talked for a while
Then he said I’ll be seeing you.
Take care of my boys friend,
You know what to do.

CHORUS

THIRD VERSE: He turned and walked
Right out of my sight,
Like a shadow would do
In the dark of night.
I said come back
I want to see, feel, and be near you.
A voice I’ve never heard before said
You have seen, you can feel
And he will always be near you.

CHORUS

FOURTH VERSE Tell everybody I love them, especially my family
Tell them I’ll always be around
Cause I’m part of that old southern town.
Pray for me, think of me, let my name be a household sound.
I’m not far away, just in another town.
Thunder and lightning began to roar,
Drums and guitars began to soar.
A voice I’ve always known and loved
Cried out from the heavens above.
Keep on playing, one day we’ll all be free.

There is a couple of lines in this poem, at the time of the dream, I didn’t know what they really meant. Years later, I could see that Ronnie knew how things would turn out, even after he was gone but not forgotten. About a year or so after the crash, Allen and Gary were bummed out about what to do since Ronnie and Steve were gone. This was a huge loss; the singer and one of the best guitar players in the world dead. Allen and Gary, along with the alcohol and drugs messing with their minds, they just could not motivate themselves. I had written this poem about what had happened to the band. After the deaths of Ronnie and Steve, this comes along about 112 pages in the book.

SOUTHBOUND #1

Well, the train it got derailed
One day while steaming fast.
Now as it lays all broken,
I wonder how long she will last.
The engineer and conductor
Were lost at the wheel.
They were tangled in the mass
Of that great pile of steel.
No smoke now arises
From her stack,
But she lies only inches
From the track.
Cars that were left standing
Are now filled with dust.
Wheels that used to turn so fast
Are now full of rust.
The whistle and bell are silent now,
Will they be heard no more?
I’ll walk down to her boiler one day
And try to open the door.
Will she ever be turned up right,
Will she ever roll?
Her track still runs across the land
Under bridges that have no toll.

The original Lynyrd Synyrd Band paid its toll. A mighty high price. This poem kinda puts into words the airplane crash and how it left the band members. Ronnie Van Zant was the engineer and Steve Gaines was the conductor. Allen Collins was also a conductor but when Steve Gaines came on board, Allen moved on up to the front of the train. When I went to visit Allen, Gary happened to be there. I’ll never forget what they were doing, sitting on Allen’s couch just plain bummed. I said “Got a little something for you”. I blurted out this poem. Allen said, after I finished, “I don’t ever want to hear that again”. I said, “Well then, get up and start playing; it’s the only thing you can do. You wouldn’t know which end of a shovel to grab”. And that was the start of the action that resulted in the Rossington Collins Band. THAT’S ANOTHER STORY.

I ended the book with a poem and a great photo of Ronnie. This photo was really Ronnie, his hat, his black shirt, and that RVZ smile. One fine human being, you really had to know him to know how good he really was.

Gone, but will never be forgotten
The willows are weeping, the sky is clear
There will always be one good ole southern
Boy’s name spoken here.
Sitting and thinking of times that we’ve had,
Leaves me knowing I can never be sad.
Thinking or fishing or things that we’d do,
Life will never be the same friend, not without you.
Your passing sends chills through my spine,
But just to have known you has been so divine.
My nights are filled with sleepless hours,
Lying and thinking of times that were ours.
Our friendship was a wonderful thing;
A friendship like that could not be
Bought with the gold of kings.
I know where you’re at now; the music is beautiful.
I hope your life throughout eternity will be
The most pleasant and peaceful.

Your eternal friend-
Gene Odom
November 11,1977

This poem ends the book but not my memories. I still can see that ole willow tree in his yard, as boys we used to climb all over it, thinking of fishing or things that we’d do. Life will never be the same, friend, not without you. I find this to be forever true.

The printer told me it would be appropriate to put something on the back of the book.

Gene Odom was Ronnie Van Zant’s personal bodyguard, security for the Lynyrd Skynyrd band, and his life long friend. He never did any writing until after the airplane crash while he was recovering in the hospital. This book is about a natural life, pictured, and put into words. It took the death of his friend to bring out these feelings expressed in this book. Death to him is just another life.

DEATH

Death is eternal sleep
Where you never wake up
And the mountains you climb
Are never too steep.
Where your soul roams
In silent splendor
In a life where the living
Can only dream for.
Death is the end of one life
But the beginning of another
Where all men who dwell
Are known simply as brother.

Gene Odom
November 10, 1982
In memory of my brother

After viewing my old book and these poems, I sit here remembering the years and bringing back pictures of the past. Funny and sad what a simple mind can do. I got to take a break and clear my eyes, got some crying to do. I hate to cry. It makes my nose run faster than I can eat it.

Well back to the reason I put this book together. The Allen Collins Band. Allen put together a great band, but like I said, his wife’s death haunted him. Along with the alcohol and drugs tearing at his head. They made an album. The album was called ‘Allen Collins Band Here, There, and Back’. I heard MCA on the phone at his father’s office, saying this was the best album since ‘Street Survivors’. The booking agent was worried about Allen’s stability and staying on the road to push the album. Terry, from the agency, called me at home and asked could Allen make the tour that they were putting together. I told Terry, Allen gave me his word he could do it.

So, with 10,000 books and 2500 shirts, I set out. We did a couple of shows in Florida and moved up the east coast. I can’t remember all the places but there weren’t many. We did Norfolk, Virginia then up to New York. The books and shirts were selling great. I was thinking I would have to order shirts real soon. I believe we got to Poughkeepsie, New York, Allen’s dad said MCA shipped 250,000 copies to the east coast and they were selling real well. MCA was happy. While the band was playing, I was out selling books and shirts doing real good.

Big Lou walked up to me and said, look at the stage. I looked up and said, “What’s the matter?”. He laughed and said, “Where’s Allen?” I looked back up and sure enough no Allen Collins. Lou said that he had walked offstage. I knew the dressing room was across the stage and up some stairs. I ran up to the stage, walked across the stage, ran up the stairs and opened the door. There he was sitting on a couch. Allen said, “It’s over”. Man, before I could catch myself, I spun into a roundhouse kick. In the air, I changed my mind and kicked the refrigerator next to him. Scared him to death. I can still see the look on his face. I screamed, “I should kill you. Everything I have is in those shirts and books. What’s left of my crash money”. God, I was mad. I said, “You gave everyone your word; don’t that mean anything to you?” When he got to talk, he said, “Sit down and let me talk to you. Do you remember the other night when Jimmy pulled that Ronnie Van Zant look alike onstage to sing Sweet Home Alabama?” I said yeah. Allen said Jimmy walked to the back of the stage and passed out cold. Allen said, “Gene, Jimmy can drink 1 beer and pass out cold no matter where he’s at”. I said, “What?” Allen said, “Yeah, he can’t drink nothing. I can’t let him ruin my music like that”. Allen said, “Look at him, he’s not going to make it through the next song”. I said, “Man, you have put me in a bad way. I’m broke now and your word ain’t worth a damn”. Allen said, “My word is my music. Send your driver back home with the stuff and you ride with me. We’ll talk on the way back. This clown has to find another circus”. I’ll never forget what he said. Jimmy was a good singer but no drinker. On the ride home, Allen said, “Give me some time to get another singer and I’ll be back. Sit on the merchandise. I’ll be back and you’ll sell it all plus a lot more”. I knew Allen Collins. I trusted him. I knew his soul was good.

It wasn’t long after that, he was paralyzed in a car wreck. Gene Odom luck. There went the only way I could recoup my loss. Well, I could still walk and work. I could not hold a grudge cause I knew Allen.

I did go back to welding and ironworking. I knew which end of a shovel to grab. Nothing new to me. I worked until September 11, 1990 when I fell at the brewery in Jacksonville, Florida doing an add on. I got busted up again. This time I did not fall 10,000 feet, only 45 feet onto a pipe bridge. After a 30 minute rescue, back to the hospital. After the x rays, the doctor said, “What happened to your neck?” The old plane crash appears. The doctor said, “Well, your working days are over”. They were right. Workers comp put me on disability. Thank God for social security. It ain’t a lot of money but it’s better than a poke in the eye.

For being a good ole boy sure has cost me a lot. And that is ANOTHER REAL GOOD STORY!!!

But getting back to Allen Collins Band or Allen, like I said about Ronnie, you really have to know him. The band, his wife, the only 2 things that he was comfortable with were gone. Some things really do affect the brain and soul. My heart ached for him, not the drunk or drugged out Allen, but the Allen I really knew. After he was paralyzed in the car wreck, in the hospital, he did not let no one but his family see him. I would go up there every other day, only to be turned away. All I heard was he was so depressed and did not want to live. After a couple of months, I made my mind up it was time to see him. No one else knew what was in my mind. I walked up the hall right past Allen’s sister. She screamed, “No, you can’t go in there”. Allen’s mother was standing by his bed. I said, “Get up, boy. Let’s go fishing!” Allen’s mother said, “Gene, Allen’s paralyzed”. I said, “I know he’s paralyzed. I want to use him for crab bait, he won’t feel a thing. Hang him over the boat, let the crabs hang on and shake them into the boat”. I said this fast. Allen started laughing. I mean laughing hard and loud. The nurse and doctor came running in. Now, this is the first time you have laughed. Allen said, “Come here, only Gene Odom could do this. That was funny”. He said, Crab bait, that’s all I’m good for from the waist down. That brought another laugh. He told his mother and sister I could go and come as I pleased. He was mentally better after that. While he was in the hospital, after he came home, that was tough on him. This ended the Allen Collins as a musician. His spirit was paralyzed too. I don’t believe he would have lived as long as he did after his accident if not for his dad. Larkin Allen Collins Sr. Allen Collins the man, the band, the spirit of Lynyrd Skynyrd, AKA 1%.

Gene Odom 2006

LYNYRD SKYNYRD DOCUMENTARY

Lynyrd Skynyrd - 1975

A SOUND OF THE SOUTH: LYNYRD SKYNYRD

Salina Journal, Salina, Kansas
June 29th 1975
By ERNEST LEOGRANDE

One of the strongest new sounds in rock music is something that’s been labeled Southern rock, and Lynryd Skynyrd is one of its representative names. Maybe not an easy one to pronounce, but a big one.

Try it this way, the way the band says to do it: Lehnerd Skinnerd. “It was made as a joke,” the band’s leader Ronnie Van Zant, said, “and we’re still gettin’ trouble with it.”

The name goes back to high school days when the band being formed by schoolmates Ronnie Van Zant vocalist, Allen Collins and Gary Rossington, guitarists and Bob Burns, drummer.

They had a gym teacher who used to tell them their hair was too long. They thought it would be a good joke to use his name (changed a little for safety’s sake) for their group. It stuck and now covers a band expanded to take in bassman Leon Wilkeson and keyboard man Billy Powell. Burns just dropped out, to be replaced by drummer Artimis Pyle, “Like in Gomer,” Ronnie said.

What the group used to do a lot was drive the 300 miles from Jacksonville, Fla. where they lived, to play dates in Atlanta, Ga., where Al Kooper discovered them and signed them to a record contract with his new label, Sounds of the South.

“The Allman Brothers were definitely the group that opened up the door for the Southern groups,” Ronnie said. “There are some young musicians down there that are very good. “The Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead had their scene. There was a scene in New York. Now the South has theirs. How long it will last I don’t know. I’m just glad we have it.”

The song which made them famous, “Free Bird”, is an excuberant excercise with sweeping, runaway guitar riffs , dedicated to Duane Allman. “All Southern groups associate with one another, ” Ronnie said.

The song, written by Ronnie and Allen, is a statement of the need to be free, on the road, and not bound by romantic entanglements. The group and road crew are not crazy about flying to gigs, so they’ve done what so many traditional country and western singers have done: bought and outfitted a bus for traveling.

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s bus sleeps 12, has a living room with color TV and individual rooms for sleeping. It’s on the truckers’ radio band, a network linking commercial drivers so they can pass information back and forth. Drivers on this band take code names for their vehicles. So if you happen to tune into that band and you hear a message from Free Bird, you’ll know who it is.

Another of their songs, “Sweet Home Alabama”, also proved extremely popular. It was an answer to Neil Young’s “Southern Man”, which had had some hard things to say about life in the South. Ronnie said Al Kooper and Neil Young had bumped into each other and discussed “Sweet Home Alabama”, and there were no hard feelings.

“He was real happy about the song,” Ronnie said, which is hard to believe since at one point the song remarks, “Well, I hope Neil Young will remember/A Southern man don’t need him around anyhow!”

Also, later that night, with Lynyrd Skynyrd headlining a sold-out concert at New York City’s famed Academy of Music, Ronnie responded to the sight of some kids in the front seats waving a Confederate flag and stated, in blunt terms, as the song struck its opening chords, that he didn’t care what Neil Young thought.

At one point in our conversation that afternoon Ronnie had been talking about how much emphasis he put on his arrangements for the group, especially since it has 3 lead guitars. “We put our music together, piece by piece, like a jigsaw puzzle,” he said. “Times we all play together, other times 2 of us play harmony and one rhythm and then at times one will just play the chinks, fillin’ in.”

He said his inspiration for arranging had been the way the Buffalo Springfield worked, which is a bit ironic when you know that Neil Young was one of the key men in the Buffalo Springfield. But then there’s a theory that true art exists on its own, separate from political or sociological feelings.

Anyway, if Ronnie is representative of Southern men, he’s a good representative — genial, accommodating and with a sense of humor. He did lapse into some criticism of New York City as representative of the North. “It’s ridiculous,” he said, “to come from places in the South where you can get all you can eat for $2.50 and pay $12 here and not get filled up.”

LYNYRD SKYNYRD DOCUMENTARY

LYNYRD SKYNYRD at Funocchio's in Atlanta, Georgia 1972

In 1972, I was searching for a great three-chord band to produce. The radio was logjammed with progressive rock like you wouldn’t believe: Yes; Pink Floyd; Emerson, Lake and Palmer; Genesis; King Crimson. As a student of rock history, I knew it wouldn’t be long before basic rock returned like the cavalry, and I wanted to be leading the charge, albeit behind the scenes.

And so, in 1972, I heard Lynyrd Skynyrd making their Atlanta debut at a very dangerous club on Peachtree Street called Funocchio’s. They were playing a weeklong engagement, and each night I’d hear another great original song from them and knew I’d found the band I was searching for.

As I got to know them, I marveled at their work ethic. They had a shack on the swamp in their native Jacksonville, Florida, where they rehearsed constantly, honing their original material into polished, shining steel. They may have had three guitar players, but they understood restraint. Of all the bands I’d come across in my life, they were the finest arrangers. “Sweet Home Alabama” sounds like seasoned studio musicians twice their age.

Ronnie Van Zant was Lynyrd Skynyrd. I don’t mean to demean the roles the others played in the group’s success, but it never would have happened without him. His lyrics were a big part of it — like Woody Guthrie and Merle Haggard before him, Ronnie knew how to cut to the chase. And Ronnie ran that band with an iron hand. I have never seen such internal discipline in a band. One example: These guys composed all of their guitar solos. Most bands improvised solos each time they performed or recorded. Not them. Ronnie’s dream was that they would sound exactly the same every time they took the stage.

After three or four albums, Lynyrd Skynyrd transcended the Southern-rock tag. They became one of the greatest rock & roll bands in history. They feared no one. On their very first national tour, they opened for the Who. And got encores!

When Ronnie went down in that terrible 1977 plane crash, the forward progress of the band ended. After the survivors all healed, they miraculously reassembled. Ronnie’s kid brother Johnnie took over, and you had to rub your eyes to make sure it wasn’t Ronnie. But while the band could duplicate the majesty of past live shows (and still can), the heart and soul of the band was gone forever.
LYNYRD SKYNYRD DOCUMENTARY

“Lynyrd Skynyrd Dixie