Mr Odom,
I read your book and loved every page of it. Some people write books about entertainers just for money, but your writings are from the heart. I am 50 years old and was born and raised in Billings, Montana. About the only exposure to rock and roll my parents allowed was the weekly Monkees show on TV. After I graduated high school in 1975 I joined the Air Force. After completing basic training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio I was shipped to Keesler AFB for technical training. Man was that a culture education for me! A Montana boy in the deep south for the first time! I did well and for the first time was exposed to the south and rock and roll. I only spent four months at Keesler, but we used to go to Sears at Edgewater Plaza in Biloxi to but tickets to concerts when we had the money. I remember driving to Montgomery, Al to see a southern rock band called Point Blank. It blew me away! I still have a picture of the concert somewhere in the garage. I never had the chance to see Skynyrd, but have been a fan since I bought the “One more from the road” album in 1976. On a final note, in your book you have a lot of remorse about not being able to save Ronnie’s life in the plane crash and all of the things that could have been done to prevent the accident. I hope you have been able to find closure with all of this. My mother taught me one thing when my father died in 1973 that I will always remember: “We could go back a thousand times to save his life and he would still die a thousand different ways.” God Bless you Gene Odom.

Tim Price
Spokane, WA

Richmond County Daily Journal, Tuesday, December 19th, 2006.

Gene Odom and Leonard Skinner, Jr. stop in Rockingham, NC on their way to Baltimore to sign autographs at American Classics.

(Click the images to enlarge)

This is a great shot that was taken November 5, 2005 in Lilesville, NC. at the book signing.

Left to Right..  Frankie Shankle, Leonard Skinner, Larry Shankle, DeeJay, Gene Odom, Billy Webb, Sy Earnhardt.