Lynyrd Skynyrd biography
The seeds of the Lynyrd Skynyrd band were sowed in the summer of 1964. The common theme amongst those early members was baseball. Young Gary Rossington loved to play guitar, but an equal passion for him was baseball. As a child Gary had harboured a dream to play for his favourite team, the New York Yankees. A baseball nut to equal Gary Rossington was Westside boy Ronald Wayne (Ronnie) Van Zant; “I went as far as playing American Legion ball. The next stop would have been AA (minor league baseball). I played centerfield. I had the highest batting average in the league one year and a good arm – you’ve got to have a good arm to play outfield. Gary was good too, but he gave it all up when he got to like the Rolling Stones.”
Another future Skynyrd guitarist, Allen Collins, had no illusions of a career in sports – he just wanted to be a rock star!
The band first came together when Gary Rossington and his school friend Bob Burns turned out to watch a Little League baseball game that Ronnie (who they didn’t know at the time) was playing in. At one point in the game, Ronnie came in to bat and hit the ball so hard that it flew across the field, hitting Bob Burns and knocking him out. Ronnie, concerned that he may have killed the guy, ran across to make sure the spectator was OK. Once it was established that Bob wasn’t about to die, the three introduced themselves. What immediately became clear was that, aside from baseball, they had a common interest – music. Rossington was a guitarist, Burns was a drummer, and Ronnie was an aspiring Merle Haggard influenced singer,
Very soon the three new friends were meeting up and practicing their music together at the garage at Bob’s parents house. They initially named their new band “My Backyard”, and learned to play by copying some of the songs they heard on the radio. They ranged from Brit rock to blues to honky tonk country music – all of which blasted out of the radio in the cab of Ronnie’s trucker dad, Lacy.
Gary Rossington remembers those early influences;
“You know, we came from English music. We’d listen to the Yardbirds and Clapton, you know and Jeff Beck, the Beatles and the Stones, the Animals, all those groups. They were our idols and gods at the time. As a matter of fact, that’s when I really did think the Beatles were like gods. I had this thing when I was going to school. I’d listen to the radio – couldn’t afford a record player then – I had a little radio then. If they ever came on,I would never turn them off and if I was late for school, had to miss school or miss church and get my butt beat by my momma because I’d miss a chore. It was like against my religion to turn them off.”
The band’s debut gig came about in December, when they were booked to play the Christmas party for Morris Auto Supply (which was owned by Ronnie’s brother-in-law). Gary explains;
“It wasn’t the Green Pig, but it had a little dance floor and stage and they used to have country combos so people could dance after they ate. It was kind of a juke joint/barbecue joint. He invited all his employees, friends and gas station people that worked and bought parts from him and he wanted a band – cheap. We got ten bucks.
That was big time money. We thought we were rich. That was two bucks apiece and we all chipped in a quarter apiece for gas. We came home with $1.75
At that time we were still playing through Allen’s Super Reverb and Bob had drums and Larry (future 38-Special Larry Junstrom who had joined on bass) had a little Ampeg bass amp you could barely hear.It was one of those little R2-D2 robot-looking things. We played `Gloria’ and a few Rolling Stones songs. We only knew about five, six or seven songs. We kept doing those all night and he paid us and we got out of there.”
The band started to change their name regularly, running through names like Wildcats, the Sons of Satan, Conqueror Worm, and the Pretty Ones. They then settled on what they thought would be THE band name – the One Percent Band. The name came from a movie the band saw in Gainesville about bikers. The bikers had tattoo’s on their arms saying “One Percent” – meaning that 1% of the world is a biker. The name stuck …… for a while.
Many new friends were made during the days of “The One Percent” – people whose names became inextricably linked with Skynyrd later on – people like Gene Odom, Randall Hall, and Billy Powell. Ronnie met his wife-to-be Judy at this point, when she was introduced to him by Gary Rossington.
As the band got more and more gigs, they cultivated their image as young rock ‘n rollers. Unfortunately, this didn’t go down well at Robert E Lee High School where some of the guys still attended classes. One teacher in particular, gym coach Leonard Skinner took particular offence to the way the boys looked – particularly their long hair. (Allen went to Forrest High School which was just as strict).
In 1978, Skinner recalled,
“I was a gym coach in high school for Ronnie VanZant and of the others in the band. Back in those days we had a dress code. The dress code involved sideburns not coming below the ears; hair not touching the back of the collar; belts had to be worn; shirt tails had to be in; and socks had to be worn at all times. It was among the duties of the coach to help enforce these rules and apparently one of the people, or one or more of the people, that I may have sent down were members of this band.”
The boys resorted to all sorts of tactics to avoid the dreaded haircut, such as slicking their hair back with Vaseline to make it appear shorter. Gary recalls;
“All the teachers thought we had short hair, but then at gym you had to take a shower – it was mandatory. Leonard Skinner would come through the showers while you were doing it, and if he caught you with your hair down touching your ears or something he’d kick you out or send you to the principal. After about 20 or 30 times of doing that to me, and kicking me out for two weeks of suspension, I just quit school. He kicked me out and I said,`____ you, I’m gone!’
“We played at the Forrest Inn a night or two later and as a joke, because Ronnie was goofing on me leaving and what happened when Skinner kicked me out, he said `Hey, we’re One Percent. We’re gonna play for y’all tonight, but we’re gonna change our name though. Everybody who wants to change it to Leonard Skinner applaud, Everybody who don’t, don’t.’ Everybody knew Leonard Skinner because he was everybody else’s coach too. So everybody roared and cheered and they thought it was a big joke and funny, but we kept it. And later we changed the Y’s and stuff so we wouldn’t get in trouble and it kind of caught on from that little joke.”
After the gig, the running joke continued. Every time the phone rang, Burns would claim it was “Leonard” out looking for Gary. The names metamorphisised; Leonard Skinner became Lynard Skynard, which in turn became Lynyrd Skynyrd.
By 1970, the members of the Skynyrd band had been together for more than five years and had played over a thousand shows. Their hard won musical abilities next took them to Sheffield, Alabama in 1970 where their hard rockin’ style caught the eye of legendary producer Jimmy Johnson (father of Southern Rock Allstars guitarist Jay). So taken was he with the band, Jimmy stumped up the money to pay for their sessions. All he would take from the sessions were his producer’s percentage if a recording was ever released from the sessions.
The band hauled themselves out to Sheffield for these Muscle Shoals sessions; eight guys staying at two rooms at Blue’s Truckstop. At this stage, Bob Burns had temporarily left the group, with his stool now taken by future Blackfoot star Rickey Medlocke. The sessions, with the band in sit ins, began in the spring of 1971. A second session began in the autumn, with Larry Junstrom replaced on bass by Leon Wilkeson (after Larry was busted for smoking pot). He was followed into the band by classically trained, keyboard playing roadie, Corpus Christi, Texas native Billy Powell.
The tapes were taken to many labels but with no interest, apart from Capricorn Records. However, Ronnie quickly discounted the idea; if Skynyrd were to be noticed, it wouldn’t happen on a label hosting such Southern rockers as Wet Willie, The Marshall Tucker Band, and The Allman Brothers Band. Skynyrd would be smothered there. (Ironically, years later when Skynyrd parted with Atlantic Records, they recorded “Endangered Species” for Capricorn).
The band were low in morale, and this got worse for them when they found they were no longer “flavour of the month” in Jacksonville, with bookings becoming more difficult to come by. The band then made the ultimately crucial decision to set up camp in what would become their spiritual home; Atlanta.
The band was “discovered” there by former Blood, Sweat and Tears keyboard player Al Kooper and signed to his Sounds of the South label. Kooper spotted the band playing at Funocchio’s bar in Atlanta in 1972, whilst Kooper himself was out touring with Badfinger. Kooper already had three acts signed up; his reformed Blues Project, LA funk band Elijah, and bar band Mose Jones. It was Mose Jones who recommended Kooper sign up Skynyrd.
Skynyrd’s then manager Alan Walden recalls the moment the band were signed;
When we signed the recording contract on the hood of my pickup truck in the Macon Coliseum parking lot, Ronnie asked me in front of the other musicians what I thought of the contract. My reply was it was the worst I had ever seen. Worse than most of the old R & B contracts.
His reply was “What else we got? Nothing” I said. “Gimme that damn pen” as he reached for it. We could wait no more. The band could not starve any more. We had already been in the clubs too long. They signed and he went back to Jacksonville and started writing “Working for MCA!”
Before managing the get to the studio to begin cutting their debut album, Leon Wilkeson, in a moment of self-doubt, quit the band. (He played for a while with King James Version, and was replaced by both Greg T Walker and Rickey Medlocke) This left the lineup in disarray. How would they replace him? Van Zant recalled the gigs Skynyrd played in 1970 supporting Strawberry Alarm Clock, and particularly their guitarist Ed King, who was also a mean bass player. King, who by now was no longer with Strawberry Alarm Clock was visited by Ronnie at the bar where he worked in North Carolina, and soon signed on as Wilkeson’s replacement.
The band got together at Studio One in Atlanta and played an all night “live” recording session resulting in five songs. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s career took a dramatic upturn on Sunday July 29, 1973 when they got the opportunity to play for hardened record executives at a Sounds of the South press party, held at “Richards” in Atlanta. Introduced by Al Kooper as “the American Rolling Stones” the band burst onto the stage with a previously unheard Skynyrd song (but another which would become a classic) – “Workin’ for MCA”. The crowd was instantly won over. Lynyrd Skynyrd were on their way.
When they were about to enter the studio to begin working on their debut album, the first problem they had was material. The band already had a catalogue of twenty self-penned songs and they now had to decide which would make the cut. On picking out the songs for the album, the next problem for the band was Al Kooper himself. Kooper had huge experience in the recording industry and enraged the band by insisting on radically altering some of their song’s arrangements. However, very often Kooper was correct, most famously in getting Allen Collins to record a second guitar part for the Freebird solo.
The band too had its moments. When Kooper objected to the band cutting “Simple Man”, he was escorted from the studio to his car and told not to come back in until the band had finished recording the song. (Kooper disputes this version, saying the band sneakily cut the song after Kooper had gone, believing the session to have finished).
“We are just simple, common people who are not trying to be big actors. We’re trying to get people off, just trying to be good. That song is about us”…. Allen Collins
Kooper was an experienced musician and arranger, and with Ronnie being equally as forthright with his opinions, they clashed many times.
“I taught them how to use the studio. I also taught them how to use the bass and the bass drum in a competitive way. But of all the bands I ever worked with, they were the best-arranged. What they did with guitar parts was truly amazing – they had the pulse of the street. They absolutely had it. What fights we had were over my editorial decisions, and I was often outvoted. Ronnie ran that band with an iron hand.”…. Al Kooper
“Maybe once in twenty times Kooper will have a good idea, but I will suffer the other nineteen times because the twentieth time will be something to make us sound better”…. Ronnie Van Zant
There were however, songs that Kooper adored and wanted included on the finished album. Ironically, his two favourites, “Mr Banker” and “Was I Right or Wrong” didn’t make the final cut. “Mr Banker” wasn’t released on an album until 1987′s compilation “Legend”, and “Was I Right or Wrong” came out on 1978′s “First and Last”.
Another great track from the album was barroom brawl classic “Gimme Three Steps”:
We went in this W. T. West Tavern one day — me, Ronnie and Allen. Me, I never danced in my whole life. We always played so people could dance. I never been able to. But anyway, this girl came over and wanted Ronnie to dance, because he was old, you know? So they went out and started twisting and doing the Monkey. This guy came in and said, “Hey, that’s my girl. You better get. What are you doing dancin’ with her?” And Ronnie went, “Hey, I’m just having fun.”
Anyway, this guy was gonna whip Ronnie for dancin’ with his girlfriend. They were in a little fight and the only reason the girl was dancing with Ronnie was because she was fighting with her boyfriend. Then the guy pulled a gun and said he was gonna blow Ronnie’s brains, you know? And Ronnie said, “Please just let me leave. I don’t know the girl. I don’t want to see her again.” And he turned around he said, “If you’re gonna shoot me, you’re gonna have to shoot me in the ass or the elbows.” And we started walking out, er, Allen and me saw Ronnie walking so we started to walk. We got to the car and we wrote it in the car driving back to the house. …….. Gary Rossington
“Gimme Three Steps” was released as Lynyrd Skynyrd’s debut single in November of 1973, with the B Side “Mr Banker”.
The band began to rely heavily on Ronnie coming up with lyrics, which he would then take to Allen, Gary or Ed so that melodies and arrangement’s could be worked out. When it came time to record, the band would have worked out the musical arrangement in detail, so that the guitarists always knew exactly what they would play on their solo’s before recording with Kooper.
The track “Mississippi Kid” was an acoustic one, which allowed Ed King to put down the bass and contribute a great mandolin piece to the track.
The bands legendary Duane Allman tribute “Freebird” rounded the album out. Clocking in at nine minutes in length, MCA balked at the idea of releasing it as a single, never mind having it on the album. Despite their concerns, as Ed King said, it was the song “everyone gravitated towards”. It was released, after “Gimme Three Steps” in November 1973 backed up by “Down South Jukin’” (which later appeared on “First and Last” in 1978). It peaked at # 19 in January 1975, and had multiple re-releases in the years afterwards.
“Certainly Allen’s legacy is the guitar solo in Freebird. He will always be remembered for that. It’ll live forever. It’s a classic, but it went way deeper than that. It was the spirit and the passion that he had every time he picked up a guitar. He became that guitar”….. Jeff Carlisi, guitarist, 38 Special
Several guests participated in the making of the album. On the track “Tuesday’s Gone”, the Mellotron was performed by one Roosevelt Gook (known to his friends as Al Kooper), Atlanta Rhythm Section drummer Robert Nix also sat in on that song. Harmonica on the song was supplied by Blood, Sweat and Tears man Steve Katz. Long time friend and future 38 Special guitarist Jeff Carlisi also provided input, which was rewarded with thanks on the albums liner notes.
A month and a half before release, adverts started to appear in the music press, placed by Kooper, saying “Who is Lynyrd Skynyrd?” with the soon to be familiar Skynyrd skull-and-crossbones emblem. Every week, the press would be drip feed slightly more detailed ad’s, until the week before release, with the excitement starting to build, a two page ad about the band appeared. All this promotion ensured that Pronounced became the rock album most added to airplay lists.
“Van Zant’s lyrics completed the geographical picture with tales of disapproving daddies, guns, trains, rides, ghetto’s, the Lord, and getting high on dope and booze”… Sounds magazine
When, in 1973, Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd was released (costing a grand total of $22,500), it was a slow burner. Although it eventually sold extremely well and is rightly considered to be a classic, at the time its impact was moderate at best. Ath the time all of this was happening, Ed King was staying temporarily with Ronnie and Judy Van Zant. It was at the house, that Ronnie told Ed that he was probably the worst bass player he’d come across, to which Ed replied that he should get Leon back (who was currently employed at Farm Best Dairy making ice cream) on bass, and then Ed could add third guitar.
“I did approach Billy and I told him that if there was any possibility that Ronnie might consider putting me back in the band that I was gung-ho ready for it, so I guess Billy Powell passed the word on”…Leon Wilkeson
Skynyrd hit the road and soon found that their new found popularity was enabling manager Alan Walden to book them into bigger venues. They also landed themselves on bills where they played with the Atlanta Rhythm Section, and sometimes opened for Capricorn’s Marshall Tucker Band.
However, the association with Walden wasn’t working, at least as far as the band were concerned. Ronnie had become friendly with Rolling Stones manager Peter Rudge, and was slowly moving Peter in, and Alan out.
“Peter Rudge was very manipulative and kind of shady”…. Artimus Pyle
“I have a Jesus in heaven and on earth but in music I’ve got Peter Rudge”…..Ronnie van Zant
With King now adding a third part, the band enjoyed a burst of creative energy. This resulted in them writing their soon to be legendary “Sweet Home Alabama” even before “Pronounced” was released.
One of the things that helped the band to promote the debut album, was Skynyrd managing to land the sole support slot on The Who’s Quadrophenia North American Tour in 1973. Even though they acheived this, and “Freebird” dominated FM radio, neither the album, nor the single “Gimme Three Steps” made a chart impact.
The band debuted with The Who at the Cow Palace, in San Francisco. Just months before, they had been playing in bars, and now, here they were in front of more than 18,000 people.The band panicked during the initial few gigs, but soon began to settle into their role.
“We were prime. We were one hundred percent that night and every night as far as that tour.”… Billy Powell
On the first night, with The Who playing, Powell tried to get up close to see the performance. He wasn’t wearing his pass at the time and before he could reach inside his coat to show it, Bill Graham (assuming Powell was an interloper) leaped full bodied at him and punched him in the mouth. Before long Leon, Ronnie and Gary had all dived in and a punch-up ensued with the man promoting The Who on Skynyrd’s first night in the limelight!!
Skynyrd’s drinking and fighting continued. On one night, The Who’s vocalist Roger Daltrey narrowly missed serious injury when, as he came through the door of Skynyrd’s dressing room, a beer bottle flew past his head!
The pressure was on. January 1974 saw Lynyrd Skynyrd reconvening at the Record Plant in LA to begin recording there second album.
“Sweet Home Alabama” was to become, with “Freebird”, Skynyrd’s masterpiece. It was written as a jokey reply to two Neil Young track’s – “Southern Man” and “Alabama”. However, the critics and public read a far more sinister meaning into it, earning Skynyrd the undeserved tag of being a racist band. People also believed that there was antipathy between Ronnie and Neil;
“We wrote Alabama as a joke. We didn’t even think about it-the words just came out that way. We just laughed like hell, and said ‘Ain’t that funny’… We love Neil Young, we love his music…”…. Ronnie Van Zant
The Neil Young references in the lyrics propagated a myth that Skynyrd and Neil Young were bitter rivals. In fact, the opposite was true. Ronnie Van Zant was a huge Neil Young fan, and Skynyrd went on to open for him later on. The cover of 1977′s “Street Survivors” album shows Ronnie dressed in a Neil Young t-shirt. In fact, after the Skynyrd plane crash, Young himself performed Sweet Home Alabama at his gigs in tribute to his fallen friends.
Skynyrd, now widely seen as a redneck band, added to the image by using the Confederate “Stars N Bars” as the backdrop to the stage shows.
Once the album was finished (for the amazing some of $30,000), MCA executives (and Al Kooper) decided (against the band’s wishes) that the lead-off single was going to be “Don’t Ask Me No Questions”. The band felt that the most obvious choice on the album was the opening track “Sweet Home Alabama” but the label considered that it was too regional to stand a chance.
“I made a deal that if single they wanted to release didn’t make it, they’d… put out “Sweet Home Alabama”. I just had this feeling about it. We got it down real fast… It’s always the ones that you get down fast that make it.”…. Ronnie Van Zant
When “Don’t Ask Me No Questions” failed to make a significant impact on the singles chart, Skynyrd pressed further for “Alabama” to get a shot as a single. Eventually, in late June ’74, the label relented. The song was released as a single and went on to become the most successful single the band would have. As it rose up the chart, it was aided by the growing problems besetting President Nixon – Watergate. By September 20, “Sweet Home Alabama”, and its parent album “Second Helping” were certified gold, with Pronounced enjoying a resurgence on the back of them. “Helping” would rise to number 12 on the national album chart. By December, Pronounced had gone Gold as well.
After the release of Second Helping and the resulting tour, the band regrouped at home for a short break. However, the pressure was soon on again as Skynyrd had a contractual obligation to MCA to put out a new album fairly quickly.
The band headed out to the studio to crank out the songs. In an extremely limited timespan, the band managed to come up with an album’s worth of original material. The first song to be recorded was their gun control anthem “Saturday Night Special”. By the time the song was finally recorded, the band found themselves in turmoil. Original member Bob Burns decided that he had had enough and he quit prior to Skynyrd embarking on a European tour. It was later claimed by elements associated to the band that Bob’s growing obsession with the film “The Exorcist”, as well as his involvement in a car crash (which involved a fatality) had seriously altered his personality.
The departure of Burns inspired Ronnie to write the lyrics to one of his most unsung treasures “Am I Losin’” – an acoustic lament for his friend Bob.
The band looked around for a replacement. Their southern contemporaries The Marshall Tucker band knew of a drummer who they believed could fit right in; Thomas Delmar Pyle. Pyle was a North Carolina drummer who had worked both with Tucker and also with Charlie Daniels. He was known to his friends, not as Thomas, but under the (at first glance bizzare) name of Artimus. The name Artimus was a nickname attributed to him in his days in the Marines by his comrades. Artemus was a god of beauty, and the name was attributed to Pyle because of his (then) fresh faced complexion.
Artimus made his live debut at Jacksonville’s Sgt Pepper’s Club in October 1974 and then joined the band for the rest of the recordings at Webb IV Studios in Atlanta in January, 1975, The recording of the album continued to completion. The resulting tour to support it brought another chaotic decision for Skynyrd.
With the album (now officially named “Nuthin’ Fancy”) in the can and then released (it got to number 9 on the charts), the band went out on the road to promote it. The Nuthin Fancy tour became the stuff of legend, with the band members themselves unofficially naming it the “Torture Tour”. It was a monster – 61 shows in three months. Skynyrds hellraising lifestyle was at an all time high, and the tour often involved drunken performances, cancellations, and fist fights between the band and just about anyone else (even fellow band members).
“We were doing bottles of Dom Perignon, fifths of whiskey, wine and beer…We couldn’t even remember the order of the songs. Some guy crouched behind an amp and shouted them to us. We made the Who look like church boys on Sunday. We done things only fools’d do.”….Ronnie Van Zant
Guitarist Ed King, who by now had serious problems with drug addiction, decided that he couldn’t carry on for the good of his health. He simply packed up and left in the middle of the so called “Torture Tour” on May 27, 1975 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
“I couldn’t live with it anymore. It was a situation that had gotten out of control and I had gotten out of control with it. “I’m not proud of the way I left, but I’m glad I did. I had problems with the management, and there were internal conflicts in the band I just couldn’t cope with.”"…….. Ed King
The album, although a good one, was treated more harshly by critics, who described it as “awkward compared to live renditions of the same songs.”
Skynyrd had reached the end of the road with their current management, and bought out Alan Walden for $225,000, before signing up with Peter Rudge. Allen believed that Walden booked “”the same old places where we had made all the money, so they could make their money.”" Walden claims that he was responsible for making money from the band by getting their music featured in movies. He arranged for “Saturday Night Special” (which he claimed to co-write)to appear in the Burt Reynolds movie “The Longest Yard” (released in the UK as “The Mean Machine”). He was apparently disgusted to see only King and Van Zant mentioned as its authors in the end credits. Alan Walden also managed to secure places for “Freebird” and “Sweet Home Alabama” in blockbuster hit “Forrest Gump”.
“When I was asked to step down as the manager of Lynyrd Skynyrd, I was naturally disappointed and probably reached my lowest point in life since the tragic death of Otis Redding. I tried to reach an intelligent decision as what direction to take. I could have met with them and stroked them and made some type of compromise with my commissions and some of their other demands. But….. I knew I had lost control and would end up being another “yes” man, not the position a Manager should be in. I went to Columbus, Georgia and had a talk with Ronnie and this is when he told me the brotherhood was gone, that Lynyrd Skynyrd was now “a working machine”. I knew then this was not for me. We had been one of the best, “all for one and one for all” up until this day.
I left and proceeded to make a deal to relinquish my management to Peter Rudge. Papers were signed in New York and I was returning to Macon with a stop over in Atlanta. Walking through the Atlanta airport I saw this figure coming my way that was so damn familiar to me.
It was Bob Burns, intoxicated ( I had several on the plane too). When we met there in the hallway, we immediately embraced and hugged each other for a few minutes. He was carrying a Memphis newspaper with the review of the Eric Clapton/ Lynryrd Skynryd Show which read totally in Skynyrd’s favor. This was one of my last concerts booked by me on the trail of kicking all the headliners. We had met The Allmans in Atlanta and The Eagles in Miami. Bob showed me the review and told me what a great show it was even though they were all very drunk onstage that night(In those years Skynyrd COULD play better drunk than sober). Then he layed the bomb on me! It had been his LAST date. They had fired BOB!!! We shed a tear together and promised to stay in touch but I knew as we walked away……The Brotherhood was truly GONE!!!! If I had remained the manager, I would never have gone along with letting Bob go. He may not have been the greatest drummer, but the funk he could play was incredible. A second drummer should have been added and “Harpo” should have been allowed to stay. After all he played and rehearsed the best of the music this band ever made.
I made a lot of key decisions for Lynyrd Skynrd which still go unappreciated even today but one decision I did make was to incorporate the band’s members and THANK GOD because if I had not Bob Burns would have been discharged without receiving his correct royalties. Because I did, he did receive a very nice settlement and that’s makes me smile.”…. told to me by Alan Walden
Rudge was soon making his presence felt, pushing away Skynyrd producer Al Kooper to a greater and greater degree.
Another person added to the Skynyrd family around that time was Ronnie’s boyhood friend Gene Odom. Gene was added to the mix as Ronnie’s personal bodyguard as well as being in total command of the band’s security. Gene Odom came onboard in 1975, and after the Torture Tour spent some time on the road doing a similar job for The Rolling Stones. After that Gene Odom was a permanent fixture with Skynyrd until Oct 20 1977. By 1976 they had a new producer, Tom Dowd for their next album Gimme Back My Bullets and after heavy touring, they now had a strong following on the road.
Dowd had come on board to replace Al Kooper as Lynyrd Skynyrd’s producer. Leon recalled that the band had doubts that Dowd would be interested but that in reality he…
“was all for it, and commented that he was really interested in working with us because he wanted to do with us what he never got to do with the Allmans in the studio. I never did find out what that was, but he did work really well with us.”
The band were in a time of turmoil, which was something Dowd picked up on straight away;
“Gimme Back My Bullets was laborious. Ed King had left, but it wasn’t a new horizon for them. It was a new opportunity for them, I guess, because they were weaker than they normally stood.” …. Tom Dowd
“”They were pushed into the studio too quick. I think partially it was the record companies fault and partially the band’s fault. They felt they could probably write just about anything and do well…I think they were just too hurried.”…. Skynyrd soundman, Kevin Elson
“We were kind of lost. You know, we just did it because it was time and they said do it. We wrote half that in the studio with Tom.”….Gary Rossington
An interesting aspect of Dowd’s technique was, once a song was written, he and the band would come up with numerous arrangements. The boys would then perform all of the arrangements live to see which worked and which didn’t. Once they had the arrangement, the band would record as a unit in the studio, with the only overdubs being on the vocal. Al Kooper’s approach had leaned far more heavily on over-dubbing. Indeed Kooper’s over-dubbing obsession left the band weakened in the studio, as Dowd noticed;
They were all very good musicians, but they were running over some elementary things. Once they mastered the elementary things, things came easily. Its like a child. They take one step backwards so they can take two steps forward. I took them one step backwards and they started going forward.”
Another major change in Skynyrd’s approach was their decision to record with (and later, tour with) a trio of female backing singers. The first two to be hired were Leslie Hawkins and Memphis resident Jo Jo Billingsley. The band had two, but wanted another singer. Jo Jo suggested her friend Cassie Gaines and the Honkettes (as they became known) were together. Cassie came to the band as a graduate from Memphis State University
The band cut four tracks for the album between late September and early October of 1975, at the Record Plant in LA. October 16 saw the band embark on a three-week European tour. Once this finished, they reconvened at Capricorn Studios in Macon, Ga to finish the album.
Skynyrds country influences were more on show than on past efforts on this album. Country tinged tracks included “All I can do is write about it” and “Every Mothers Son”. Another notable track was “Cry for the Bad Man” which was written about Skynyrd’s somewhat bitter split from former manager Alan Walden. Walden recalled in some detail the friction between himself and the band over his management style;
I caught a lot of crap from the band sometimes because they wanted to make a certain amount all the time! Once we played a $10,000 date they thought all the dates should be $10,000. We might play Nashville for $35,000 and the next day be booked for $3,500 in a market undeveloped. Then once they said no more under a certain price, they complained of working the same cities over and over…During this time I also was thinking of their latter days when they would no longer tour. Like now maybe? I had set up profit sharing and pension plans for their older years. I got them life insurance. Things they did not want to keep at that time. They wanted it all in CASH! One visit to the road I discovered $90,000 in a briefcase. Smart. I took it home and straight to the bank. I tried to remind them it wasn’t that long before that we all had been broke. The wheel of success had turned. I was the money miser. And they just knew the success would never stop….
We were at the Orange Bowl with the Eagles and I was doing an in depth interview with Creem Magazine. They had spent two days traveling with me and this was going to be THE BIG STORY! Ronnie told me he needed to talk to me right after the show and he and I went back to the room together. When we sat down he informed me the band had voted to replace me as the manager of the band. The wind went out of my sails. I can’t tell you how bad and shocked I felt. This had been my whole life for the last four years. No one loved the band anymore than me. Not Ronnie, not Allen, not Gary or any of the rest of the band. Ronnie had been best man at my wedding. The only people I invited were the band. I thought of Ronnie as my closest friend. There was anger, hurt, pain, fear, and numbness. Ronnie said I could beat the hell out of him, that he would just cover up the vitals and let me have a go at him. I couldn’t. He asked me if I wanted to know who voted what. I was still wrestling with the verdict. I knew Ed King didn’t like me but the rest of the guys were supposed to be my friends too. I knew I had done a superb job for this group. But something had gone wrong! Here we were with the whole world at our feet and now BOOM! I must admit that also came a feeling like concrete blocks falling from my shoulders. Now I did not have to worry about their future like I had been doing. The truth of the matter is no one was looking after mine or seemed to care but me.”
Before he died. Ronnie spoke with Alan and told him that he was sorry for having written the song about him.
Once again, heavy touring was called for to support the sales of “Gimme Back my Bullets”. It didn’t take long for the band to ditch the albums title track from their live set list;
“We quit doin’ the song… because almost every audience… would throw a handful of bullets, you know, like .38 slugs… I’d say ‘Gimme Back My Bullets’, and they’d let me have it…There are two types of bullets(in the music business). There’s bullets from a gun, and there’s a bullet on the trade magazines. I wish you’d listen to the song that (second) way-that’s the way it was meant.”…. Ronnie Van Zant
On release, albums sales sky-rocketed. However, the initial surge of euphoria from the fans soon slowed down and eventually Bullets became the least commercially successful album that Ronnie’s band released.
“Gimme Back My Bullets” would lead to another album release in 1976 ( the live album One More For the Road, which was a huge hit.) The band pencilled in the US bicentennial (July 1976) for the shows. With the build up came a need for Skynyrd to find a third picker. Although still a fine band, when Ed King left something of the bands sound disappeared with him. Many players were considered, including session wizard Wayne Perkins, and Mountain legend Leslie West. West was a particular favourite of the band’s. Rossington recalled the band travelling with West, and that he had to fly wearing “two seat belts!!”. Unfortunately, there was always going to be an ego clash, and when the Mountain man wanted the band billed as “Lynyrd Skynyrd featuring Leslie West”, he was shown the door.
The man to solve the problem was right under the band’s nose, and they didn’t see it. When Skynyrd went into the studio to record “Gimme Back My Bullets” they used backing singers for the first time. Their names were Leslie Hawkins, Cassie Gaines, and Jo Jo Billingsley. When the search for a third guitarist drew a blank, Cassie Gaines plucked up the courage to tell the band about her younger brother, guitarist Steve Gaines. The band, to be polite, heard her out and even agreed, against their better judgement, to let Steve play a song with them. Cassie, of course, got straight on the phone to her brother in Seneca, Missouri to tell him that there was a chance of some work for him and could he come out. She neglected to tell him what the “work” might be!!!
When Steve arrived he heard that he was to play a show with Skynyrd at Kansas City. The moment of truth arrived and Steve stepped out onto the stage with the band to perform a new song in their repertoire, Jimmie Rodgers classic ” T for Texas”. Unknown to Steve, Gary and Allen had instructed the sound guys to turn Steve right down in the mix if he “sucked”. The opposite happened. At the appointed moment in the song, Steve put on his slide and burst into a fiery solo that left the band speechless with admiration.
After the gig, Steve went home. Nothing happened for two weeks, and he assumed no more would come of it. How wrong he was. Within a fortnight of the Kansas City show, Steve received a phone call from Ronnie to say the band were going to play a show at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – could Steve come out?
“I expect we’ll all be in Steve’s shadow one day. This kid is a writing and playing fool. He’s already scared everybody (in the band) into playing their best in years.”…. Ronnie on Steve
Not only was Steve an ace picker, but he was a genuinely nice guy. The band took to him straight away, particularly Allen who had found himself a new bosom buddy. Steve spent all of June with the band in rehearsal for the upcoming live album.
Skynyrd selected an unlikely venue. Instead of going for a big arena show, Skynyrd selected Atlanta’s hallowed Fox Theatre for several reasons. 1) It had a great sound 2) It would provide an intimate setting for both the band and audience 3) Atlanta supported Skynyrd when no-one else had and 4) The Fox was under threat of closure and Skynyrd wanted to help it survive. The resulting “One More From The Road” (culled from three shows that July) was one of Skynyrd’s finest, and is often considered to be, along with the Allman’s “Live at the Fillmore” one of the all-time great live albums. Although in some parts of the show, Gaines was hardly heard his presence shows in the blistering Skynyrd performance. “One More From The Road” eventually became Skynyrd’s second Top 10 album.
With the album under their belt, Skynyrd were starting to be considered as big as the Allmans. The band wanted to keep that going, and much soul searching was done. Ronnie knew that his love of whiskey was possibly going to be damaging, and so he made an effort to give up the bottle. The band also decided that their image wasn’t being helped by Confederate backdrops, and so they stopped using the Stars n bars flag on stage. They even stopped using “Dixie” as their theme tune. Ronnie was also a new father to daughter Melody.
However, the good intentions Ronnie had didn’t always permeate through the rest of the band. Over the Labor Day weekend, Gary and Allen both were involved in seperate incidents whilst driving under the influence. Ronnie’s wrath was something to behold, berating his guitar players for their stupidity.
Fresh off the album, came more live gigs, particularly the legendary Knebworth ’76 gig in England supporting the Rolling Stones, who according to legend, Skynyrd blew off the stage. Their gig was captured in nearly all of its entirety on the 1996 film and soundtrack album “Freebird the Movie”. With Skynyrd having successfully recorded their live album, and played a barnstorming show at Knebworth, England, expectations were high for the next studio album. In April 1977, a triumphant and confident Lynyrd Skynyrd joined producer Tom Dowd at Criteria Studios in Miami, FLA to begin recording the new album. The recording process went well, but things began to unravel during mixing. The band went back on the road before the completion of the album with the feeling that things weren’t going as planned.
The summer of 1977 saw Skynyrd continuing to play huge outdoor shows such as Bill Graham’s “Day on the Green” at Oakland Colisseum. Introduced to “Theme from the Magnificent Seven” the band were hotter than ever.
With the summer dates finished, Skynyrd moved north to Studio One in Doraville, Georgia to complete the album. There they found engineer Rodney Mills, but Dowd was in Toronto having committed himself to working with Rod Stewart. Dowd contacted LA based engineer Barry Rudolph and sent him to Georgia to be his representative. (Dowd never made it back for the Skynyrd album, and subsequently was not credited as its producer on the album cover.)
However, even without Dowd, all was not lost. Rudolph had been around and listed in his cv was a reference which would make instant believers out of Skynyrd. He was the engineer on the legendary album “Are You Ready For The Country” by Waylon Jennings. Indeed, Rudolph’s country music past seemed to be the prime inspiration for Skynyrd’s rollicking cover of Merle Haggard’s country classic “Honky Tonk Night Time Man”. It was a song which Skynyrd really nailed down, with a fabulous stinging solo from Gaines, causing Ronnie to holler “Sounds like Roy” on the track – a direct reference to Haggards legendary lead player Roy Clark. The band had already canned versions of “You Got that Right” and “That Smell” but such was their sense of enjoyment at working with Rudolphs, both tracks were re-recorded with him.
Once Rudolph’s stint had finished, Ronnie, Rodney Mills and Kevin Elson (who would subsequently produce US rockers Mr Big) finished the album off with remixed tracks from the Criteria sessions and newly mixed tracks in Georgia.
With the album not even in the shops, Skynyrd notched up an impressive half million album sales, sending the album Gold before even being released. Their most ambitious tour was ready to roll, “The Tour of the Survivors” which was to be topped off by a career defining show at Madison Square Gardens in New York.
During the recording of the album, the band considered going on the road without The Honkettes, but when they tried to do it there was big gap to fill – the sound wasn’t right without them. Cassie and Leslie signed back on with the boys. There was a delay with Jo Jo who had been ill and recuperating at her mom’s house in Mississippi. Once back in good health, Jo Jo decided she would rejoin with the others for Skynyrd’s coming of age tour.
It never happened for them…..
Only three days after the album (ironically called “Street Survivors”) release, tragedy would strike. On October 20 at 6:42 pm, with the band on tour and on their way to from Greenville, South Carolina to a show in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, their privately chartered twin engine Convair 240 plane crashed into a swamp in McComb, Amite County, Mississippi, killing Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines, and road manager Dean Kilpatrick, who had always been there for the band. Also killed were pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray. The rest of the band were seriously injured, some almost fatally.
Ironically, in the preceeding days, many band members began to feel nervous of the prone-to-backfiring plane. Jo Jo Billingsley had a premonition or dream that something bad would happen. It was agreed that once the band got to Baton Rouge, they would get rid of the plane.
As the flight ran into problems Billy Powell went up front to the cockpit to find out what was happening. He remembers the crew being “bug-eyed” with fear as they realised what was about to happen. The band strapped themselves in and tried to be prepared. Artimus remembers strapping Ronnie into his seat and trying to put a velvet cushion under his head. The plane fell from the sky just outside Gillsburg, Mississippi at a place called McComb.
The right engine started sputtering, and I went up to the cockpit. The
pilot said they were just transferring oil from one wing to another,
everything’s okay. Later, the engine went dead. Artimus [Pyle] and I ran to
the cockpit. The pilot was in shock. He said, ‘Oh my God, strap in.’ Ronnie
[Van Zant] had been asleep on the floor and Artimus got him up and he was
really pissed. We strapped in and a minute later we crashed. The pilot said
he was trying for a field, but I didn’t see one. The trees kept getting
closer, they kept getting bigger. Then there was a sound like someone
hitting the outside of the plane with hundreds of baseball bats. I crashed
into a table; people were hit by flying objects all over the plane. Ronnie
was killed with a single head injury. The top of the plane was ripped open.
Artimus crawled out the top and said there was a swamp, maybe alligators. I
kicked my way out and felt for my hands — they were still there. I felt for
my nose and it wasn’t, it was on the side of my face. There was just
silence. Artimus and Ken Peden and I ran to get help, Artimus with his ribs
sticking out.”……. Billy Powell
According to the NTSB report the pilots miscalculated the amount of fuel provided in Lakeland, Florida on October 18, 1977. When they refueled in Greenville, South Carolina on the 20th, they compounded this error by believing they had more fuel than they really did. The airplane was also experiencing some mechanical difficulties which required the pilots to operate the right engine in the “auto-rich” position which burned fuel at an excessive rate. The combination of these problems resulted in nearly complete fuel exhaustion. The pilots changed course and headed for an airport near McComb, Mississippi but the plane stalled near Gillsburg, Mississippi and crashed in swampy woods.
For the band, it was probably the worst place this incident could happen – they crashed into a snake infested swamp. Ronnie and the rest of the deceased probably died instantly. The others lay for hours in the darkness, some conscious, some not, waiting for someone to help them. Artimus Pyle was able to free himself from the wreckage, and despite suffering a broken sternum, ran for help. He found a farmhouse some distance away from the crash site, and ran, yelling, towards it. The farmer saw what he took to be a long haired, freaked out hippy running at him. He got out his gun and shot Pyle in the shoulder, thinking that he was coming under attack.
All this happened after both Jo Jo Billingsley (after a dream) and Cassie Gaines expressed concern about the safety of the bands plane.
The death and injury toll was overwhelming;
Ronnie Van Zant – killed
Steve Gaines – killed
Cassie Gaines – killed
Dean Kilpatrick (Skynyrd assistant road manager) – killed
Walter McCreary (Pilot) – killed
William Gray (Co-Pilot) – killed
Leon Wilkeson – broken jaw, crushed chest, internal bleeding (Leon “died” and had to be revived at Southwest Medical Centre)
Allen Collins – Spinal damage
Gary Rossington – broken leg, concussion
Leslie Hawkins – facial injuries requiring plastic surgery
Artimus Pyle – broken sternum
Billy Powell – severe lacerations to the nose and general cuts and bruises
Billy and Artimus’ injuries, although serious, weren’t as horrific as those experienced by other band members. Both were discharged from hospitals in Jackson and Magnolia within a week. Powell was the only band member well enough (and he was on crutches with his face in bandages) to attend the funerals of his deceased comrades.
Steve and Cassie Gaines were laid to rest on October 23 1977 in their hometown of Miami, Oklahoma.
A private ceremony was held for Ronnie on October 25, by his friends and family. Among his musical comrades who attended were Billy Powell, Dickey Betts, Charlie Daniels, Al Kooper, Tom Dowd, Ed King, Bob Burns,.and some of the guys from Atlanta Rhythm Section, 38 Special and Grinderswitch. A recording of David Allan Coe’s “”Another Pretty Country Song”" was played, which was followed by Charlie Daniels and 38 Special performing “Amazing Grace”. Daniels then read an emotional poem in honour of his fallen protege. Ronnie Van Zant was finally buried, fittingly, with his fishing rod.
As Charlie Daniel’s was to describe it later “The Skynyrd dream had shattered”.
MCA reacted to the tragedy with speed. The album cover, depicting the band stood in the street, whilst the town burns around them, was replaced by what was originally the back cover – Ronnie and the band in a semicircle with a plain black background. That original album had included, as a gimmick, an order form for fans to order their “Lynyrd Skynyrd Survival Kit”. This too was withdrawn.
On the back of “Street Survivors” MCA released an album of unreleased recordings from 1970 – 1972 packaged as “First and Last”. It went platinum too. The album contained previously unreleased songs and B sides, such as the beautiful “Comin’ Home” a song recorded years before. As was typical of most of the songs on the album, the very early incarnation of the Skynyrd band recorded most of the material. On Comin’ Home, Ed King recorded the slide overdubs in 1975 at Al Kooper’s after Ronnie had finally managed to get the masters back from Jimmy Johnson.
In despair, Allen and Gary signed a hand-written document in 1978 promising that they would never resurrect the Skynyrd name. Unknown to them, Ronnie’s widow Judy never destroyed the document and when Skynyrd reformed in 1987, it came back to haunt them.
After the surviving members of Lynyrd Skynyrd — Gary, Allen, Billy, Leon and Artimus — made their first post-crash appearance at the Charlie Daniels Band Volunteer Jam in 1979, they knew they wanted to continue their dream of making music. At the Jam, they wound up their gig with an emotion-fuelled instrumental version of Freebird, dedicated to their fallen comrades. They did not know, however, what direction they should take the new band in. Gary and Allen faced the difficult decision on whether to utilize other members of Lynyrd Skynyrd or start with fresh players. The survivors did know that the day they went back on the road remained far in the future as they faced months of grueling rehabilitation as they recovered from the tremendous injuries suffered in the plane crash.
The first two Skynyrd men to re-emerge were Billy and Artimus. Billy played as guest pianist on 38 Special’s 1978 album “Special Delivery”. Billy and Artimus then both performed on a recording by El Paso singer/ songwriter Leon LeBront.
Playing again felt good to the guys, even if it wasn’t Skynyrd. In 1979, Billy, Artimus, Leon, Gary and Allen played along as session men for the new Jacksonville band “Alias” on their first (and only) album “Contraband”. The Alias band consisted of many guys who were Jacksonville legends themselves; Dorman Cogburn (guitars), Jimmy Dougherty (vocals), Ricky Powell, Billy’s brother (bass), and Jo Jo Billingsley. Also involved were local legends Randall Hall and Barrylee Harwood (guitars) and Derek Hess on drums.
Leon Wilkeson had suffered horrific injuries in the plane crash (even “dying” at one stage), which meant he joined the “Contraband” sessions later than the the others. In fact, when Leon came in, Gary and Allen were backing out. Leon believed that they had a disagreement with the director of the project. Someone then came up to Leon at the sessions and said
‘What are we doing here? We ought to be making our own album.’”
Toward the end of 1979, Gary and Allen met in Jacksonville to discuss their options concerning the future. As they talked, Gary absent-mindedly picked up Steve Gaines’ gold-top Les Paul guitar — Steve’s widow, Teresa, gave him the instrument in early 1978. Sitting in a chair strumming the guitar, Gary noticed an old platinum dobro and thought, “Wow! Gold and platinum. At the time, Allen was talking about the need for a Skynyrd greatest hits album. Gary remembered, “Allen said, ‘Let’s get all the best songs and them out on a record.’ So that’s what we did. We came up with the cover, but it was kind of simple.”
MCA rep Leon Tsilis insisted the name came about when he, Allen and Gary met at Allen’s home to discuss a “Best of …” album. At the time, their thoughts ran toward a Skynyrd greatest hits collection that would remind people of the band and introduce the public to their new efforts. Leon recalled the three of them looking at Allen’s wall of Lynyrd Skynyrd RIAA awards, “I looked up and said, ‘Christ, you guys got a lot of gold and platinum records up here.’ And that’s were it came from — Gold & Platinum.
MCA records did not initially support the project. The Skynyrd catalogue sales had drastically declined in the past year and the sales department felt the release of a best of compilation would kill the remaining single album sales. They argued MCA would never sell an original Second Helping or Street Survivors because the new Gold & Platinum would contain all the premium cuts.
Leon Tsilis took the case directly to MCA’s president who reluctantly approved the project. Despite holds and release delays, the album was released. Gold & Platinum quickly went multi-platinum and had the added bonus of shooting the rest of the Skynyrd catalogue back onto the charts.
When recalling MCA’s 1980 annual meeting, Leon Tsilis laughed at how he received several awards for providing the label with the album that made the year: “Everybody was patting me on the back and these were the same people who tried to stop the album from coming out.”
Asked about MCA reluctance on the Gold & Platinum project, Gary Rossington bluntly replied, “Well, they’re stupid, ’cause it just helped it, didn’t it?”
At this time, Gary and Allen were concocting what would become “The Rossington Collins Band”.
Autumn 1979 saw Alias make their live debut on a nationally broadcast radio show from Atlanta’s legendary Agora Ballroom. Unfortunately, the band never really had a chance.
Although Gary and Allen were ready to put together their own band, there was a huge problem; how to find a vocalist who wouldn’t suffer in comparisons to their fallen brother Ronnie. Gary recalled how they couldn’t…
“…get a male singer that would copy Ronnie. We couldn’t go for that, not just another, you know, because no matter how good he was, he’d be compared. God bless Ronnie VanZant. He was my best friend I ever had and I don’t think I’ll ever have one as good, as even close as good as him. He raised me. Really. But, we put our heads together — we ain’t quite as dumb as we look. We thought, who in hell would think us comin’ out, in our style of music, with a female vocalist? Our strategy was not to be compared and who can compare a female with Ronnie?
Rumours abounded in the press that the vocalist for the new band would be none other than Southern legend Greg Allman. However, it emerged that Gary and Allen had indeed settled on a female singer; Janis Joplin- influenced ex-38 Special backing singer Dale Krantz. Dale came with experience and the ability to not be compared with Ronnie. The downside was that she had never been a songwriter, and had never fronted a band before.
In 1980 The Rossington-Collins Band was formed, featuring four surviving Skynyrd members (Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Billy Powell, and Leon Wilkeson) . Artimus Pyle had signed up for the band too, but just before the recording of the debut album (as he was finishing his own project “Studebaker Hawke”) he was involved in a motorcycle crash in South Carolina which knocked him out of the picture. The dates for the recordings were put on hold to allow Artimus to recover. However, eventually it became accepted that fate wasn’t letting Artimus be a part of this one. He was only able to perform with one functioning leg, and it was holding the band back. His place was taken by “Running Easy” drummer Derek Hess.
“It happened all of a sudden, like over a weekend. I was just doing another straight job, as a ship’s chandler. I was extremely frustrated and about ready to hang it up. Billy Powell called me and said this is a good chance, and it kept me awake the rest of the night.”.. Derek Hess
A month was given to Derek to get up to speed with the material the new band was performing. To get the band to gell, three low key gigs were lined up in Orlando, Gainesville and New Orleans. The vocalist remained a secret. The RCB made their live debut in Orlando, FLA after being introduced to the stage by their comrade Artimus Pyle. The band played two 35 minute sets, riddled with sound problems. No matter ! The audience lapped it up, and when the band came back to encore, Rolling Stone hack Phil Kloer described the instrumental Freebird as the…
“most intense, moving, musically brilliant quarter hours of rock I have ever heard.”
Completing the link with Lynyrd Skynyrd, the band picked Gene Odom (formerly Ronnie’s security chief) to be their road manager. This arrangement with Gene lasted for the first RCB album and tour before differences within the band hastened his departure.
After the Rossington Collins Band ended, Gary Rossington (after some years of semi-retirement in the Grand Teton Mountains, near the National Elk Refuge) enlisted Dale Krantz-Rossington (as she had married Gary after the RCB split), Derek Hess, Jay Johnson, Tim Lindsay and Garry Ross to form the Rossington Band which recorded with Atlantic Records and MCA Records.
Allen was also keen to keep playing, and found himself socialising with Barry Harwood and Randall Hall a great deal. At the time Randall played in a band called The Moody Brothers, so Allen and Barry often came by to see them. The Moody Brothers drummer was a guy called Jimmy Dougherty who became friendly with all the guys. Before long, with the additon of Skynyrd companions Leon Wilkeson and Billy Powell, the Allen Collins Band was together and rehearsing in Allen’s converted studio (formerly his six car garage). They recorded together but never managed to get as far as a second album as Allen’s personal problems (and record label apathy) forced the end of the band. (Although there was a plan to record a second album which had the working title “We Sweep all Corners”)
The end of the Allen Collins Band didn’t deter AC who started to consider the possibility of reconvening Skynyrd. Although it was plan that never happened, Collins’ “Lynyrd Skynyrd II” project in the mid-eighties had the interest of some of Allens band mates, such Billy, Leon and Artimus (Gary Rossington was noticable by his non-involvement). The core group started off with some loose jam-type rehearsals (one of the which was captured on tape and became known as “The Final Flight of a Freebird”) involving Allen, Artimus and Kenny Zaridar (a buddy of Artimus’)
Lynyrd Skynyrd II also comissioned some initial artwork for an album (which never came off) In 1987 Lynyrd Skynyrd would reform for a “reunion” tour featuring Rossington, Powell, Pyle, Wilkeson and King, with Ronnie’s brother Johnny Van Zant on vocals. Allen Collins had recently been crippled in a car accident which robbed him of the chance to play with the band again. For Allen, there was only one man who could ever take his place…. his friend Randall Hall. Randall recalled that call which brought him into the band;
My wife and I were at the place where we used to live in Jacksonville. We’d heard some talk about it, the possibilities of something happening. Then out of the clear blue he calls me up one day, all hyped up.
He said, “Hey buddy, are you gonna be there for me?”
I said, “Yeah, sure. What is it?”
He said, “You gonna be there for me?”
I said, “Sure, what is it Allen?”
He said, “Oh, it’s this Skynyrd tribute thing they’re putting together. I just don’t feel like going out there in a wheel chair. I don’t feel like playing as much. I know you got it. I want to know if you’ll be there for me.”
I said, “Well of course.”
He said, “I told them guys if they don’t use you I’d shut the whole m.f. down.” He said, “I told ‘em I want you and nobody else. I’ve got people calling me from all over that want to do it. I want you and you only to do it.”
I said, “Alright man, I’ll do it.” So that’s how that happened.
The first show the new line up performed was a short set at the 1987 Charlie Daniels Volunteer Jam. Randall recalled;
That was the day I met Charlie, the day I met Bill Graham. I played onstage with Stevie Ray Vaughan. When Charlie finished his set, he pulled all of the guitar players out onstage for a jam. There must have been seven or eight of us. We did something straight forward, like “Johnny B. Goode,” I don’t remember, or “Kansas City.” He’d introduce the guitar players one by one and we’d take a solo. Stevie Ray was right next to me and he took a solo. Then I had to come out right behind him. I said, I’m not going to let this boy intimidate me, I’m gonna go for it. So I did. I gritted my teeth and took off. Turns out, me and Stevie Ray were the same age. I thought he was older than me.
The tour brought together band members who had not seen each other in a long time. Drummer Artimus Pyle had left the US, and was living and studying in Jerusalem. It took Pyle, with his entourage (two Israeli soldiers and an Orthodox rabbi) just one day to get back to the States for the tour after receiving his phone call.
The Tribute Tour spawned a new double album release on MCA, titles “Southern By the Grace of God”, which featured guest appearances by artists like Charlie Daniels, Donnie Van Zant and Jeff Carlisi of 38 Special, Dixie Dregs guitarist Steve Morse, and Marshall Tucker mainstay Toy Caldwell. It also produced a Lynyrd Skynyrd fly-on-the-wall video as well, which followed the band on the Tribute Tour.
During the tour, the Rossingtons, initially reluctant, shouldered more pressure than the other band members, with Gary’s solo band “The Rossington Band” opening the shows, occasionally with a band called Helen Highwater which featured future Skynyrd guitarist Mike Estes.
Such was the success of the Tribute Tour (which was initially a one-off gig that stretched to a 32 city tour) that the band decided to continue, which was to bring many legal complications. Judy Van Zant opposed the reunion from the first.
“Gary came to me after ten years and said, ‘We’re going back out,’” she recalls. I said, “wait a minute, I thought we said we’d never do that.’”
Such was the trouble Judy was “causing”, the band (allegedly) tried to get rid of her during a stockholders meeting. The whole affair ended in litigation with Judy filing against the band. The band really stood no chance when Judy produced the document that Gary and Allen signed in ’78 agreeing to bury the band for good. To avoid being dragged through the courts, Skynyrd were forced to pay Judy, and Steve Gaines widow Teresa, half a million dollars. Judy and Teresa were also given the ability to set the terms under which the name Lynyrd Skynyrd could be used. To continue using the name, they said, Rossington would have to always be part of the band alongside at least two others from Ed King, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson and Artimus Pyle. The widows also got a share equal to the band shareholders, of all profits from any tours or merchandising sales. Judy’s deal gave her more than 3% of the bands gross.
Later on, Larkin Collins managed to secure a similar deal for a trust fund he was administering. He also managed to force the band into excluding Rossington’s manager Charlie Brusco when discussing any pre-1977 business. Larkin did generate a degree of ill-feeling amongst the band members, who fired him as co-manager for the 1988 tour. Allen, who was very upset at their action, promptly removed himself from the Skynyrd reunion.
From this point onwards, the band’s legacy seemed to split between old and new. Allen was concerned that the fans would start to confuse the new lineup with the old one. He became involved in the dispute with new lineup, which resulted in Skynyrd having to tour as Lynyrd Skynyrd 1990, or LS 1991 – whatever the year was. From ’93 onwards, (after Allen’s death) the band was touring simply as Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Gene Odom recalled;
it started out, there was suppose to be 10 shows, and a real tribute tour, then Gary started booking more shows, and then let’s see- what did I used to say- it turned into ,”from a tribute tour to a rip off – a dead mans tour. …..lots of problems. I agreed to the 10 shows, as a tribute and I didn’t support the continuing of the shows, ’cause we all agreed only to do 10, so I left them , and that’s when the lawsuits started. Everyone was fighting and all, so I had to leave them ya know.
We all went to court, and I won Ronnies estate, lawsuit as a witness, so that was the end of me traveling around with Gary, (sigh)…and thats about all I want to say about that.
LYNYRD SKYNYRD DOCUMENTARY
With the Tribute Tour becoming a huge success, discussion turned to a permanent reunion. “We, you know we did the tribute tour, and then after that, it was kind of like breaking up a marriage, everybody was going their own ways. So me, Gary and Ed got together and said, ‘Well, why don’t we write a few songs and keep in contact with each other. So we wrote a few songs and it felt great. Me and Gary made a pact a long time ago that if it didn’t feel great, we wouldn’t do it, and it evolved from that. We got Tommy Dowd involved in the project and that kind of gave us an open door,”‘..Johnny Van Zant
This began with the June 1991 release of “Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991″ and a huge tour to support it. The album was to be the last time Skynyrd would record with drummer Artimus Pyle who left, claiming the bands cocaine use had driven him out. The band claimed that Pyle had lost his touch as a drummer, and so hired a second drummer a la The Allman Brothers Band. The new drummer, widely accepted as being one of the most skilful the band ever used, was former Little America and Steve Earle stickman Kurt Custer.
Also Skynyrd, on a rare occasion used an outside writer when it recruited the help of Arkansas songwriter Danny Tate to co-write the song “Keepin the Faith”.
Custer had not long finished helping Earle cut Copperhead Road when he had an admiring phone call from Ed King. Once in the band, he was more than just a drummer. He became, with Ed King, the band member who worked out most of the musical arrangement for the 1991 album.
It also saw the band returning to veteran Atlantic Records producer Tom Dowd to look after production, and former Skynyrd soundman Kevin Elson as Engineer.
Skynyrd began the tour at the venue to which the band had been flying 14 years earlier. Anyone still holding a ticket to the unperformed October, 1977, Baton Rouge concert was admitted free, along with a guest, and presented with the tour record Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991. A hundred people produced such tickets and attended along with some nine thousand others.
As seemed to always happen with Skynyrd, success was hotly followed by tragedy and the 1991 vintage of the band was no different when tour promoter Bill Graham died in a helicopter crash during the tour.
In 1993, Tim Lindsay (formerly of the Rossington Band) got a call from Billy Powell asking him to join the band since Leon Wilkeson was unable to tour at that time. Tim was played on the Last Rebel Tour performing around 100 shows until Leon returned to the band in 1994. The result was a lawsuit from Lindsay because, he says, he was led to believe that he was replacing the ill Leon Wilkeson permanently. He to was paid off later on.
Throughout the nineties, the band was beset by internal friction, resulting in more than one band member being dismissed or quitting. The first to go was Artimus Pyle. The band said he had to go due to a deterioration in the quality of his drumming. Artimus, however saw things very differently. His view was that he left because of the bands escalating cocaine habits. Bitterness between the two parties continues to this day.
The band continued, without Pyle, when they cut their second album with Atlantic “The Last Rebel” in 1993. After the album and tour, the band parted ways with drummer Kurt Custer.
The most spectacular aspect of this was a 20th anniversary performance live on cable television in February 1993, with Rossington, Powell, Wilkeson, King and Johnny Van Zant joined by guests including Peter Frampton, Brett Michaels (Poison), Charlie Daniels and Tom Kiefer (Cinderella), the latter having also written new songs with Rossington.
“I left Skynyrd in March of 94′. My partner Andy Logan and I had a self-titled record we recorded (Custer & Logan). We had an offer from Capitol records for a record deal, so we showcased and things were looking real good. I left to devote more time to my solo project as it was getting difficult to do both. We had the deal, but at the last minute, one of the Vice Presidents backed out! Man, was that tough! But you forge ahead, you know. Hindsight is 20/20 yes!” …… Kurt Custer
The next album saw Skynyrd leaving Atlantic (Powell believing the label hadn’t done enough to promote the band) to record for newly resurrected Southern legend, Capricorn Records (who Ronnie originally decided against recording with all those years ago). The fans noticed two changes straight away – ace drummer Custer was gone, replaced by veteran Nashville session man Owen Hale, and Randall Hall had gone, replaced by Mike Estes, a friend of Ed King’s.
Hall’s departure proved contentious. Skynyrd alleged that Hall was becoming unreliable, constantly late for rehearsals. Hall countered that this was untrue, because he was having to go out of his way to pick Billy Powell up, on the way to rehearsal because Billy had been banned from driving. Hall said the band wanted him out because he wouldn’t agree to a smaller cut of the pie. Hall at the time was an equal shareholder in the band, and didn’t see why he should agree to the bands demands.
Hall believed that forces in the band were aligned against him,( his chief suspects being Ed and Gary) but he never laid blame on everyone.
The lawsuit dragged on for over six years, before being settled. Hall, ever the gent, never seems bitter and to this day, he still encourages fans to support Skynyrd.
They were contriving other reasons, saying it was something it wasn’t, but in essence, they wanted to cut my money in half. After being with them almost seven years at the time, they just wanted to take half of my percentage of the gross, and I said “No way.” None of them came to see me. They had their manager call my attorney about it. I said, “Call me and talk to me about this!”
My attorney said “No. I don’t see any reason for you guys to do that. Randall is there. He does his job. I don’t see any legitimate reason for you to do that. And it wasn’t everybody in the band’s decision either. Months later Johnny called me and said, “I want you to know I fought for you tooth and nail.” He said, “If my name wasn’t Van Zant, I’d probably be gone too.” (Laughs) It was about them making more, and me making less. I was an equal shareholder at the time. They tried to say it was because I was late for rehearsal. Bull. I was the one that had to pick up Billy all the time, because, no driving for Billy. And Billy would want to stop on the way and pick up something. And we’d be late. And they tried to use that as an excuse. It was more than that. I think it was greed, man. It all happened conveniently after Allen was gone. Because if Allen had been around he would have fought that tooth and nail. I think it was more Ed and Gary, I’m not sure.
More suits followed. Ed King was forced off the road in September 1995, suffering congestive heart problems. The band allegedly promised to keep his place open, but then backed out. King took the band to court for unfair dismissal. On seeing King being shoved out, Mike Estes became critical of the Skynyrd organisation and was shown the door too. He was eventually paid off in an out of court settlement.
The last weekend of 1995 was a momentous date for the band. Back at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, the band attented the world premiere of Freebird the Movie. The movie showed the final Skynyrd lineup prior to the crash burning through a brilliant set (mostly filmed at Knebworth ’76). The previous Thursday was the real kick-off to the event, when “Freebird The Jam” kicked off. Show opener was long time Skynyrd buddy Charlie Daniels blazing through “The Souths Gonna Do It Again”. The gig lasted over four hours, with many past and present members, and friends of Skynyrd performing. Threes ongs in came Jack Hall performing Wet Willie’s “Leona” and to the crowds delight they were joined by the surviving original Honkettes Lesley Hawkins and Jo Jo Billingsley. Other surprise guests included Donnie Van Zant, Jeff Carlisi, and Al Kooper. For many, the shows peak came during Skynyrd’s set, for the first time in twenty one years, the drummer was none other than Bob Burns. Bob stayed onstage to play dual drums with Skynyrd’s other famed drummer Artimus Pyle on “Gimme Three Steps”.
After the Twenty tour, Owen Hale left the band, seemingly for the same reasons that Randall Hall had done years earlier – a dispute over salary, with an allegation that the Skynyrd organisation wanted to cut his pay. They would regroup again in the mid 90s with former Blackfoot guitarist Rickey Medlocke replacing Mike Estes, ex Outlaw Hughie Thomasson replacing King and new drummer Michael Cartellone. They continued to record and tour to this day with a loyal following, but not quite like it was in the old glory days of Ronnie Van Zant and company.
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