1/11 Lynyrd Skynyrd

Throughout the band’s early records, frontman Ronnie Van Zant demonstrated a knack for lyrical detail and a down-to-earth honesty that had more in common with country than rock & roll. During the height of Skynyrd‘s popularity in the mid-’70s, they adopted a more muscular and gritty blues-rock sound that yielded the classic rock standards “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Simple Man,” “What’s Your Name,” “That Smell,” “Gimme Three Steps,” and “Free Bird.” The group ceased operations after the tragic deaths of Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines, who were killed in an airplane crash on October 20, 1977. Skynyrd re-formed in 1987 with Ronnie‘s younger sibling Johnny Van Zant on vocals, and guitarist and co-founder Gary Rossington, who would serve as the group’s sole constant member over the years. In 2018, after decades of performing and recording, the band embarked on a farewell tour, which was chronicled on the 2020 concert LP and film Last of the Street Survivors Tour Lyve!

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