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Ronnie Van Zant
Ronald Wayne Van Zant (January 15, 1948 – October 20, 1977) was an American singer, best known as the original lead vocalist, primary lyricist and a founding member of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He is the older brother of current Lynyrd Skynyrd lead vocalist Johnny Van Zant and Donnie Van Zant, the founder and vocalist of the rock band .38 Special. Early life He was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, to Lacy Austin (1915–2004) and Marion Virginia (née Hicks) Van Zant (1929–2000). Ronnie aspired to be many things before finding his love for music. A fan of boxer Muhammad Ali, he considered a career in the ring, and while playing American Legion baseball dreamed of Minor League success. Career Lynyrd Skynyrd Van Zant formed a band called My Backyard late in the summer of 1964 with friends and schoolmates Allen Collins (guitar), Gary Rossington (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass), and Bob Burns (drums). The quintet went through several names before ...
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Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the county seat, seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the city government Jacksonville Consolidation, consolidated in 1968. Consolidation gave Jacksonville its great size and placed most of its metropolitan population within the city limits. As of 2020 United States census, 2020, Jacksonville's population is 949,611, making it the List of United States cities by population, 12th most populous city in the U.S., the most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the most populous city in the Southern United States, South outside of the state of Texas. With a population of 1,733,937, the Jacksonville metropolitan area ranks as Florida's fourth-largest metropolitan region. Jacksonville straddles the St. Johns ...
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Bob Burns (drummer)
Robert Lewis Burns Jr. (November 24, 1950 – April 3, 2015) was an American drummer in the original line-up of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Biography Burns was born in Gainesville, Florida, on November 24, 1950. He helped to form Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1964 with Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins and Larry Junstrom and remained until 1974, although by some accounts he left the band for a while during the early 1970s. Burns played on the band's early recordings, but on the album '' Skynyrd's First and... Last,'' a collection of early demos made in Muscle Shoals, the drum parts of some songs recorded in 1971 were played by Rickey Medlocke. That album also contains songs recorded in 1972 which feature Burns on drums, suggesting that Burns left the band in 1971 and had returned by 1972. During a brief period in the early 1970s, Medlocke occasionally played alongside Burns on drums for live shows, a two-drummer line-up similar to The Allman Brothers Band. I ...
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Second Helping
''Second Helping'' is the second studio album by Lynyrd Skynyrd, released April 15, 1974. It features the band's biggest hit single, " Sweet Home Alabama," an answer song to Neil Young's "Alabama" and " Southern Man", which reached #8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in August 1974, as well as drummer Bob Burns' final recordings. ''Second Helping'' reached #12 on the '' Billboard'' album charts. The RIAA certified it Gold on September 20, 1974, and Double Platinum on July 21, 1987. Background After the success of their debut album, ''(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)'', Lynyrd Skynyrd's fan base continued to grow rapidly throughout 1973, largely due to their opening slot on the Who's '' Quadrophenia'' tour in the United States. ''Second Helping'' features King, Collins and Rossington all collaborating with Ronnie Van Zant on the songwriting, and cemented the band's breakthrough. Critical reception Reviewing for ''Rolling Stone'' in 1974, Gordon Fletcher said Lynyrd ...
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Sweet Home Alabama (song)
"Sweet Home Alabama" is a song by American southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on the band's second album ''Second Helping'' (1974). It was written in response to Neil Young's 1970 song "Southern Man", which the band felt blamed the entire South for American slavery; Young is name-checked and dismissed in the lyrics. It reached number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1974, becoming the band's highest-charting single. The song remains a staple in southern and classic rock, and is arguably the band's signature song. Background and recording None of the three writers of the song were from Alabama; Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington were both born in Jacksonville, Florida, while Ed King was from Glendale, California. In an interview with ''Garden & Gun'', Rossington explained the writing process: "I had this little riff. It's the little picking part and I kept playing it over and over when we were waiting on everyone to arrive for rehearsal. Ronnie and I we ...
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Quadrophenia
''Quadrophenia'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released as a double album on 26 October 1973 by Track Records. It is the group's third rock opera, the two previous being the "mini-opera" song "A Quick One, While He's Away" and '' Tommy''. Set in London and Brighton in 1965, the story follows a young mod named Jimmy and his search for self-worth and importance. ''Quadrophenia'' is the only Who album entirely composed by Pete Townshend. The group started work on the album in 1972, trying to follow up ''Tommy'' and '' Who's Next'', both of which had achieved substantial critical and commercial success. Recording was delayed while bassist John Entwistle and singer Roger Daltrey recorded solo albums and drummer Keith Moon worked on films. Because a new studio was not finished in time, the group had to use Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio. The album makes significant use of Townshend's multi-track synthesizers and sound effects, as well as Entwistle's la ...
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The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century, and have sold over 100 million records worldwide. Their contributions to rock music include the development of the Marshall Stack, large PA systems, the use of the synthesizer, Entwistle and Moon's influential playing styles, Townshend's feedback and power chord guitar technique, and the development of the rock opera. They are cited as an influence by many hard rock, punk rock, power pop and mod bands, and their songs are still regularly played. The Who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. The Who developed from an earlier group, the Detours, and established themselves as part of the pop art and mod movements, featuring auto-destructive art by d ...
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The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guitar, vocals, songwriting), Berry Oakley (bass), Butch Trucks (drums), and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson (drums). Subsequently based in Macon, Georgia, they incorporated elements of blues, jazz, and country music, and their live shows featured jam band-style improvisation and instrumentals. Their first two studio releases, '' The Allman Brothers Band'' (1969) and ''Idlewild South'' (1970) (both released by Capricorn Records), stalled commercially, but their 1971 live release '' At Fillmore East'' was an artistic and commercial breakthrough. It features extended versions of their songs " In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" and " Whipping Post", and is considered among the best live albums ever made. Group leader Duane Allman was killed in a motorc ...
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Duane Allman
Howard Duane Allman (November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) was an American rock guitarist, session musician, and the founder and original leader of the Allman Brothers Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Allman began playing the guitar at age 14. He formed the Allman Brothers Band with his brother Gregg in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969, and achieved its greatest success in the early 1970s. Allman is best remembered for his brief but influential tenure in the band and in particular for his expressive slide guitar playing and inventive improvisational skills. A sought-after session musician both before and during his tenure with the band, Duane Allman performed with such established stars as King Curtis, Aretha Franklin, Herbie Mann, Wilson Pickett, and Boz Scaggs. He also contributed greatly to the 1970 album '' Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs'', by Derek and the Dominos. He died following a ...
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Free Bird
"Free Bird", also spelled "Freebird", is a song written by Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant and performed by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. The song featured on the band's debut album in 1973. Released as a single in November 1974, "Free Bird" entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on November 23 at No. 87 and became the band's second Top 40 hit in early 1975, peaking at No. 19 on January 25. A live version of the song reentered the charts in late 1976, eventually peaking at No. 38 in January 1977. "Free Bird" achieved the No. 8 spot on '' Guitar World''s 100 Greatest Guitar Solos. It is Lynyrd Skynyrd's signature song, the finale during live performances, and their longest song, often going well over 14 minutes when played live. Origins According to guitarist Gary Rossington, for two years after Allen Collins wrote the initial chords, vocalist Ronnie Van Zant insisted that there were too many for him to create a melody in the belief that the melody ...
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Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd Song)
"Simple Man" is the last track on side one of Lynyrd Skynyrd's debut album, ''(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)''. The song is one of Lynyrd Skynyrd's most popular songs. Since the song became available for digital download, it has become Lynyrd Skynyrd's third best-selling digital song after " Sweet Home Alabama" and " Free Bird." It has sold 1,333,000 copies in the U.S. as of November 2013. Musical structure "Simple Man" is written in the key of A minor/C major, though all guitars were tuned down a half step, effectively making it G# minor/B. The song begins with an electric arpeggiated chord sequence made up of the chords C major, G major and A minor (though with the tuned-down guitars, effective progression of B major, F# major and G# minor). This intro is accompanied by a bass line and cymbals before the drums and vocals come in for the verse. Lyrically the song is about a mother talking to her child about life, inspired by the passing of Ronnie Van Zant's grand ...
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Gimme Three Steps
"Gimme Three Steps" is a song by American southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released from the band's debut album, ''(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)'' (1973). It was written by bandmates Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant. The single release contains the song " Mr. Banker" as a B-side. Background Band member Gary Rossington based the lyrics on a real-life experience Ronnie Van Zant had at a bar in Jacksonville, Florida, having a gun pulled on him for dancing with another man's woman. It narrates how the singer was dancing with a girl named Linda Lou at a bar called The Jug when a man, either the girl's boyfriend or husband, enters with a loaded gun and catches them, angrily believing her to be cheating. The song's title refers to the chorus, where the interloper begs for a head start out of the bar: "Won't you give me three steps / Give me three steps, mister / Give me three steps towards the door? / Give me three steps / Give me three steps, mister / And you'll never s ...
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Tuesday's Gone
"Tuesday's Gone" is the second track on Lynyrd Skynyrd's debut album, ''(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)''. It also appears on the band's first live LP, '' One More from the Road''. Production Al Kooper adds upfront Mellotron string sounds to the chorus of the song. It is one of a few Lynyrd Skynyrd songs on which Bob Burns, one of the original founding members and drummer, did not play. Atlanta Rhythm Section's drummer Robert Nix played on the studio version. Bob Burns, however, can be heard playing on the demo version from the same session. Cover versions Metallica covered "Tuesday's Gone" on the album '' Garage Inc.'', which features special appearances by Gary Rossington on guitar, Pepper Keenan from Corrosion of Conformity, John Popper from Blues Traveler, Les Claypool from Primus, Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains, and Jim Martin formerly of Faith No More, credited as Fatso. In 1988, a cover version was recorded by country music artist Hank Williams Jr. ...
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