William Norris Powell (June 3, 1952 – January 28, 2009) was an American musician and keyboardist of
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculat ...
band
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...
from 1972 until his death in 2009.
Biography
Early life
Powell was born in
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "'' Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patrici ...
. He grew up in a military family and spent several of his childhood years in Italy, where his father was stationed with the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
. After his father died of cancer in 1960, the Powells returned to the United States to settle in
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 largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
. In elementary school, Powell met
Leon Wilkeson
Leon Russell Wilkeson (April 2, 1952 – July 27, 2001) was the bassist of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1972 until his death in 2001.
Early life
Born on April 2, 1952, in Newport, Rhode Island, but raised in Jacksonville, Florida, ...
, who became a lifelong friend and the bassist for
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...
. Powell took an interest in piano and he began taking piano lessons from a local teacher named Madalyn Brown, who claimed that Billy did not need a teacher as he was a natural and picked things up well on his own. When it was time for high school, his mother enrolled Billy and his brother Ricky at Sanford Naval Academy in
Sanford, Florida
Sanford is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Seminole County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 61,051.
Known as the "Historic Waterfront Gateway City", Sanford sits on the southern shore ...
. Powell returned to Jacksonville, where he enrolled at
Bishop Kenny High School
Bishop Kenny High School (commonly referred to as Bishop Kenny or BKHS) is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational Catholic high school in Jacksonville, Florida. It is located in and administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. August ...
. After graduation in 1970, he enrolled at and briefly attended a community college, majoring in
music theory
Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Around 1970, Powell found work as a
roadie
The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This catc ...
for Lynyrd Skynyrd and remained a member of the crew for two years, during which the band secured a support role for the band
Mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
. In 1972, Skynyrd played a show at the
Bolles School
The Bolles School is an American private college preparatory day and boarding school in Jacksonville, Florida. It has a lower school (including pre-kindergarten), a middle school, and a high school, spread across four campuses around the Jackson ...
prom. During a break at that event, Powell sat down at a piano and played a song. When the band realized their roadie's ability, he was offered the position of keyboardist.
In 1973, Lynyrd Skynyrd was signed to
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group.
Pre-history
MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...
and received national exposure following the release of their first album, ''
(pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd)''. The band's popularity soared in 1974 with their follow-up album, ''
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 ''Bi ...
'', which featured their highest-charting single, "
Sweet Home Alabama
"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 e ...
". The band enjoyed increasing popularity over the next three years, culminating in the 1977 release of ''
Street Survivors''.
Three days after the release of ''Street Survivors'', Skynyrd's
chartered Convair CV-240 crashed into a forest near
McComb, Mississippi
McComb is a city in Pike County, Mississippi, United States. The city is approximately south of Jackson. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 12,790. It is the principal city of the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statist ...
. The crash took the lives of singer
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 ...
, guitarist
Steve Gaines, his sister and backing vocalist
Cassie Gaines
Cassie LaRue Gaines (January 9, 1948 – October 20, 1977) was an American singer, best known for her work with Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Biography
Gaines was invited by JoJo Billingsley and Ronnie Van Zant to join Lynyrd Skynyrd as a ...
, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, and both pilots. The remainder of the band suffered mild to severe injuries. Powell suffered severe facial lacerations, almost losing his nose, but was otherwise relatively uninjured. He was the first to be released from the hospital, and the only member able to attend the funerals of his fallen bandmates.
During the time between the plane crash and the Lynyrd Skynyrd reunion in 1987, Powell joined the Christian rock band Vision in 1984. With Vision he recorded three albums (''Mountain in The Sky'', ''Vision'', and ''Streetfighter''), and toured extensively. His keyboard performances were spotlighted in Vision concerts. During the concerts, Powell spoke about his newfound Christianity; messages that were also delivered via two bonus tracks included on the album ''Mountain in The Sky''. Powell also worked with
38 Special 38 Special may refer to:
* .38 Special
The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, cent ...
during this time.
Powell rejoined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1987 for a tribute tour, and remained with the band until his death. At the time of his death, he and guitarist
Gary Rossington
Gary Robert Rossington (born December 4, 1951) is an American guitarist. He is the only remaining original member of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, in which he plays lead and rhythm guitar.
In 2009, he became the last original member to re ...
were the only members from the classic lineup who were active in the band.
Death
On January 28, 2009, Powell died at the age of 56 at his home in
Orange Park, Florida
Orange Park is a town in Clay County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Jacksonville, in neighboring Duval County. The population was 8,412 at the 2010 census. The name "Orange Park" is additionally applied to a wider area of northern ...
. It was during a break from Skynyrd's touring schedule that Powell suffered a fatal heart attack. His death inspired countless tributes, in and out of the Southern rock community and extending across the country-music world, where he had many friends and admirers. The music he had recorded with Vision was played exclusively at a private memorial service, and
Kid Rock
Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician, ...
sang a tribute. Many Southern Rock musicians were in attendance, including his Skynyrd and Vision bandmates, their families,
Hank Williams Jr.
Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of ...
and others. He was survived by his wife Ellen, sons Brandon and Joel, daughters Layla, Ashley, and Maggie, brother Rick, and sister Donna. The song "Gifted Hands" was later written and recorded by Lynyrd Skynyrd as a tribute to Powell.
References
External links
Swampland: GRITZ Billy Powell ObitSwampland: GRITZ Billy Powell Memorial Page*
Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Billy
1952 births
2009 deaths
20th-century American musicians
21st-century American keyboardists
21st-century American musicians
American Protestants
American rock keyboardists
Burials in Florida
Bishop Kenny High School alumni
Lynyrd Skynyrd members
People from Corpus Christi, Texas
Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents
People from Orange Park, Florida
Rossington Collins Band members
Allen Collins Band members
20th-century American keyboardists
Blues rock musicians