"What's Your Name" is a rock song by

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

, the opening track on their album ''

Street Survivors ''Street Survivors'' is the fifth studio album by the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on October 17, 1977. The LP is the last Skynyrd album recorded by original members Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins, and is the sole Skynyrd studio ...

''. It peaked at No. 13 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 6 in Canada.

Background

Lynyrd Skynyrd lead vocalist

Ronnie Van Zant Ronald Wayne Van Zant (January 15, 1948 – October 20, 1977) was an American singer, best known as the founding lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He was the older brother of Johnny Van Zant, the cu ...

and guitarist

Gary Rossington Gary Robert Rossington (December 4, 1951 – March 5, 2023) was an American musician best known as a founding guitarist of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, with whom he performed until his death. Rossington was also a founding member of the ...

wrote "What's Your Name" while in Miami with producer Tom Dowd and Booker T. & the M.G.'s guitarist

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He was the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as ...

. The lyrics depict life on tour for a band and its entourage, and one of the verses is based on a true story of the band drinking at their hotel bar during a tour when one of their roadies got into a fight. The band got kicked out of the bar, but they went into another room and ordered champagne. However, unlike the song suggests, the incident did not happen in the city of

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

. Instead, when Van Zant found out that the band

38 Special 38 Special or 0.38 Special or .38 Special, may refer to: * .38 Special, a revolver cartridge Music * 38 Special (band), an American rock band ** ''38 Special'' (album), the 1977 debut album of the band 38 Special * .38 Special (song), a 2022 ...

(led by his younger brother

Donnie Donnie or Donny is a familiar form (hypocorism) of the masculine given name Donald, Donal, Don, or Donovan. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Donny Baldwin, American drummer best known as a member of Jefferson Starship and Starsh ...

) was starting its first national tour in that city, the lyric was changed.

Reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' praised the "strong, accessible melody" and the "excellent instrumentation." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that it "tells the standard 'rock and rollers on the road' story with a punchy lyric and a rousing beat." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that "it rocks with authority, powered by a driving brass section and Van Zant's ironic vocal work."

Music video

The music video, released after the plane crash that killed several band members, depicts Ronnie's brother

Johnny Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John (given name), John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly ...

along with a newly reformed Lynyrd Skynyrd live in concert (presumably at the

Pensacola Civic Center Pensacola Bay Center (formerly Pensacola Civic Center) is an indoor arena located in Pensacola, Florida. It is owned by Escambia County and operated by ASM Global. The Bay Center has a capacity of 8,049 for hockey games, and as much as 10,000 ...

as the video suggests). Interspersed within are shots of the road crew setting up for the show and the musicians tuning their instruments, having makeup done, meeting with fans, autographing albums and playing baseball together. At the end of the video, a hat in the style of Ronnie's trademark "High Roller" look is seen atop a microphone stand as a tribute to him.

Chart performance

Year-end charts

''Rock Band'' music gaming platform

The song was made available to download on November 30, 2010 for use in the ''

Rock Band 3 ''Rock Band 3'' is a 2010 rhythm game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, on October 26, 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on Novembe ...

'' music gaming platform in both Basic and Pro mode, the latter of which takes advantage of the use of a real guitar or bass guitar and MIDI-compatible electronic drum kits and keyboards in addition to three-part harmony vocals.

References

External links

* 1977 songs 1977 singles Lynyrd Skynyrd songs Song recordings produced by Tom Dowd Songs written by Ronnie Van Zant Songs written by Gary Rossington MCA Records singles {{1970s-rock-song-stub