I saw them in 1975 and the were a fiery bunch. Forgive the innuendo but they were seriously bad ass. Tight as a drum. RUSH opened. I've seen them numerous times in the post Ronnie era. Every few years as the original membership dwindled. Their farewell tour played here a couple years ago and only Gary Rossington went back to the original line up. A friend of mine was quietly drafted to play saxophone along with some other local pick-up players who made up the horn section. They'd been given their charts several months early and were sworn to secrecy. It turned out the one-and-only Jim Horn was touring with the band. He gathered the local conscripts on show day and they rehearsed their parts for 2-3 hours. That night you'd have thought they'd been with the band for years.
Kind of a morbid thought, but Steve and Cassie probably were huddled together in that instant, maybe that's why they both didn't make it. It's horrible to say, but it's probably just as well, if one survived the other would have been a wreck forever.
I discovered them in 75/76 when I was sharing a house with a bunch of mates (happy days). One of them had "Pronounced..." and it got a lot of spins and I loved it. I only bought the Freebird single though (it was played at every college rock night). Then in the summer of 76 I was lucky enough to see them at Knebworth (amazing show - soon to be released in all video and audio formats!) and again in February 77 at Manchester Free Trade Hall (with great upper stage-side seats - amazing show 2). I didn't start collecting their albums until the late 80s, having been side-tracked by punk, reggae, funk and jazz. I never bothered with the post-crash bands.
Allen was actually sitting between them and Gary was between Ronnie and Dean according to the documentary.
Love 'em, or at least I love the original '70s incarnation of the band. I like to compare/contrast Skynyrd with the Allmans in terms of which was the better band. I think one can't deny the Brothers were the better musicians, but I'll posit that Skynyrd had the songs.
Yes, this is one of the greatest rock books ever written. I blew through this in a couple nights as a teenager lol...
These bands don't even need to be compared, they are totally different other than they're both from the South...Lyrical content, music, styles all different but both are among the best ever.
Even though there were concerns, I'm guessing that same plane had been in use (regularly?) up to that point. Not like it was sitting in a junkyard and somebody said 'Hey this one don't look too bad!'....
Definitely one of my favorite. Saw them 3 times in the old days. Took some pictures the last two time. I have posted some on other threads, but here are some again.
I believe that there were incidents with that same plane prior to the crash. Maybe with a different band?? Aerosmith?
I was fortunate enough to see them in 1977 at a Day on the Green in Oakland just before the plane crash. From the start they have been one of my favorite bands even through all the troubles that have come their way. Glad to see on Youtube this vid is the first on the list in a lynyrd skynyrd free bird search. People are finally seeing what is arguably one of the best filming of the band, excellent live version of freebird and how it made people feel at the hight of their popularity. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird - 7/2/1977 - Oakland Coliseum Stadium (Official)
Right, but in the last few flights, they saw and knew there was trouble. When your engine backfires and you see a ball of fire coming out of it, that’s more than enough
Lol, you guys are sure sensitive about comparing Skynyrd and the Allmans. No two bands are the same. In fact, no two things are the same. Why compare anything then? Beatles and Stones? Not the same. Apples and oranges? Not the same. DeNiro and Pacino? Not the same...
Whenever I think of Lynyrd Skynyrd I immediately go back to when I was 13 or so. My best buddy Tony and I at the local carnival and Skynyrd blasting from one of the booths. Us trying to look cool to passing girls with bellbottom pants and hair down the back. And that description was us, not the girls lol. Lynyrd Skynyrd were modern gunslingers and made a young guy feel like an outlaw. They probably defined the southern swagger and attitude better than any band. "Sweet Home Alabama" defined that pride. "Simple Man" the values. And so many other songs that represented facets of somewhere between kicking up dust in the old west and sitting in a boat fishing under a pure sunny day. In 1976 I had no idea who the ABB were (loved ABB also later on) but everyone knew Skynyrd. Every once in awhile I throw an lp on to remember simpler times and place the coolbess that was Lynyrd Skynyrd over a complicated and sometimes hard world.
You have to remember this was the lineup and tour three month earlier prior to the crash. With Sweet Home Alabama we also get the backup singers one being Cassie Gaines who also died that day along with Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama - 7/2/1977 - Oakland Coliseum Stadium (Official)
I guess looks are deceptive, Ronnie didn't strike me as a giant of or very physically imposing of a guy from photos.
Great story Slipkid. Unfortunately I didn’t discover the band till about 1979. I remember loads of guys in my sixth form wearing LS badges though. I wish I’d been in on them much earlier. In the UK they were on some tasty bills in the mid-70s with among others Golden Earring, The Rolling Stones. Those gigs must have been great! The Skynyrd story is one of great tragedy even post the plane crash. I had tickets for Rossington-Collins Band in 1980 or 1981 but the tour got cancelled after a tragedy involving Allen Collins’s wife. A bunch of us pretty much made Blackfoot a must see when Rickey Medlocke came over to the UK keeping Southern Rock alive. Happy days and he was such a gent. The Skynyrd back catalogue with the classic line up is pretty stellar, I’m not so familiar with the later lineup’s releases but the Farewell Tour concert shows on satellite TV have been great.
