# The Strange Magic of: Lynyrd Skynyrd



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

A group that dominated the 1970s, and helped lock in Southern Rock as a core genre of American rock, was the whirlwind of sound and energy known as Lynyrd Skynyrd. At several times in its history, the group had, not one or even two, but three lead guitarists, a feat perhaps only duplicated by one of the early versions of Fleetwood Mac. LS wowed even The Who, no strangers to high-energy performance themselves, when Skynyrd served as an opening act for the Quadrophenia tour. Their live album One More From the Road captures their full attack. Here, live, is one of my favorites, _Workin' for MCA_. Count the lead guitarists, and note Ronnie Van Zant's signature headgear, often a hallmark of the Southern musical Rebel-Rouser. A reminder: this music is meant to be played and heard Loud!


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

Strange Magic said:


> A group that dominated the 1970s, and helped lock in Southern Rock as a core genre of American rock, was the whirlwind of sound and energy known as Lynyrd Skynyrd. At several times in its history, the group had, not one or even two, but three lead guitarists, a feat perhaps only duplicated by one of the early versions of Fleetwood Mac. LS wowed even The Who, no strangers to high-energy performance themselves, when Skynyrd served as an opening act for the Quadrophenia tour. Their live album One More From the Road captures their full attack. Here, live, is one of my favorites, _Workin' for MCA_. Count the lead guitarists, and note Ronnie Van Zant's signature headgear, often a hallmark of the Southern musical Rebel-Rouser. A reminder: this music is meant to be played and heard Loud!


Ronnie van Zant was a highly talented performer. They were a fine band who weren't spared the time to dilute their music over subsequent decades.

Check out the tracks 'Searching' and 'That Smell', live album 'One More from the Road' (as per Strange above) and Old Grey Whistle Test videos.

One of the greatest.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Out of the famed three-guitar 'Southern Rock' bands of the 70s I actually prefer Black Oak Arkansas but there's no denying that Skynyrd at their best were one hell of an act. I remember buying the _Street Survivors_ album and thinking how eerie it was that the red inner sleeve contained the dates of the tour that they would never finish (plus it was the original 'flames' cover). That album was certainly a return to form after the oddly unsatisfying _Gimme Back My Bullets_ - new guitarist Steve Gaines with the added bonus of his songwriting seemed to be the man they had been missing.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Ff


Wood said:


> Ronnie van Zant was a highly talented performer. They were a fine band who weren't spared the time to dilute their music over subsequent decades.
> 
> Check out the tracks 'Searching' and 'That Smell', live album 'One More from the Road' (as per Strange above) and Old Grey Whistle Test videos.
> 
> One of the greatest.


Absolutely! Also listen to "Saturday Night Special", their rather courageous anti-handgun tune, and the irresistible "Whiskey Rock-a-Roller". So many make-you-smile songs.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Strange Magic said:


> Ff
> 
> Also listen to "Saturday Night Special", their rather courageous anti-handgun tune


Probably not very popular with the "Obama's coming for our guns, ******* party. As for the music, I'm more of an Outlaws fan. I can still enjoy Green Grass & High Tides once in a while, but I don't ever want to hear Freebird again.


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

I mostly know and enjoy the classic singles by the band: "Free Bird," "Gimme Three Steps," and "Call Me the Breeze." I also like the lesser known tracks "(I Got the) Same Old Blues" and "Cry for the Bad Man."

Their sound is appealing, and I will probably like more of their output when I get around to listening to it.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Skynyrd is one of the best of the southern rock bands, but I put the Allman Brothers at the top of my list of southern rock bands. Besides these two I don't recall listening to any other southern rock bands.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

starthrower said:


> ... but I don't ever want to hear Freebird again.


I do have to agree with this.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

A good band. Sounds more true Southern to me than Tom Petty. 

Didn't push the envelope as much as the Allman Brothers, but some of those long form explorations can test people's patience.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

GreenMamba said:


> A good band. Sounds more true Southern to me than Tom Petty.


 I never thought of Tom Petty as southern rock. Doesn't seem to fit the picture to me. More generally just a good old midwestern rocker.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Florestan said:


> I never thought of Tom Petty as southern rock. Doesn't seem to fit the picture to me. More generally just a good old midwestern rocker.


That was my view in an earlier thread. The OP disagreed, so this is a (playful) continuation of that.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Florestan said:


> Skynyrd is one of the best of the southern rock bands, but I put the Allman Brothers at the top of my list of southern rock bands. Besides these two I don't recall listening to any other southern rock bands.


Z.Z. Top? Or were they too different even back then?


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

starthrower said:


> Probably not very popular with the "Obama's coming for our guns, ******* party. As for the music, I'm more of an Outlaws fan. I can still enjoy Green Grass & High Tides once in a while, but I don't ever want to hear Freebird again.


The Outlaws also a fine southern rock band. And I share your fatigue with Free Bird, especially the endless, pointless instrumental ratatouille that closes it out. Interesting, though, to consider the female parallel track, "I'm Like a Bird" by Nelly Furtado, mirroring the same You Can't Cage Me--I'm a Wanderer sentiment, a staple of so many songs.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Florestan said:


> I never thought of Tom Petty as southern rock. Doesn't seem to fit the picture to me. More generally just a good old midwestern rocker.


Tom, as someone born in Gainesville, Florida (a number of the southern bands are from northern Florida), I'm sure bitterly resents being lumped in with the likes of John Mellencamp and Bob Seger. He is, or maybe was, sometimes seen cavorting about on stage draped in the Stars and Bars, especially when singing "Rebels", in case we didn't get the message.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

elgars ghost said:


> Z.Z. Top? Or were they too different even back then?


Oh I consider them south west, but Skynyrd and Allman Brothers I consider the deep south (east of the Mississippiish). But what do I know.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Florestan said:


> Oh I consider them south west, but Skynyrd and Allman Brothers I consider the deep south (east of the Mississippiish). But what do I know.


No, that's fair enough - everyone has their own parameters.


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

We should have a southern rock thread. 

Not mentioned so far, but quite fine, is the Atlanta Rhythm Section.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Wood said:


> We should have a southern rock thread.
> 
> Not mentioned so far, but quite fine, is the Atlanta Rhythm Section.


Some more: Molly Hatchet (Jacksonville FL), 38 Special (Jacksonville FL), The Outlaws, previously mentioned, from Tampa FL, all certified Southern Rock. Florida seems to have been Ground Zero for most fertile birthplace of SR bands.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Strange Magic said:


> Some more: Molly Hatchet (Jacksonville FL), 38 Special (Jacksonville FL), The Outlaws, previously mentioned, from Tampa FL, all certified Southern Rock. Florida seems to have been Ground Zero for most fertile birthplace of SR bands.


It has been a while. Yeah! 38 Special. Saw they open up for Johnny Winter in the 1970s. Great band with a lot of great songs.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

ZZ Top is a blues band. The Allmans play a lot of blues as well, but they're more diverse with the different rhythms and time signatures. And of course they're the godfathers of jam, along with the Grateful Dead.


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## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

Florestan said:


> Skynyrd is one of the best of the southern rock bands, but I put the Allman Brothers at the top of my list of southern rock bands. Besides these two I don't recall listening to any other southern rock bands.


YES! The Allman Bros. Band...


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I liked Blackfoot (another Florida band) a lot in the early 80s. They seemed to have a lot going for them when the _Tomcattin'_, _Marauder_ and _Highway Song - Live_ albums came out. I saw them play at Donnington park festival in 1981 and they were excellent. Then Blackfoot went for a more radio/video-friendly approach (with Ken Hensley on keyboards) which was a complete let-down, not to mention career suicide, as their original fan-base used to their high-octane guitar-driven boogie-metal deserted them in droves. When I first heard the _Siogo_ album that was the end as far as I was concerned. A real pity, as I thought they were going to get to the end of the 80s in the same hellacious manner in which they started.


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## MrTortoise (Dec 25, 2008)

Strange Magic said:


> Some more: Molly Hatchet (Jacksonville FL), 38 Special (Jacksonville FL), The Outlaws, previously mentioned, from Tampa FL, all certified Southern Rock. Florida seems to have been Ground Zero for most fertile birthplace of SR bands.


Love The Outlaws! When I have a hankerin' for good ol' southern rock that's where I turn. I love Skynard, however being a son of the south my brain has been saturated with their songs given the radio play they received in the 70's and early 80's. The Marshall Tucker Band should get a mention here as well.


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## MrTortoise (Dec 25, 2008)

Strange Magic said:


> The Outlaws also a fine southern rock band. And I share your fatigue with Free Bird, especially the endless, pointless instrumental ratatouille that closes it out. Interesting, though, to consider the female parallel track, "I'm Like a Bird" by Nelly Furtado, mirroring the same You Can't Cage Me--I'm a Wanderer sentiment, a staple of so many songs.


I have to disagree with this, the extended guitar solo always gets my heart a-thumpin, mainly due to it's roots in southern fiddle/dance music which of course extends back over the pond, and I've heard this song literally hundreds of times. If I don't hear some fiddle in the guitar work of a band I really can't consider them southern rock.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

MrTortoise said:


> I have to disagree with this, the extended guitar solo always gets my heart a-thumpin, mainly due to it's roots in southern fiddle/dance music which of course extends back over the pond, and I've heard this song literally hundreds of times. If I don't hear some fiddle in the guitar work of a band I really can't consider them southern rock.


All a matter of personal taste, MrT; for instance, the equally long coda of _Layla_ I do find most satisfying. But I'm pleased we both enjoy Southern Rock as we do.


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## MrTortoise (Dec 25, 2008)

Strange Magic said:


> All a matter of personal taste, MrT; for instance, the equally long coda of _Layla_ I do find most satisfying. But I'm pleased we both enjoy Southern Rock as we do.


Agreed! It is a great tradition that found a voice in the heyday of FM radio which, luckily for me, were my formative years. Unfortunately, it seems that attentions spans these days are too short for a song like Layla, so I have to retreat back.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

MrTortoise said:


> The Marshall Tucker Band should get a mention here as well.


I'm a big fan of the late Toy Caldwell. He was a very soulful player and singer. If you can track down a copy of his early 90s self titled CD, it's a great listen! He plays all kinds of music, and there are cameo vocal appearances by Greg Allman, and Willie Nelson. And the late, great Shawn Lane is a guest guitarist as well.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

ah, hey! Nobody mentioned The Charlie Daniels Band yet? That's a good one. I only know the one song, Devil Went to Georgia.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Florestan said:


> ah, hey! Nobody mentioned The Charlie Daniels Band yet? That's a good one. I only know the one song, Devil Went to Georgia.


Charlie is probably less Southern Rock than country. Maybe Country-Rock, which isn't the same as Southern Rock.

ADD: Southern Rock, you have to include The Drive-By Truckers.


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

Don't forget Wet Willie y'all.






What were their best albums?

Strange, I hope you don't mind the thread drift, this is an interesting relatively untapped area.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

But back to Skynyrd, some good ones are Saturday Night Special, That Smell, Gimme Three Steps, Gimme Back my Bullets...


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Florestan said:


> ah, hey! Nobody mentioned The Charlie Daniels Band yet? That's a good one. I only know the one song, Devil Went to Georgia.


That's another one I don't care to hear again. It was played on radio every five minutes for the entire year of 1979. There was another southern tinged album that came out that year I enjoyed. Grey Ghost, by Henry Paul Band.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Wood said:


> Strange, I hope you don't mind the thread drift, this is an interesting relatively untapped area.


I don't mind a bit; my work here is to plant seeds in young minds..... But feel free to start a Southern Rock thread; I'm sure to find much nourishment therein


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

Saw them at Leeds in 1977
My god were they loud


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Time for some _Whiskey_..... That must have been an amazing tour, judging by the enthusiasm expressed by both performers and audience. Good time, straight ahead Rock 'n' Roll, Southern Style!


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## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

starthrower said:


> That's another one I don't care to hear again. It was played on radio every five minutes for the entire year of 1979. There was another southern tinged album that came out that year I enjoyed. Grey Ghost, by Henry Paul Band.


lets not forget "free bird"


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