Bad Company, Lynyrd Skynyrd Team Up For Co-Headlining Amphitheatre Tour : March 05, 2013

Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bad Company will team up this summer for a 12-city co-headlining tour. Both bands will be celebrating their 40th anniversaries this year, so the tour appropri ...

Alice in Chains, Shinedown, Lynyrd Skynyrd to Perform at Jacksonville’s Welcome to Rockville : January 28, 2013

The third annual “Welcome to Rockville” music festival will feature Alice in Chains, Lynryrd Skynyrd and Shinedown, among a slew of other rock acts. As it has for the past t ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd, Alabama Cruise the High Seas : January 22, 2013

Lynyrd Skynyrd and Alabama have back-to-back concert cruises scheduled for this fall. Both will take place on the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship and will sail from Miami to a priva ...

Luke Bryan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jake Owen Join 2013 Toadlick Festival Lineup : November 15, 2012

The initial artists for the 2013 Toadlick Music Festival have been announced, and Luke Bryan, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Jake Owen will be performing at the festival. The country music ...

Kid Rock Kicks Revival Tour into High Gear : July 30, 2008

Kid Rock has added more shows to his current “Rock and Roll Revival Tour.” The trek will now stretch into the middle of September. The rap rocker from Detroit returned from ...

lynyrd skynyrd Biography

The American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd was formed in 1964 in Jacksonville, Florida by Ronnie Van Zant, Garry Rossington and Allen Collins. In 1973, the band rose to prominence in the Southern portion of the U.S. and went on to achieve worldwide recognition. In 1977, three band members died in a plane crash along with one crew member. In 1987 the band was reformed and went on a reunion tour. In March 2006 Lynyrd Skynyrd became members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Al Kooper, the producer, songwriter and musician from the group Blood, Sweat and Tears discovered the band in 1972 and signed them with MCA Records. They released their self-titled debut album in 1973. Free Bird, Lynyrd Skynyrd's most well known hit single, was featured on the set. The song peaked in the No. 19 spot on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Second Helping, the band's followup album featured Sweet Home Alabama, which peaked in the No. 8 spot on the music charts. In 1974 the album peaked in the No. 12 spot and went multi-platinum eventually.

The band's next two albums Nuthin' Fancy (1975) and Gimme Back My Bullets (1976) were not as successful as their first two albums. One More From the Road, a double live album, was released in 1976. Lynyrd Skynyrd released Street Survivors in October 1977. Three days later, band members Cassie Gaines, Steve Gaines and Ronnie Van Zant were killed in a plane crash along with Dean Kilpatrick, assistant road manager and the pilot and co-pilot of the band's chartered plane. Following the tragedy, Lynyrd Skynyrd disbanded.

In 1987, the band reunited with five pre-crashh band members: Artimus Pyle, Leon Wilkeson, Billy Powell, Gary Rossington and Ed King, along with Johnny Van Zant, the younger brother of Ronnie Van Zant who became the band's primary songwriter and new lead singer. Since that time there have been multiple lineup changes. The band continues to tour and record.