Talk:Lynyrd Skynyrd/Archive 1

Archive 1

no mention of the grave robbery at all?

uhh....no links no story,hmmm seems fishy —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.46.49.98 (talk) 18:01, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

Johnny Van Zant singing

I have never heard Johnny Van Zant sing. Can anyone recommend some songs (new or classic Skynyrd) sang by Johnny?--Secret Agent Man 05:58, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)

At lynyrdskynyrd.com they have some samples of SHA and Saturday Night Special with JVZ singing. Just my opinion, but he doesn't sound too good.--Alexrules43 20:36, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

how many platinum and gold records has lynyrd skynyrd had. and how many concerts have they sold out. and how many tickets have they sold

Well, they are the top selling band on MCA Records (now Geffen), beating the Who. I think all of their original records went gold, anyone want to help a Skynyrd fanatic out?--Alexrules43 12:43, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

I looked up White Trash and was redirected here. I quickly removed the redirection but watch out for any future problems Hotbikerguy

Neil Young Rivalry

The notion that Skynyrd and Neil Young were actually fans of each other is actually a very recent claim. It is not necessarily factual, and is seen by many Neil Young fans as revisionist backpedaling in the name of good public relations. No one can ask Ronnie Van Zant what he thought of Neil Young, and although Young now claims that it was all in good fun, racial violence was nothing to joke about in the 1970s, especially for a singer in Neil Young's circles.

Paying tribute to a dead musician does not mean that there was never a previous rivalry. The statement that there was no rivalry should be qualified by saying that this is a recent claim made by Neil Young. Kafziel 20:12, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

According to the Drive By Truckers on their Southern Rock Opera Album the Neil Young song "Powderfinger" was written for Skynyrd but they didn't get round to recording it before the plane crash - although I don't have anything to back this up the rest of the stuff on the album about Skynyrd / Neil Young / Aretha Franklin etc is true so I'm sure they got this from somewhere credible. _____

Steve: I think there is evidence that Ronnie Van Zant and Neil Young liked and respected each other in the 1970s, such as Van Zant wearing a Neil Young T-shirt. For what it's worth, here's what it says in Neil Young's 2003 biography, Shakey (p. 336):

>>Always game for a good joke, especially one that put his name on the radio, Young would laud "Sweet Home Alabama" in a 1975 interview, telling Bud Scoppa, "I can't do songs like 'Southern Man.' I'd rather play the Lynyrd Skynyrd song. That'd be great." Van Zant was a huge Young fan; the cover of the last original Skynyrd album, Street Survivors, shows him wearing his omnipresent Tonight's the Night T-shirt. Hearing the news that Van Zant and members of the band had been killed in a plane crash, Young played a medley of "Alabama"/"Sweet Home Alabama" in a tribute during a November 12, 1977 concert in Miami. Rumor has it that Van Zant was buried in the Tonight's the Night T-shirt.<<

Controversy - Dead Kennedys and "A Commercial"

For the record, no vandalism or inappropriate POV was intended by recent elaborations to the "Controversy" section of this article dealing with the Dead Kennedy's song "A Commercial". The changes may have been determined to have not followed POV or other applicable protocol and I certainly respect decisions made to ensure the accuracy and content neutrality of Wikipedia entries; I think, however, there was at least some validity to the disputed/deleted elaborations. The section in question reads, "[o]thers believe that this desecration was motivated by the 1986 Dead Kennedys track "A Commercial" which mockingly refered to exhuming the bodies of Lynyrd Skynyrd." The Dead Kennedys song in question indeed mentions "exhuming the bodies of Lynyrd Skynyrd". To wit:

"Have we got a telethon for you coming soon on MTV! A rockin' bankroll extravaganza featuring all your vigilante rock stars! Sammy Hagar...Sylvester Stallone...Clint Eastwood. It's so important we've even exhumed the bodies of Lynyrd Skynyrd! This ain't no sissy concert to raise food for the needy; this concerts whipped up the American way to raise money for guns for the greedy! So stay tuned and dig in those heels for...USA FOR SOUTH AFRICA!"

While it may be true that "[o]thers believe" these lyrics motivated the desecration of Lynyrd Skynyrd member graves in 2000, asserting that people "believe" something is, at best, a factual non-assertion. People believe a lot of things (especially about song lyrics and other forms of poetic expression) but belief alone doesn't make an assertion reasonable, valid, or relevant. A "belief" argument offered as fact or (here) factual possibility is just a variation of appeal to belief fallacy: "Most people believe that a claim, X, is true. Therefore X is true." For what it's worth, I "believe" that it's misleading to imply a possible connection between "A Commercial" and the grave descration, especially given the overall lyrical thurst and context of "A Commercial" (as I discussed elsewhere). A more accurate phrasing for the section in question might be: "The 1986 Dead Kennedys track "A Commercial" [1] satirically referred to exhuming the bodies of Lynyrd Skynyrd. While some posit a connection between these lyrics and the 2000 desecration of Lynryd Skynyrd members' graves, no evidence has been offered to date to confirm or refute any connection between the two." Unless, of course, such evidence does exist. It's not mentioned/cited in the article, and I don't know of any myself. In any event, I won't submit the edit suggested above because I really don't want to flog a dead horse, I respect the work everyone puts into Wikipedia and the tricky POV decisions that have to be made, and I'm glad to have made my minor point in this forum. Very metal 03:04, 24 November 2005 (UTC)

I understand your argument but the sentence isn't asserting that the desecration of Lynyrd Skynyrd's graves was motivated by the Dead Kennedy's track, only that this was a theory proposed at the time (in the popular UK music press). The facts of what happened are quite clear, however I think we ought to include all the alternative explanations for them unless one is shown to be true. Conch Shell 09:45, 24 November 2005 (UTC)

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

The text correctly refers to the fact that the band have never been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - however this is due to change at the 2006 ceremony

"The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006, with members Gary Rossington and Billy Powell, former members Ed King, Bob Burns, and Artimus Pyle, and deceased members Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Steve Gaines, and Leon Wilkeson in attendance."

I would be interested to learn how the deceased members attended the ceremony.Perry Dror (talk) 12:38, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

I wondered the same thing myself, which is why I took it upon myself to correct this obvious mistake. BassPlyr23 (talk) 16:10, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

documentary

As a kid, I remember watching a documentary about Lynyrd Skynyrd before the main movie (instead of previews). Does anyone else remember this, and is it available on dvd or vhs?

I saw a VH1 documentary from a while back, I think I actually have that on my computer somewhere. I can't remember if it was before the main movie, but it was more about the band. 68.154.158.191 18:26, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

wasn't logged in. Zchris87v 18:27, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

I remember that documenary, it was played before the movie "Grease", sometime in 1977.

International usage

"Airplane" was changed to "aircraft" (and reverted by myself) for "International Usage". Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I suggest we change "Southern Rock Band" to "Southern United States American Rock Band". Zchris87v 22:53, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

grounded in a plane crash?

does that sound intentionally ironic to anyone else? i dont think its appropriateKarlJohannes 20:44, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

Guitar Hero?

Should the main article mention that Freebird's featured in the video game Guitar Hero 2? Perhaps a trivia entry? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.218.235.39 (talk • contribs) 07:32, 3 December 2006 (UTC). YES!!

The Who's Quadrophenia Tour

I put a next to the frankly outrageous claim that The Who refused to follow Lynyrd Skynyrd at a concert. Any concert. If a legitimate citation isn't there in a week, I will delete the claim. Feel free to delete the claim ahead of time. Clashwho 02:36, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Briscoes' entrance theme

Professional wrestling tag team the Briscoe Brothers currently use Lynyrd Skynyrd's song Gimme Back My Bullets as their entrance theme. I added it quite a while ago but somebody deleted it and I don't see why as the article still says that the Fabolous Freebirds used the song Free Bird when they were active.

Please explain why it was removed. 83.233.58.34 00:44, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Sudden Change In Mood

In the plane crash section of the article, in paragraph two, the sentence pops out of the normal, factual mood: "Powell also claimed that Ronnie Van Zant's head had been smashed." Now is smashed Powell's word or the author's word? If it's the author's word, it shifts the mood from a sort of calm factual and slightly eerie tone to a more grotesque action scene and I think it should be changed. If it's Powell's word, it should be in quotation marks. Comments? 24.214.146.40 22:51, 10 February 2007 (UTC) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.214.146.40 (talk) 22:50, 10 February 2007 (UTC).

Billy Powell made a claim about a "massive head wound" (his words) during the 1997 VH-1 "Behind The Music" profile on Lynyrd Skynyrd. The autopsy reports posted by Judy VanZant Jenness on lynyrdskynyrd.com a few months after Powell's claim showed that Ronnie, while he did succumb to blunt force trauma to the head (as did Steve, Cassie and Dean), only had a VISIBLE wound to his temple the size of a quarter. I would hardly call that a smashed head, although Powell made a lot more outrageous claims about the accident which are alluded to in this article as well. BassPlyr23 (talk) 16:16, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

Burns

"Mysteriously, security manager Gene Odom was seriously burned on his arm and face in the crash, which involved no explosion or fire since the plane was out of fuel." Even though there wasn´t sufficient fuel to keep engines running, there would definetely still be fuel in the wing tanks at the impact. Fuel tanks in aircrafts are not drained from the bottom, but from a point above the bottom. This is to prevent water to be sucked from the fuel tanks into the engines. (Can´t avoid a certain amount of water in the fuel tanks, due to condensation of humidity. -The water is more dense than fuel, and the fuel will float on top of the water...) Even without any fuel at all in the wing tanks, the aircraft would still contain flammable engine oil that may have ignited during the crash. Or Mr. Odom may mave been physically in contact with hot engine parts, or the burns have been caused by something as simple as boiling water from an on-board coffee maker. Alternatively, an electric fire could have started at the impact. Lots of different possibilities to endure burns during an a/c crash, even when "out of fuel".

• According to Odom's own book, he believes that a flare activated during the crash is what caused his burns. It was also found that after draining the tanks and the fuel lines, there was less than a quart of gasoline aboard the plane. BassPlyr23 (talk) 21:56, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

Plane Crash site

I traveled to the page seeking some other info, but I want to leave a note for someone to check upon this. I am pretty positive (99.99999%) that the plane crash in 1977 was not in "McComb, Mississippi" but in a swamp in Gillsburg, Mississippi. For us that are old enough to remember those days, McComb was (probably still is) the closest city to the plane crash site and where the members were taken for medical treatment. Subsequently all their impromptu and shocking press conferences done outside the hospital were also done in McComb, for what I remember, therefore I can understand the confusion. Someone with some more time, should check upon this fact, and if I am correct, should change the crash site to the correct one.

I lived in Magnolia, MS at the time. The plane did not crash in McComb, MS. When it ran out of fuel, the plane turned around trying to get back to a very small airport in Fernwood, MS. which is between Gillsburg proper and McComb. The physical address of the Johnny Mote farm that the plane crashed on was Gillsburg. It was not in a swamp either, just deep in the woods on a farm, by a creek and it had rained alot that day. Stephstamps1 (talk) 18:05, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

Needs Reference/Trivia/Pop Culture Section

There are plenty of references to Lynyrd Skynyrd throughout pop culture, so I think it's best of they have some kind of section that points this out. Some Examples would be Freebird in Guitar Hero II, "Lynyrd" and "Skynyrd" being names of two redneck dogs in Without a Paddle, and the reference to the plane crash in an episode of King of the Hill. There's plenty more I'm sure. BreakerLOLZ 06:20, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Also, the movie Con Air mentions Lynyrd Skynyrd in that the convicts were dancing to Sweet Home, Alabama on a plane. A character pointed out the irony of jumping up and down on a plane to a song in which many of the band's members died in a plane crash.

I remember a minor character on Beavis and Butt-Head who would be at a concert or something and shout out "Play some Skynyrd, man!".Sposato (talk) 00:22, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Hard Rock

When have they ever been hard rock? 67.188.172.165 17:20, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

Their entire career. 74.77.208.52 04:35, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

The term "Southern Rock" did not exsist back in the 70's. Lynyrd skynyrd fan 03:10, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

Of course the term Southern rock existed back in the '70s. That's when it was coined. And yes, Lynyrd Skynyrd's music also was referred to as hard rock. (Mark Kemp) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.249.107.10 (talk) 02:23, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

the term "southern rock" was coined by Al Kooper, a music producer who pitched a new sub label to MCA. The first two albums were made under that sub label before it was dropped, and recordind resumed under just MCA, with no Al Kooper. The term "Southern Rock" kinda stuck. If you see any of the old interviews w/ Van Zant and the boys, you'll see they thought that was a little too gimicky, but were at the mercy of the label as far as promotions go. As far as hard rock or not, it's definitely rock, it just depends on what one might consider hard.JSW..Va Bch.

Discography is Incomplete!!!

What's Your Name (an album) was released in 1991. It has songs that were previously released but it certainly exists. Go to Amazon.com if you don't believe me. FreebirdTuesdaysGone (talk) 01:47, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

Someone seriously needs to research the muscle shoals album. Read the liner notes. It was not supposed to be a demo. This article has almost no early history of the band. Read the liner notes from the muscle shoals album —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kevin.c.mahoney (talk • contribs) 05:16, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

They shoulda included the family album, which includes .38, Rossington Collins, and Van Zant reunited with "Sweet Home Alabama", "Freebird", and "What's Your Name?".Sposato (talk) 00:24, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

"Discography" is of Lynyrd Skynyrds record releases, Mca released records also, like "Whats your name", "Turn up the music",Skynyrds Inyrds"24.182.197.59 (talk) 01:42, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

Discography needs work

If you look at other bands from the era, chart information is provided (when available). Lynyrd Skynyrd is one of the most famous bands of the seventies, yet this information isn't present. I've looked in various places, and haven't seen this data anywhere. I mean, those early albums had to have placed in the charts.Ingres77 (talk) 07:50, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

All of the chart listings from the american charts gets deleted. If you want to find this out you got to go to billboard.biz. But you got to be a member to see the chart informasion from the 60s 70s and 80. Or you can find other sources like this one [2]--Freedom (song) (talk) 18:36, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Singles

How many music videoes have been released by the band. Please help me i need this for the Lynyrd Skynyrd discography. --Freedom (song) (talk) 15:13, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Guitarists

I know that Rickey Medlocke of Blackfoot and Hughie Thommason of The Outlaws both played with Skynyrd, but were they ever in the group at the same time? --Cubs Fan (talk) 01:02, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Sure they were - they both played on the albums 'Twenty', 'Edge Of Forever' and 'Vicious Cycle', and the supporting live dates. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.128.47.6 (talk) 00:15, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

Plan to get this to GA status

The article is good writn but the problem is that the article add sources. So please add sources or stop editing. I'll add sources to the article when i'm finished with adding sources on Lostprophets. --Be Black Hole Sun (talk) 19:15, 4 July 2008 (UTC)

Autopsy report

Under the crash section it states..."Powell's version of events has been discounted by both Artimus Pyle and Judy Van Zant Jenness, who posted the autopsy reports on the band's website in early 1998 in order to set the record straight." I've been searching for this report to get a citation but unsuccessful so far. Hunting through Judy VanZant Jenness' site on the Wayback Machine is coming up with a negative on that. Until this is located this section needs a citation request. Can anyone assist? Cheers, ⋙–Berean–Hunter—► ((⊕)) 19:12, 5 July 2008 (UTC)

Lynyrd Skynyrd Compilations

How many have they released three or nineteen cause on the discography it says nineteen and on the template is says three so what is it. --Be Black Hole Sun (talk) 20:25, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

...and there are 22 compilations listed in the table in the Discography article! ⋙–Berean–Hunter—► ((⊕)) 20:39, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Some of them are collections of their music not released directly by the band, like 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Lynyrd Skynyrd. -Fnlayson (talk) 20:43, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Should't somebody add the compilation which has pages on the template? --Be Black Hole Sun (talk) 21:22, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

• What's missing? Looks like the discography article has all the ones from the template. Freebird the Movie is the Videography section. -Fnlayson (talk) 21:31, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

I'm working on it....gimme a little bit.⋙–Berean–Hunter—► ((⊕)) 21:43, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Their are twenty-to compilations on their discography page while three on compilations on the template. --Be Black Hole Sun (talk) 22:06, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for adding those compilations. --Be Black Hole Sun (talk) 22:11, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

It was a good point. There were actually 20 of them. This article needs more attention & more citations (more sources).⋙–Berean–Hunter—► ((⊕)) 22:20, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Keep an eye out...

P.J. York seems to like to get into edit wars, and according to his talk page seems to get blocked on a fairly regular basis for warring. Do we agree that the "tenures" of Lynyrd Skynyrd run from 1964-1977 and then from 1987-present? If so, then the "reunions" of 1979 and 2006 are single-concert and should not count towards one's continuous membership in the band, any more than Michael Nesmith's single 1986 show with the Monkees should be considered as a renewal of his membership in that band. BassPlyr23 (talk) 22:41, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

They are deleted so why have this section, to make me out to be the bad guy, come on, yeah I did get into edit warring, so what's the big deal, does it really matter? NO! Quit making such a big deal that I got blocked. I'm unblocked now. By your saying that your treating me like "oh he gets into edit wars, lets not trust him." P.J. (talk) 22:34, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

• But you do, so we shouldn't. The fact that stuff is deleted from an article doesn't seem to stop you from putting it back, as you did several times in this and other articles. You ARE the bad guy... so I don't mind calling an egg an egg. Just letting the other folks here know what you're about. BassPlyr23 (talk) 20:12, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

Lynyrd Skynyrd is not Southern Rock

Note: The following comment from User:Skynyrd77 is moved from User talk:Berean Hunter to proper venue.

I truly mean no disrespect to you but if you know anything about the history of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the man behind the voice you would know what i edited was true..he has stated in many interviews that he never wanted to be labeled a southern rock band,just straight rock n roll,im good friends with JoJo Billingsley one of the Honkettes from Skynyrd,Ed King i know well and i am close friends and live just a few miles away from Leon Wilkersons son Lee here in Warner Robins GA and it would be very wise if you wouldnt argue or try to debate these facts with the people i just named,its people like you that have them stuck with this label and its also people like you that can make it right,so i will ask you once to make it the way it is suppose to be or you can prove to me and any of the people mentioned above when there was ever a time when the original Skynyrd ever considered themselves southern rock,if you really knew your history you would know that the only reason Skynyrd didnt sign with Capricorn Records out of Macon Ga. is because Ronnie Van Zant didnt want to be labeled as being like The Allman Brothers Band and seem like they were following in their footsteps although he did admire the band a great deal but those are the facts..You can write back some smug comment if thats what your about but all im doing is trying to honor and respect what Ronnie Van Zant wanted for something he created.And if you wish to make a problem out of it ,do your research first and then you can come back with all that you have to prove us wrong but let me warn you now,you wont only be offending me but the people i have mentioned above will be involved..You might as well work for The Star if you are going to make false statements.I dont care what Kid Rock calls it or anyone else.Although there may be a millions sites labeling them as southern rock but for someone that doesnt know much about them and depend on Wikiepdia to be accurate then the people learing about these great people will know how it really was and hopefully the ones that already think they know all there is to know can come around and learn the truth...check the history thats all i ask...You will be hearing from me soon..do the right thing.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Skynyrd77 (talk • contribs) 07:25, 26 December 2008 (UTC)

I have a great deal of respect for those you have mentioned...respect isn't the issue. How Ronnie Van Zant wanted things to be called (or referred to) and how they actually turned out are two different things. I am familiar with the argument that you bring up as being a legitimate argument (probably best sourced from Ronnie's & Artimus Pyle's statements in Freebird – The Movie) that they were not a southern rock band and that it was hype made up by MCA. I believe them that MCA played it up for all it was worth...and in doing so, it became concreted with their image. It undoubtedly helped their notoriety and helped escalate their careers...and if it were started by MCA that didn't stop the band members from willfully playing their part and embracing the southern rock image....indeed, they define it. We try to use reliable sources...

From the official Lynyrd Skynyrd website history page:

"In August of 2004 Lacy Van Zant, often referred to as the 'Father Of Southern Rock,' passes away at the age of 89."

"The band releases their second effort, 'Second Helping,' which spawns their first charting U.S. single 'Sweet Home Alabama.' The song is seen as a southerner's response to Neil Young's 1971 song 'Southern Man.' The single reaches #8 on the charts, with the album itself hitting #12 (earning yet another gold disc)"

"At Funochios, an Atlanta club, Al Kooper notices Lynyrd Skynyrd and signs them to his Sounds Of The South label."

From the official Skynyrd site News page: Fans gorge on Southern-fried rock

From Gene Odom's site here, we see that they voluntarily played in a show this last summer called "SOUTHERN ROCK’S FINEST, With Special Guests The Ghost Riders...A Night of Sizzlin’ Southern Rock" — July 26, 2008, 7pm.

From the CMT biography of the band: "Lynyrd Skynyrd was the definitive Southern rock band, fusing the overdriven power of blues-rock with a rebellious, Southern image and a hard rock swagger."

From the official Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame which they were inducted into in 2006: official bio

"Mention the term “Southern rock” and two bands instantly leap to mind: the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. They defined the genre in its Seventies heyday and beyond, and both bands are still active entities. But whereas the Allmans were deeply steeped in blues and jazz, Lynyrd Skynyrd more freely embraced rock. Their three-guitar lineup gave them an uncommon musical muscle, while their down-to-earth songs spoke plainly and honestly from a working-class Southerner’s perspective."

From the St. Peterburg Times article: "Van Zant clan keeps Southern rock rolling"

"The type of music known as Southern rock probably wouldn't have happened without the legendary Ronnie Van Zant and his band, Lynyrd Skynyrd. Their Sweet Home Alabama spawned a whole new music genre nearly 30 years ago, and it seems as much the rousing in-your-face anthem today as it did when it hit the charts in 1974. "

Artimus Pyle seems to have no problem embracing the southern rock moniker these days as this review on his website shows.

The Southern Tribute show seems self-explanatory [3].

You are encouraged to provide citations to published reliable sources that bolster your side of this issue. In doing so, we may be able to come up with a balanced paragraph for the article on this topic. It is unlikely that you will divest Lynyrd Skynyrd from their Southern Rock association however. Fwiw, I don't think Ronnie would be displeased with being recognized as they are. Others are encouraged to comment.
⋙–Berean–Hunter—► ((⊕)) 17:01, 26 December 2008 (UTC)

Pronunciation Contradiction

The pronunciation for Lynyrd Skynyrd is different at the start of the article ("lin-nerd skin-nerd") and different in the first picture caption, which reads "leh-nerd skin-nerd"

• Correction- The start of the article has the pronunciation ("lin-nerd skin-nerd") and the first picture caption has the name of their album which, if you look at the discography, is "pronounced leh-nerd skin-nerd".

No mention here of original member Ricky Medlocke... played drums, wrote sang White dove, at least 2 others

Ricky Medlocke citation here at wikipedia. Conflicts with statement of Gaines as only other lead singer. Besides White Dove, also sang Ain't Too Proud to Pray and The Seasons.

Super Bowl of Rock

A major concert held in July of 1977 at Sodier Field in Chicago. Acts on the bill were from first on stage to headliner. 38 Special, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Ted Nugent. THe reason I added this was the largest crowd they ever played in front of was well over 80,000 prior to the listing for the Bama Jam. So the listing for the college gig with 50,000 was incorrect. I was at this concert and remember it well because a few days later I was home in NYC and wound up in a blackout. 76.106.121.175 (talk) 07:31, 28 February 2009 (UTC)

Barely changed press releases

Anyone notice the inserted press release at the bottom of the article? There are other instances, but this one seems to be the most glaring. Seanmercy (talk) 21:34, 31 March 2009 (UTC)

Thank you for noticing that...I think I took care of it. Cheers,
⋙–Berean–Hunter—► ((⊕)) 00:31, 1 April 2009 (UTC)

Ricky Medlocke

Why no mention of Ricky Medlocke as a original member? He played drums & sang on songs. people tend to forget that. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lgore69 (talk • contribs) 19:50, 12 June 2009 (UTC)

Criticism

I noticed there isn't any mention of criticism. The band with the current line up has been criticized for being too political and alienating fans. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.171.242.9 (talk) 15:29, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

I agree. The article is sanitized of any controversy. Isn't this the band that played in front of the confederate flag? That referred to Alabama as where "the governor's true" in reference to George Wallace? 88.74.192.246 (talk) 11:34, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Then be bold and go find the reliable sources which address this and add it to the article. Please make sure to provide citations. Thank you,
⋙–Berean–Hunter—► ((⊕)) 12:56, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

order of lineups on info box?

Greetings,

I have been mulling over switching the info box to reflect the best known version of the band, i.e. the information that almost any user is going to be looking for when they arrive at the page. Maybe having a listing of "members" and then "current lineup" below. It just seems strange to have the "people who currently tour and legally own the name Lynrd Skynrd" to take precedence over "people who recorded as Lynrd Skynrd and are performing on the records you own." I mean, is the purpose of the info box to supply quick and easy information about the band and its recordings, or is it an advertisement for the current lineup?

I am posting a similar message to this on several other band wikis in similar shape, in the hopes of getting some type of forward momentum or consensus on the problem. Seanmercy (talk) 00:57, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

incomplete discography listing

in discography you forgot to list the 1976 double album "ONE MORE FROM THE ROAD".i thought a discography would have a complete listing of all albums by that group, not just studio albums––.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Johnpaul535 (talk • contribs)

Lynyrd Skynyrd discography is supposed to cover the full list of albums. It only lists studio albums though. :( No live ones like that one.. -Fnlayson (talk) 23:32, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Does someone know an authoritative (reliable) source for the discography, identifying which albums are studio albums, which are live, and which are compilations? The discography on the lynyrdskynyrd.com website makes no distinction. Lately the LS articles have been somewhat unstable, with albums being moved between categories for no verifiable reason.  --Lambiam 22:44, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Pronunciation Wrong

Almost no Southern accent distinguishes between /ɛ/ and /ɪ/ before nasals, so the pronunciation guide can't be right. Madler (talk) 22:26, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

I find it highly suspect, and maybe the band was trying to avoid a law suit, but the name Leonard Skinner and some say Leonard Skinnerd is in the lyrics of Alan Sherman's old 1963 favorite "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" camp song. Has anyone found the coach at their school with that name (and even if he has passed, the county would have records of such a coach)? —Preceding unsigned comment added by VELVET (talk • contribs) 14:26, 14 September 2010 (UTC)

A modest suggestion

The inspiration for the band's name, Leonard Skinner himself, passed away earlier today. I have added a pair of external links from The Florida Times-Union of Jacksonville, one of which is his obituary, with the hope that they might be incorporated into this article. Even though the basics of the subject are provided under the heading "History-Early years," I think a separate section about the origins of the band's name and Mr. Skinner's impression of such (see the earlier of the two Times-Union articles) should be created because the story is highly interesting and an essential part of the group's history. Just a modest suggestion. The Ink Daddy! (talk) 20:59, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

Nothing about the Confederate flag?

In the whole article? Really? It's mentioned earlier on the talk page, where someone says the band "played" in front of the flag. I suspect they did it more than once: I know they did at the Jubilee in Montgomery, Alabama, in the early 2000s: it was a very large one. And the flag is on one of the covers (but not the other) for the "Sweet Home Alabama" single. Surely someone who's more interested in and knowledgeable about the band has some properly sourced information to add about Lynyrd Skynyrd's use of the flag. — President Lethe (talk) 06:27, 1 January 2011 (UTC)

Automatic archiving

User:Fnlayson has removed the automatic archiving from the page, but it's not clear what harm it is doing. If the band ever becomes current in the news, it will just have to be re-added anyway. Fnlayson, can you please provide a rationale for forcing humans to do what is better done by bots? I've seen you do this on several other pages too, and never understood why. Unless there's a reasonable explanation, I plan to restore this archiving. Jayjg ^(talk) 00:56, 11 April 2011 (UTC)

As I stated in my edit summary, this page is not busy enough to need auto archiving. Now there are only 2 sections here. At this rate it'll be many months before this page is long enough to really need to archive again. You have had little or no involvement with this article. Why do you care? And why even bother discussing such trivial things as this? -Fnlayson (talk) 03:11, 11 April 2011 (UTC)

If the page remains not busy, then it won't be archived, will it? You really haven't answered my question at all; can you please provide a rationale for forcing humans to do what is better done by bots? And if it's "trivial", then why bother undoing my work, or removing it? Jayjg ^(talk) 04:06, 11 April 2011 (UTC)

I'm in favor of keeping auto archiving. I've been setting them up recently as I find it solves several problems across various articles. First, it reduces newcomers from reigniting old controversies on old threads...they can start a new thread...but if they don't look in the archive, problem averted. The original posters in many cases have moved on or aren't keeping close track. Second, it reduces refactoring/vandalism on old threads. I have found quite a bit when trying to clean up talk pages. Third, reliance on well-meaning editors who were going to keep track and keep things archived stinks. I was finding 40 threads left unattended and rather inconsistent archiving schemes...so I homogenize to bot standards and let those dutifully do the job right.
⋙–Berean–Hunter—► ((⊕)) 00:54, 13 April 2011 (UTC)

"In Media and Popular Culture" Section is Rather Trivial

No offense intended whatsoever to whomever added the section. Details of the exact shows and even conversations during which it was played, right down to which song was played appears to me to be overly trivial, and, (if you'll pardon my saying so), kind of self-indulgent and not really very "encyclopedic." Not to mention the entire section cites utterly no sources. IMHO, the entire section serves no useful purpose from an encyclopedic standpoint. I heard a Moby Grape song played in a department store once. Should I add that to the Moby Grape page? IMHO, that's the kind of information only a hard core fan would really care about and really doesn't belong here. It's trivia. Any objections to it being removed? --SentientParadox (talk) 18:32, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

I would encourage you to remove it entirely.
⋙–Berean–Hunter—► 18:46, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

Agreed, and done. --SentientParadox (talk) 18:59, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

Pronunciation Claim

I noticed this has been brought up in the past on the discussion page, but the issue didn't seem to come to any resolution.

"The more distinctive spelling was adopted before they released their first album. Note that almost no Southern accent distinguishes between /ɛ/ and /ɪ/ before nasals, so the pronunciation of Leonard Skinner's name would have been /ˌlɪnərd ˈskɪnər/, which is why the 'distinctive' spelling of the name would have made sense to the band members."

The first statement is fine, because it can be verified easily simply by looking at the first album cover. I have a real problem with the remainder of the claim for the reasoning behind it because how anything sounds as pronounced is purely subjective. The claim that "it would have made sense to the band members" is, without sources (actual cite-able sources including quotes from actual band members), pure speculation. Until such reliable sources can be cited, I really think the first sentence should stay while the second ought to be removed. --SentientParadox (talk) 18:54, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

Reference section is too confusing.

Why is the reference section set up the way it is? Most Wikipedia citations bring me directly to a reference, not to a "reference to another reference." Having to cross reference everything in the citation list with the stuff in the "Literature list" seems awfully cumbersome and not very reader friendly.--SentientParadox (talk) 21:30, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

It uses a shortened footnote method, which is valid and is described at WP:CITESHORT. -Fnlayson (talk) 23:47, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

How exactly is it "shorter" when what could be one simple list is instead two lists? It amounts to even more text on the page then a single list would, and readers having to cross-reference from one "abbreviated" list to the full list. The purpose of split lists like that was originally developed for books. An abbreviated list would be either at the bottom of each page or at the end of sections or chapters, whilst the "main" full text list would be at the back of the book. When you've got the full list right there below the abbreviated one it's unnecessary to have the two. There's no need for the first one at all. I could see the usefulness of such lists in very lengthy articles with many sections where a shortened list could be placed in each section, but here it seems to me to be not only unnecessary, but cumbersome both for the readers and for editors. It doesn't make any sense to me. --SentientParadox (talk) 17:54, 17 August 2011 (UTC)

Members

It is, as usual, idiotic, that the members in the template are the current members, and that Ronnie Van Zant and the other original members are relegated to a link to "former members." This is just purposefully obtuse. The 70s lineup is the important one; the current lineup is a postscript. Our templates ought to be flexible enough to handle the fact that for some bands, the current lineup is barely notable and that an earlier incarnation ought to be given. john k (talk) 13:04, 15 October 2011 (UTC)

I agree with you that the 70s lineup is more significant however this is the normal treatment given for all defunct bands as well. If you see that both The Doors & Led Zeppelin for example lists the members as "past members".
⋙–Berean–Hunter—► 15:48, 15 October 2011 (UTC)

The fact that this is how things are generally done does not mean it is not stupid. At any rate, the issue here is that this isn't a defunct band. At the very least, the original members ought to be individually listed in the infobox in the "former members" section, rather than just referring us to later in the article. john k (talk) 17:53, 16 October 2011 (UTC)

Hell, it's even worse than that - the former members (including such significant figures as Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins) aren't listed anywhere in this article; you have to go to another article to find them. Outrageously awful. john k (talk) 18:57, 4 January 2012 (UTC)

Add "First and Last" to discography

Didn't want to edit in case there's a reason it's not there, but shouldn't the 1978 album "First and Last" be included in the discography? Of noted importance as (until the modern iteration) it's the only album on which Rickey Medlocke appears. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.121.245.174 (talk) 20:46, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

Leonard Skinner

Is the line "Skinner died on September 20, 2010, at age 77 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease" really a relevant piece of info for the "Early Years" section? It doesn't really have anything to do with the band and certainly not their early years. The section alread has a link to the Leonard Skinner page where I assume that information can be found. Thelemur78 (talk) 19:04, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

Fighting and drinking reputation

This 1976 article title is "Lynyrd Skynyrd Known For Fights As Well As Music". The Wikipedia article does not mention the fighting nor the drinking at all. As this something that should be included in the WP article? --Marc Kupper|talk 02:23, 7 October 2012 (UTC)

Edit war over images

There has been a slow edit war between IPs concerning the choice of images and where they are placed. We need to decide what goes where so that we have some form of consensus. Ideas? Right now, I'm not sure what needs to be enforced.
⋙–Berean–Hunter—► 18:14, 15 October 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for your attention to this. I've got no horse in this race, and my only intent is in following up re: a vandal who has been blocked at numerous IPs, and continues to edit from the same range. One of many, for instance, emanating from Sao Paolo [4]. My apologies if I'm wrong. 99.137.209.90 (talk) 19:53, 15 October 2011 (UTC)

Thank you for responding. I've reverted to the photos that I've known to be in the article for some time...the IP seems to be placing them back in. Compare to this version a couple of months ago. I'm not strongly attached to any of them...if I had my choice, I would want a 70s version of the band in the infobox. I'm open to suggestions.
⋙–Berean–Hunter—► 20:03, 15 October 2011 (UTC)

For what it's worth, I agree re: having the primary image refer to the period of their greatest success. 99.137.209.90 (talk) 20:10, 15 October 2011 (UTC)

One Percent — there is a member not listed Tiny yes ask Gary Rossington he know Who i am talking about Yes he did not tour but he was there in the early years . — Preceding unsigned comment added by 164.51.243.241 (talk) 17:03, 12 September 2013 (UTC)

Criticism

There should be a criticism section for this band..a lot of people really don`t like them..their audience includes a overtly racist element and they don`t seem to have a problem with attaching themselves to the confederate flag which whether you understand it or not a lot of people are offended by..there is a reason why people yell " FREEBIRD " at other people`s shows if they don`t like the band..they don`t exactly have a reputation in the music business for being particularly gifted or talented..nothing personal. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.242.102.242 (talk) 19:18, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

Display Image

Wouldn't it make more sense to have a pic of the current lineup of the band instead of the one that was taken 40 yrs ago? Just a thought. P.J. (talk) 06:07, 21 July 2013 (UTC)

I am not sure how this talk feature works so I am just editing in this place. Sorry if this is not correct. About the image. I understand your comment about having a current lineup picture of the group, but I think it best to have the original lineup from '69-'77. I feel this way because that is the period that most of their known songs are from. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.194.41.111 (talk) 23:38, 26 June 2014 (UTC)

I would second the above thought on the band image. The "classic" lineup seems the most appropriate to me also.THX1136 (talk) 15:15, 15 October 2014 (UTC)

The article is long enough to have both images, if they exist. GenQuest ^{"Talk to Me"} 19:24, 27 October 2014 (UTC)

Early Years cleanup

"Some versions of the band's history also have Burns leaving the band for a short time during this period." Other than in the sidebar, no Burns has been introduced up to this point. Could someone with a little more knowledge of the band clean this up? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Belltower (talk • contribs) 17:47, 5 April 2015 (UTC)

Unclear citations

A few of the footnotes go to citations that are unclear. I know generally how they arose, but I don't know how to fix them.

One reference just says "Robert E. Lee". Another just says "Band Name". Yet another just says "Namesake". And another just says "Kirkland 2008".

From what I can find, those are references to items that once had full citations in the Literature section, but those items are no longer listed in the Literature section. And, in some cases, the web pages that those once referred to no longer exist at the same places. --Metropolitan90 (talk) 15:53, 26 November 2016 (UTC)

References like those called are shortened footnotes. They should point to sources in a bibliography type section. Footnotes should generally include the author's name. Looks like the footnotes were first put in around 2008. Here's an old version for the end of that year, which may help. -Fnlayson (talk) 16:30, 26 November 2016 (UTC)

Hmmm

I'm holding a (newly-released?) Skynyrd album in my hand right now which has not been acknowledged anywhere yet that I've seen on Wikipedia. RadioKAOS / Talk to me, Billy / Transmissions 13:00, 19 August 2015 (UTC)

Lucky u Philolojust (talk) 21:12, 27 July 2017 (UTC)

Providing a citation

I am not very knowledgeable about editing Wikipedia articles. I added to this article the fact that the Lynyrd Skynyrd spelling was suggested by Bob Langford, recording engineer for the band. Bob has described this to me several times -- I've known him for years and it has to be true. So I gave as the citation "Personal interview with Bob Langford on Sept. 15, 2018." That citation was removed and replaced with the statement that a reliable citation is needed. Is there a way to cite this that would be approved? The fact probably exists nowhere in print. Thank you. Jeff560 (talk) 00:51, 16 September 2018 (UTC)

See Reliable sources and Citing sources. See also Original research. All of these were already brought to your attention in the messages left on your Talk page. General Ization ^Talk 00:54, 16 September 2018 (UTC)

Wikipedia is intended to summarize for the reader all the published information about a topic. If it hasn't been published, then it doesn't belong in Wikipedia. Be assured you're not the first person to run into this hard-and-fast rule. I always advise the person to read what it says at WP:No original research. Sorry! Binksternet (talk) 00:59, 16 September 2018 (UTC)

"Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" Reference -- by Alan Sherman

Here's more a question that a suggestion for an addition to the article -- in 1963, well before Skynyrd had even thought of forming, a comedian named Alan Sherman, big name in his day, came out with a song "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah", sung to "Dance of the Hours", about a kid going to camp and writing home about having a lousy time. It was a minor hit. In it there is a reference to "Leonard Skinner", and there seems to be no relation whatsoever to the band. While I think it's pretty funny, it may be too obscure to be a meaningful addition. The odds are pretty long that two people named "Leonard Skinner" would be used for musical purposes, but it is just random coincidence nevertheless. The oddity of it seems interesting (to me). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sychonic (talk • contribs) 22:01, 2 August 2020 (UTC)

Anyone here want to complete the full history of the band?

Man, you guys left a lot out... The following is all documented in various videos, documentaries and books.

Such as the Shade Tree demos and their time with Shade Tree Records? See this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbRpz3XMdBM Note this and other Shade Tree demos on Youtube are from Universal Music Group.

I met Jim Sutton and he told me how they were a bit floored by his and Markham's studio. They were impressed with the band enough to sign them.

Tho after Shade Tree not being able to do anything with them,Walden picked them up and Skynard then went to Muscle Shoals - see the documentary "Muscle Shoals" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKmGUIM1uAI

In that documentary you'll see the one owner of Muscle Shoals - Jimmy Johnson - one of the studio musicians called the Swampers - really wanted to record them and did, acting as producer. In the documentary he tells of an interesting story on how after a break they walked in to hear the one roadie, Billy Powell, playing piano along with Freebird. Little did they know that the roadie was a concert pianist. Johnson immediately started recording it and eventually the roadie joined the band.

But then Muscle Shoals lost the band when he refused to cut Freebird down to 3:30 minutes and not one A&R person would go see them live.

After this is when Al Kooper got involved in 1973 with his small label that was funded by MCA... Get the book "Freebirds - The Lynyrd Skynard Story" (Brant ISBN: 0-8230-8321-7).

There's so much more to the history of this band.

And also how the political/racial crap going on in the south just didn't exist in the studios down there - the Swampers were all white kids that did stuff like Aretha Franklin, Percy Sledge, and Wilson Pickett. Really watch that Muscle Shoals video. Wamnet (talk) 18:41, 6 November 2021 (UTC)

Confederate flag usage

It strikes me as odd how nonchallant the coverage of something this egregious appears in the article, as if flagrant usage and defense of what is widely regarded as a racist symbol, on par with the nazi swastika, is the most mundane and ordinary thing in the world. I find it hard to believe that they just outright state that the flag represents southern pride, follow it up with some lost cause revisionism and that was the end of the story. In the light of the events of the past six years, the insinuation that such comments didn't draw the slightest condemnation, or even the slightest scrutiny, is borderline whitewashing. 46.97.170.40 (talk) 13:44, 29 March 2022 (UTC)