Freebirds:
The Lynyrd Skynyrd Story by Marley Brant
Book Description: Freebirds: The Lynyrd Skynyrd Story is the first
narrative biography to examine the roots, evolution, and eventual emergence
of one of the most captivating bands in the history of rock and roll.
Though plagued by devastating personal tragedy, numerous personnel changes
brought on by the ravages of working on the road, and the untimely deaths
of some of its founding members, Lynyrd Skynyrd has continued to record,
tour, and produce bestselling albums. Interwoven within this fascinating
portrait are in-depth biographies, including the inside stories of the
intricate interband relationships; the truth behind the charges of vehicular
manslaughter, child molestation, and broken contracts; the origins of their
songs; and much, much more.
The result is a mesmerizing look at how this southern rock legend endured
and prevailed despite a history laden with professional disadvantages,
personal loss, and the ego-fueled transition to international stardom.
Recently nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Lynyrd
Skynyrd celebrates stoic independence and bar-hopping camaraderie. The
band's music infiltrates the mind with images of Southern landscapes, hard-driving
women, and the importance of home and family.
This fascinating bio features one-on-one interviews with music legends
Charlie Daniels, Warren Haynes, and Allen Woody; producer Al Kooper; Johnny
Van Zant, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson, Ed King, Artimus Pyle, Rickey Medlocke,
Hughie Thomasson, the widows of Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines, and band
members, family members, and record company executives. Also featured are
dozens of never-before-published photographs, as well as a complete discography
and bibliography.
Paperback from Watson-Guptill Pubns
Book Published: January, 2002
Lynyrd
Skynyrd : Remembering the Free Birds of Southern Rock by Frank Dorman, Gene Odom
Book Description: The first complete, unvarnished history of Southern
rock's legendary and most popular band, from its members' hardscrabble
boyhoods in Jacksonville, Florida and their rise to worldwide fame to the
tragic plane crash that killed the founder and the band's rise again
from the ashes.
In the summer of 1964 Jacksonville, Florida teenager Ronnie Van Zant
and some of his friends hatched the idea of forming a band to play covers
of the Rolling Stones, Beatles, Yardbirds and the country and blues-rock
music they had grown to love. Naming their band after Leonard Skinner,
the gym teacher at Robert E. Lee Senior High School who constantly badgered
the long-haired aspiring musicians to get haircuts, they were soon playing
gigs at parties, and bars throughout the South. During the next decade
Lynyrd Skynyrd grew into the most critically acclaimed and commercially
successful of the rock bands to emerge from the South since the Allman
Brothers. Their hits “Free Bird” and “Sweet Home Alabama” became
classics. Then, at the height of its popularlity in 1977, the band was
struck with tragedy --a plane crash that killed Ronnie Van Zant and two
other band members.
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Remembering the Free Birds of Southern Rock is an intimate
chronicle of the band from its earliest days through the plane crash and
its aftermath, to its rebirth and current status as an enduring cult favorite.
From his behind-the-scenes perspective as Ronnie Van Zant's lifelong
friend and frequent member of the band's entourage who was also aboard
the plane on that fateful flight, Gene Odom reveals the unique synthesis
of blues/country rock and songwriting talent, relentless drive, rebellious
Southern swagger and down-to-earth sensibility that brought the band together
and made it a defining and hugely popular Southern rock band -- as well
as the destructive forces that tore it apart. Illustrated throughout with
rare photos, Odom traces the band's rise to fame and shares personal
stories that bring to life the band's journey.
For the fans who have purchased a cumulative 35 million copies of Lynyrd
Skynyrd's albums and continue to pack concerts today, Lynyrd Skynyrd
is a celebration of an immortal American band.
Hardcover from Broadway
Book Published: 08 October, 2002
