LYNYRD SKYNYRD:

Lynyrd Skynyrd is Southern Rock. They skillfully blended their blues-rock drive with a rebellious Southern image to create a hard-swaggered sound unlike any other group. They were a hard-living, hard-driving rock & roll band. Their jams were deep-rooted in country, blues, and rock.

Ronnie VanZant, the band’s leader and primary songwriter, had demonstrated attention to lyrical detail and a straight-thinking honesty that was more similar to country than rock. During the peak of Skynyrd's popularity in the mid-'70s, VanZant’s talent was often overshadowed by the group's edgy, greasy blues-rock sound and lifestyle. Unfortunately, it wasn't until after he died in a plane crash in 1977 along with two other band members that listeners began to appreciate his talents. Skynyrd split up after the plane crash, but they reunited a decade later, becoming a popular concert act during the early '90s.