Lynyrd Skynyrd

Origin: Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Years active: 1970–1977; 1987 – present
Members:Johnny Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Ean Evans, Rickey Medlocke,
Michael Cartellone, Mark Matejka, Dale Krantz Rossington, Carol Chase
Former members:Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Steve Gaines, Leon Wilkeson,
Cassie Gaines, Hughie Thomasson, Ed King, Artimus Pyle, Bob Burns, Randall Hall

Lynyrd Skynyrd is an iconic U.S. Southern rock band. The band reached prominence during the 1970s
under the leadership of vocalist and primary songwriter Ronnie Van Zant,
until he died, along with several other members of the band, in a plane crash in 1977 in McComb,
Mississippi. The band got the idea for their name from Leonard Skinner,
a gym teacher/basketball coach for some of the members at Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville,
Florida. Lynyrd Skynyrd was one of the most critically acclaimed Southern Rock groups
(although the term did not exist at the time they formed) of the 1970s, and was inducted into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006. Their distinctive triple-lead guitar
sound made their songs "Free Bird" and "Sweet Home Alabama" American anthems and staples of FM radio.
Members inducted include singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarists Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Ed King,
and Steve Gaines, bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboard player Billy Powell, and drummers Bob Burns
and Artimus Pyle.

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