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The album cover photograph was taken on Main Street in Jonesboro, GA. Coincidentally the photo of the band is only a few feet away from what would be the film scene where Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed loaded the Coors beer onto the tractor trailer rig in the 1977 film Smokey and the Bandit four years later. The men in the photo are all the band members, from left to right: Leon Wilkeson, Billy Powell, Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington (seated), Bob Burns, Allen Collins, and Ed King. The album features several of the band’s most well-known songs, including «Gimme Three Steps», «Simple Man», «Tuesday’s Gone» and «Free Bird», which launched the band to national stardom and has sold an estimated 2 million units internationally.
(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) is the debut album by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released in 1973. Several of the album's songs remain among the band's most well-known: "Gimme Three Steps", "Simple Man", "Tuesday's Gone" and "Free Bird", the latter of which launched the band to national stardom.
The album was certified gold on December 18, 1974, and double platinum on July 21, 1987, by the RIAA. It peaked at 27 on the Billboard 200 in 1975.
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass guitar) and Bob Burns (drums). The band spent five years touring small venues under various names and with several lineup changes before deciding on “Lynyrd Skynyrd” in 1969. The band released its first album in 1973, having settled on a lineup that included bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboardist Billy Powell and guitarist Ed King. Burns left and was replaced by Artimus Pyle in 1974. King left in 1975 and was replaced by Steve Gaines in 1976. At the height of their fame in the 1970s, the band popularized the Southern rock genre with songs such as “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird”. After releasing five studio albums and one live album, the band’s career was abruptly halted on October 20, 1977, when their chartered airplane crashed, killing Van Zant, Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines, and seriously injuring the rest of the band.
Lynyrd Skynyrd reformed in 1987 for a reunion tour with Ronnie’s brother Johnny Van Zant as lead vocalist. They continue to tour and record with co-founder Rossington (the band’s sole continuous member), Johnny Van Zant, and Rickey Medlocke, who first wrote and recorded with the band from 1971 to 1972 before his return in 1996. In January 2018, Lynyrd Skynyrd announced its farewell tour, and continue touring as of October 2019. Members are also working on their fifteenth album.
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Lynyrd Skynyrd No. 95 on their list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”. Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006. To date, the band has sold more than 28 million records in the United States.
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