II continued to record and tour for decades. Johnny’s vocal and visual resemblance to his brother helped revitalize the band, which released a new album in ’91. In 1987, most of the surviving members reunited to tour, with Van Zant’s little brother Johnny as the singer. Days after its release, Skynyrd’s plane crashed in Baton Rouge, killing Van Zant, new guitarist Steve Gaines, backup singer Cassie Gaines (Steve’s sister), and several others, and severely wounding the rest of the band. The band seemed to be peaking on 1977’s Street Survivors, but fate had other ideas. The epic, 10-minute-plus, jam-frenzied live version of 'Free Bird' released in 1976 became one of the most ubiquitous anthems in the classic-rock canon. Skynyrd found swift success, but 1974’s Second Helping really made them rock stars via “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird,” the “Star-Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful” of Southern rock. Kooper produced their 1973 debut album, adding Ed King to the band’s signature “guitar army.” While Skynyrd lived up to their bluesy, boozy swagger, there were deeper levels to be discovered, like the reflective balladry of “Tuesday’s Gone,” and “Gimme Three Steps,” in which the narrator does his damnedest to talk his way out of a bar brawl. Bassist Leon Wilkeson and keyboardist Billy Powell were aboard when producer/musician Al Kooper discovered Skynyrd in 1972. Singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarists Allen Collins and Gary Rossington, and drummer Bob Burns started playing together around their hometown of Jacksonville, FL, in 1964. October 20, 1977, Gillsburg, Mississippi), Gary Rossington (b. January 15, 1949, Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.d. The principal members were Ronnie Van Zant (b. Combining bluesy riffs, a touch of country twang, and a three-guitar rock ’n’ roll onslaught, they perfected the template. Lynyrd Skynyrd, American rock band that rose to prominence during the Southern rock boom of the 1970s on the strength of its triple-guitar attack and gritty working-class attitude.

Lynyrd Skynyrd didn’t invent Southern rock, but they defined it with the five albums they released in the ’70s.

Lynyrd skynyrd