When guitarist Gary Rossington, the last founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, died a few weeks ago, I was amazed at how many people only thought of “Sweet Home Alabama” and nothing else. Apparently something has been forgotten that the band made at least two great albums – and was already legendary before they went down in history as one of those bands whose fate got in their way: singer Ronnie Van died in a plane crash in 1977 Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and his sister, backing vocalist Cassie Gaines – ironically just days after the release of their fifth album, Street Survivors. The others survived badly injured, Lynyrd Skynyrd was done for now. (They continued with Ronnie’s younger brother Johnny Van Zant in the late ’80s, and when I saw them in London in 1992, a great many very grown men cried as they played the epic “Free Bird” again.)
The two albums that will remain are the debut, (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd)” (1973), and the follow-up, “Second Helping” (1974). They had the blues (“Tuesday’s Gone”), could be funny – in a very manly way (“Gimme Three Steps”) and celebrated the simple life (“Simple Man”). Pounding rock songs delivered life wisdom (“Don’t Ask Me No Questions”), and with three guitarists and one keyboardist their sound was simply a force.
The disregard for Lynyrd Skynyrd probably has to do with the fact that they are the quintessential Southern band – and so are always associated with dull flag-waving. Maybe it’s because I grew up in Bavaria, so to speak in the southern states of Germany, but it hardly bothered us. Of course, I had seen “Torches in the Storm” and knew that the symbol we euphemistically call the “Confederate Flag” was actually a war flag flown by pro-slavery pro-slavery fighters during the American Civil War, and later also by the Ku- Klux Klan. However, most of them, at least in Germany, were not that interested. Since the Dixie Flag was just folklore.
Also, it might not have been Lynyrd Skynyrd’s best idea to attack Neil Young in her biggest hit for making unfavorable comments about the southern states on “Harvest”, but from today’s perspective, being used to hip-hop gibberish, the stink is almost cute before. And Young responded with aplomb at the time, coming out as a Ronnie Van Zant fan and claiming he was “honoured”.
Unfortunately, Kid Rock of all people then hijacked “Sweet Home Alabama” in 2007 for “All Summer Long” (which also used Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves Of London”). It still pisses me off to this day how cleverly he did it – I caught myself singing along several times. Now Kid Rock is from Michigan, but he could well be a redneck from the
rearmost Alabama: He loves guns, hates the “Wokeness” and of course supports Trump. In the song he remembers his youth in Michigan: “It was 1989, my thoughts were short, my hair was long” – and it has remained that way to this day. Kid Rock was seen on Twitter shooting up BudLight cans because the manufacturer is cooperating with a transgender influencer. Ronnie Van Zant would never have been that stupid.
How did he sing on “The Needle And The Spoon”? “I’ve seen a lot of people who thought they were cool/ But then again, Lord, I’ve seen a lot of fools.”