In 1972, when the US radio was flooded by Progressive Rock such as YES, Pink Floyd and Genesis, I was looking for a new band that understood the art of the three chords. And as chance, I was there when Lynyrd Skynyrd gave her live debut in Atlanta. When I heard all these great song from them, I knew that this was the band that I wanted to produce.
When I got to know her better, it was initially her work ethic that impressed me. They had an old dandruff directly on the swamp in their homeland Jacksonville, Florida, where they continued to rehearse and polished their material until it became shiny steel. They had three guitarists, but they knew very well what self -limitation means. And in all the bands I worked with, there were no better arrangers. “Sweet Home Alabama” sounds as if it had recorded clever session cracks with decades of experience.
Ronnie van Zant was Lynyrd Skynyrd. Without wanting to get too close to the other members: Without him, the band would not have existed. It started with his texts: Like Woody Guthrie and Merle Haggard, Ronnie knew how to get to the point. And Ronnie controlled his colleagues with an iron hand. I have never seen a group with such a discipline.
After three or four albums, Lynyrd Skynyrd shaken the “Southern Rock” label and were simply one of the best rock bands in the world. When Ronnie died in the terrible aircraft crash in 1977, the band’s development also ended. After the wounds had healed, they teamed up again, and Ronnie’s younger brother took over the helm. You had to pinch yourself in your arm to be sure that Ronnie wasn’t on stage. The heart and soul of the band were lost forever.