I love musical concerts! So of course, when my friends told me they got tickets to a Lynyrd Skynyrd show, I was beyond excited. As most of you know, I travel back and forth between Canada and the States to visit some friends and family, always in search of new things to add to my blog. That being said, the concert in Alberta was one to behold.
Now when we first got there, it was quite crowded. I mean, let’s be honest. It’s a rock concert after all.
Nevertheless, the music made the crowd worth it. One of my friends is a huge fan of the band and got me into it when we were both attending highschool but I had never been to one of their concerts until yesterday.
They have this style that just makes you wanna sway to the music even if you can’t dance. But let’s go and look at the background of this 70’s band.
When you start naming the classics of rock, you generally go to bands that were formed in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. Lynyrd Skynyrd was formed in 1964 hold a number of 7 artists performing on stage together. Ever find yourself singing ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and then forget the rest? I have and believe it or not, it was the Skynyrd band who performed it. Now, what about the song Free Bird? Also them!
Unfortunately, three members died in a plane crash shortly after they began to spread worldwide, 1977. Ronnie Van Zant, Stevie and Cassie Gaines were taken away which left the band short of a lead vocalist, backup vocalist and lead guitarist.
Okay, now you might be asking yourself, “Lily, if the lead vocalist and the lead guitarist died back in 1977, how did you attend their concert just yesterday? (2019).” Well, Ronnie had a brother named Johnny that took over the lead vocals and there were Gary Rossington and Allen Collins on the guitar, as well as Larry Junstrom on bass and Bob Burns on the drums… they were 7, now they are 5… or they were.
See, as the band progressed, many people had lives to attend to or a bed to go and rest in. So the concert I attended had once again 7 members, so each played their own instruments. Original co-founder of the band, Rossington stayed and continued on through last night’s show, along with Van Zant (Johnny). But the other five members have completely changed since the first band performance and the reunion after the tragic incident.
Now, Lynyrd Skynyrd wasn’t their first name, or their second band name either. In fact, they probably went through quite a few names, but the world knew them as The Noble Five or One Percent. The name Lynyrd Skynyrd was only made official five years after the foundation of the band, 1969.
Learning all about that before going to the show really helped me appreciate the heart and soul they put into the music they create and perform. They’re Farewell Tour truly is a fantastic way to say goodbye as a band… but wait.
A claim came out that the farewell tour isn’t at all a goodbye for the band. Rossington, do you have something to say?
lifetoday01 