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(southern rock music)
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When Lynyrd Skynyrd emerged
on to the world stage in 1973
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for the band it was the result
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of their collective determination.
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Having struggled to gain real recognition
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since they had formed
eight years beforehand,
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and although they were
immediately identified both
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in the music industry and
the press as yet another act
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in the booming Southern
Rock movement of the time
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it soon became apparent that
these Floridians were not only
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an entirely distinctive musical unit,
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but also one of the greatest
rock bands in the world.
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- They wanted to cash in
on something you know,
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that would be unique to them you know,
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a Southern Redneck biker band.
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It was just such a crazy
concept, but they were
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just audacious enough to make it work.
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- Lynyrd Skynyrd was the show stopper.
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When I walked to the stage
with Lynyrd Skynyrd the hair
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on the back of my neck stood up.
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It was like the Gladiators
going into the arena.
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- [Voiceover] The driving force
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of the band was Ronnie VanZant,
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a tough, blue-collar brawler that
led Skynyrd from the front line
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with his powerful stage
presence, distinctive vocals
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and his gritty, honest lyrics.
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Head strong and domineering,
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his energy and vision propelled the group
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from it's formation until
it's tragic end in 1977.
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- From the minute I joined the band
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to the minute we had the plane crash
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he was the hardest working
band I've ever known of,
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that was due primarily to the
work ethic of Ronnie VanZant.
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He was the true leader,
writer, mentor of that band.
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- Ronnie was spectacular.
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He just had a charisma all of his own.
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Man, he grabbed my heart
hook, line, and sinker.
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I said, "Man, everything that comes out
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"of his mouth is meaningful."
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- [Voiceover] Ronnie VanZant
was a great song writer.
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00:02:08,426 --> 00:02:10,940
He was a terrific lyricist
too, an observant person,
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and a very smart guy, and he knew how
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to be ambiguous about stuff.
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He was was very sharp.
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They put out six albums,
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and 80, 90 % of those songs
are absolutely top-rated.
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It's amazing.
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- [Voiceover] Ronnie Van Zant was born
in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1948.
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The eldest child of parents
Lacy and Marion Van Zant
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At the time this port city
on the Northeastern tip
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of Florida, was undergoing
rapid expansion,
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yet the Van Zants settled
away from the industrial
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and commercial center
of downtown Jacksonville
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in the semi-rural area of the Westside.
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Here Ronnie grew up
alongside his five siblings
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in a small family home close
to the unspoiled beauty
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of the Cedar River, known
to the locals a Cedar Creek.
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- They weren't guided
by any particular rules.
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Lacy Van Zant was almost never there.
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The Father he was hard
living, truck driving man,
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and he was very rarely
home and the Mother who
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everybody called Sis was kind
of a hands off kind of parent.
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- Ronnie was a barefoot
country boy you know,
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on the Westside of Jacksonville.
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We lived down the street
there on Mull Street,
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and me and Ronnie just
became fishing buddies.
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We'd ride our bicycles
down to Cedar Creek.
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I'd be on the handlebars
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or he'd be on the handlebars,
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and we'd go down and take a croaker sack
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and we'd catch mullet.
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We'd catch a sack full of mullet,
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and we'd bring them back
and give them to everybody,
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some black folks on the other
end of the street down there,
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we gave fish to everybody.
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- [Voiceover] Although fishing
was the young Van Zant's
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favorite past time during his childhood
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the area surrounding the family home
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on Mull Street was a rough,
working-class neighborhood
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renamed Shantytown by it's residents,
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and the quick tempered
Ronnie soon developed
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in part through necessity,
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into one of the toughest
kids on the block.
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- The old saying then and now even,
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the farther North you go into Florida,
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the more in the South you are,
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and when you were in Jacksonville
you were at the upper tip
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of Florida, and it was pretty bad.
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It was bad country.
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- Ronnie lived in a
neighborhood that where
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12 o'clock noon on a summer
day you don't want to be
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in that neighborhood.
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Okay, and I lived about 1/4 mile away
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and the houses, not much
bigger than this room,
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but they were brick and
they were a whole level
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up from where Ronnie's people were.
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They used to call us the rich folk.
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He lived in the roughest
neighborhood they was.
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- It was blue-collar and it
was working-class people,
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rednecks you know.
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I'm happy to be a redneck,
you know. (laughs)
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It was a great neighborhood back then.
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We called it Shantytown.
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They call it the bottom now.
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- The Westside was
everybody knew each other
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in the Westside.
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We played baseball together.
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We went fishing together.
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We wanted to live here all our lives,
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but we knew we weren't going to
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really amount to much of anything here.
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You work for the railroad
or you join the Navy.
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That was pretty much it
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or you went to college to become a lawyer,
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and starting a band just seemed
to be a whole lot more fun.
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- [Voiceover] Despite being
drawn to music from an early age
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in particular country in
the work of Merle Haggard
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and having already developed
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an enthusiasm for singing, Van Zant's
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earliest ambitions were not artistic,
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yet they all involved
breaking out of Shantytown.
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00:05:38,450 --> 00:05:40,608
Growing up within walking
distance from Jacksonville's
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00:05:40,609 --> 00:05:43,809
Speedway Park his initial
childhood aspiration was
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to become a champion stock car driver.
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00:05:46,218 --> 00:05:48,774
Although with his enrollment
in Robert E. Lee High School
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in 1961 his thoughts turned
to more athletic pursuits.
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- At Lee, early on, he
wanted to play football.
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He wanted to be a running back,
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00:05:58,404 --> 00:06:01,078
and he got to play and
they did a scrimmage
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00:06:01,079 --> 00:06:03,358
and the first play from scrimmage
he got his ankle broken.
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00:06:03,359 --> 00:06:05,623
They put pins in it and made him 4F,
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so he couldn't be drafted.
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Right before that when
Cassius Clay was in his heyday
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before he turned over and changed his name
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00:06:14,138 --> 00:06:16,759
to Muhammed Ali, Ronnie
loved Cassius Clay,
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00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,923
and he wanted to be a boxer, but boxer,
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and I wasn't there that day
Orestes Godwin which lived
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over on Pangola, the
other side of Woodcrest,
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Ronnie's side boxed Ronnie
and he just beat the hell
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out of Ronnie, so that
changed Ronnie's mind
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about wanting to be a boxer.
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You get your ass beat
the first time you want
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to be somebody you don't
want to be that, next day.
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- [Voiceover] The single event
that caused Van Zant to focus
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not on sport, but on
music occurred in 1965
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when he and a friend attended a concert
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at the Jacksonville Coliseum.
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Despite the rich, musical
heritage of the South
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it was a British band
channeling this heritage
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into their own distinctive
sound that provided the young
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Floridian with a clear
roadmap for his future.
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The Rolling Stones played to
a packed house on May the 8th,
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and that performance proved inspirational.
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- Mick Jagger and the
Stones is what inspired him.
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He liked music, country music.
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Mick Jagger, The Rolling
Stones is what put the shuffle
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in his feet and what put
him into wanting to be
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in the music business.
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♪ I can't get no ♪
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♪ I can't get no ♪
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♪ When I'm driving in my car ♪
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♪ A man comes on the radio ♪
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♪ Telling me more and more ♪
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♪ About some useless information ♪
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♪ Supposed to fire my imagination ♪
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♪ I can't get no ♪
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♪ A no, no, no ♪
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♪ Hey, hey, hey ♪
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♪ That's what I say ♪
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He seen the reaction of
the fans and the people
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especially the girls, and
the girls loved the singers.
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They don't care much about the band,
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but they loved that front man.
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Ronnie loved it.
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He just had that reaction
because truthfully speaking
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he wanted to get out of Shantytown.
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He hated it.
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He didn't bring nobody over to his house,
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us close friends, but if
he didn't if you wasn't
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a close friend you didn't
come over to Shantytown.
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In Ronnie's eyes he wanted to be somebody.
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Mick Jagger did that dancing.
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Ronnie Van Zant come
back, "Hey, I want to be
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"I want to be in rock-n-roll."
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He put that in his mind,
and that is what guided him.
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Ron Van Zant had a goal.
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- [Voiceover] It didn't take Van Zant long
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to begin working towards this goal.
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Within weeks he had joined
young teen-aged group
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00:08:38,168 --> 00:08:40,788
The Squires, and several
years older than the other
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band members, he quickly took charge.
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Renaming them Us.
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This would soon bring him
into contact with rival bands
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The Mods which featured young guitarist,
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Allen Collins and bassist, Larry Steele.
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- I first met Ronnie Van Zant in 1965.
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Allen and I had a band
together called The Mods
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00:09:02,516 --> 00:09:05,919
We attended Lake Shore
Junior High School together
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00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:09,111
as did Gary Rossington
and Allen and I's band
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00:09:09,112 --> 00:09:13,086
had a Battle of the Bands
coming up with another band.
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We had had a Battle of
the Bands previously
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00:09:15,964 --> 00:09:17,518
and we won.
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00:09:17,519 --> 00:09:22,271
But now this band that we
were competing against, now,
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thier new lead singer was Ronnie Van Zant.
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Ronnie came over to Lake
Shore Junior High School
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to kind of advance the gig.
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He was always calculating.
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He was like a field general
and he had requested
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00:09:34,408 --> 00:09:36,666
through someone to meet with me.
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That was terrifying, you know?
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It was like, what?
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It just didn't sound
good at all, you know?
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00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:44,977
I knew of him.
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00:09:44,978 --> 00:09:46,788
I knew the name everybody on the Westside
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00:09:46,789 --> 00:09:49,645
of Jacksonville knew the
name because Ronnie had
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00:09:49,646 --> 00:09:54,641
a fairly big reputation
as a street fighter.
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00:09:55,165 --> 00:09:58,030
He was a tough guy.
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00:09:58,031 --> 00:10:03,026
I was expecting to meet Attila the Hun,
219
00:10:03,626 --> 00:10:05,979
but he was very soft spoken.
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00:10:05,980 --> 00:10:07,823
He was very polite.
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00:10:07,824 --> 00:10:10,412
He was very intelligent.
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00:10:10,413 --> 00:10:12,180
He knew what he wanted to do.
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00:10:12,181 --> 00:10:14,557
He was as nice as he can be.
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- [Voiceover] Although Us won the contest,
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00:10:16,230 --> 00:10:18,179
Van Zant quickly decided
that his band mates lacked
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00:10:18,180 --> 00:10:21,164
the skill and focus to
match his own ambitions,
227
00:10:21,165 --> 00:10:23,774
and he began looking for
a new outfit to front.
228
00:10:23,775 --> 00:10:25,756
Another group on the
local high school circuit
229
00:10:25,757 --> 00:10:27,439
soon caught his attention.
230
00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:29,230
A recently formed three-piece band
231
00:10:29,231 --> 00:10:31,664
consisting of bassist Larrry Youngstrom,
232
00:10:31,665 --> 00:10:33,540
guitarist, Gary Rossington, and drummer,
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00:10:33,541 --> 00:10:35,128
Bob Burns.
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00:10:35,129 --> 00:10:36,832
- First it was me and Larry.
235
00:10:36,833 --> 00:10:38,197
We were trying to do something and I said,
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00:10:38,198 --> 00:10:40,913
"Larry, we got to get
us a guitar partner."
237
00:10:40,914 --> 00:10:42,160
He said, "I don't know none."
238
00:10:42,161 --> 00:10:43,157
I said, "I do."
239
00:10:44,207 --> 00:10:47,446
- Gary Rossington, yes, I told
Gary about it and he said,
240
00:10:47,447 --> 00:10:49,348
"Sure." Because he
didn't have an amplifier.
241
00:10:50,270 --> 00:10:52,986
So we walked about two miles and got one,
242
00:10:52,987 --> 00:10:55,416
and that's what we
started practicing with.
243
00:10:55,417 --> 00:10:58,512
We named the band Me, You and Him.
244
00:10:59,359 --> 00:11:02,075
The way I met Ronnie,
he knocked on my door
245
00:11:02,076 --> 00:11:04,803
one morning to say, right before school.
246
00:11:04,804 --> 00:11:06,642
I said, "I don't want to fight you, man."
247
00:11:08,587 --> 00:11:11,004
He said, "I ain't here to fight."
248
00:11:11,005 --> 00:11:12,193
He said, "I'm a singer."
249
00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:14,361
I said, "You're a singer?"
250
00:11:14,362 --> 00:11:15,917
He said, "Yeah."
251
00:11:15,918 --> 00:11:17,377
I said, "Well, I'll be dang."
252
00:11:17,378 --> 00:11:22,373
I said, "I got a bass player
and I have a guitar player.
253
00:11:22,940 --> 00:11:25,816
"Let's try to put something together."
254
00:11:25,817 --> 00:11:27,531
- [Voiceover] As they
began to practice, however,
255
00:11:27,532 --> 00:11:30,163
this new as yet unnamed
band quickly realized
256
00:11:30,164 --> 00:11:32,390
that something was
missing from their sound.
257
00:11:32,391 --> 00:11:34,260
Enter guitarist, Allen Collins.
258
00:11:35,130 --> 00:11:38,251
- Allen was playing in
a band called the Mods.
259
00:11:38,252 --> 00:11:40,797
He was their lead-guitar player.
260
00:11:40,798 --> 00:11:41,831
We were practicing.
261
00:11:41,832 --> 00:11:42,791
We stopped.
262
00:11:42,792 --> 00:11:46,253
We said, "Look it's just
not full enough, you know?
263
00:11:46,254 --> 00:11:48,736
The sound is just not full enough."
264
00:11:48,737 --> 00:11:50,351
I said, "We need another axe."
265
00:11:51,358 --> 00:11:52,908
Everybody said, "Yeah, where?"
266
00:11:54,075 --> 00:11:57,431
I went, "Bingo, Allen Collins."
267
00:11:57,432 --> 00:11:59,572
And Gary just about thought about it
268
00:11:59,573 --> 00:12:01,842
at the same time because
he didn't know Allen
269
00:12:01,843 --> 00:12:03,217
like I did.
270
00:12:03,218 --> 00:12:04,932
He was just a distant, distant friend.
271
00:12:04,933 --> 00:12:06,520
I know Allen, good
272
00:12:06,521 --> 00:12:08,582
He was in a lot of my classes.
273
00:12:10,005 --> 00:12:12,966
We approached him about it.
274
00:12:12,967 --> 00:12:14,820
- They needed another guitar player.
275
00:12:14,821 --> 00:12:17,324
Ronnie was of the opinion
that he could take
276
00:12:17,325 --> 00:12:21,470
two mediocre at best, at
that time, the truth is
277
00:12:21,471 --> 00:12:23,478
Allen and Gary neither one,
they were both learning
278
00:12:23,479 --> 00:12:24,916
from each other.
279
00:12:24,917 --> 00:12:27,858
Ronnie felt like if he
could take the two of them
280
00:12:27,859 --> 00:12:30,308
and combine that energy
and have them feed off
281
00:12:30,309 --> 00:12:33,590
of each other that ultimately
he could come up with
282
00:12:33,591 --> 00:12:37,266
at the very least a
very good guitar player.
283
00:12:37,267 --> 00:12:40,123
As it turned out, he knew exactly
what he was talking about.
284
00:12:40,124 --> 00:12:43,254
As it turned out he got two
very good guitar players.
285
00:12:43,255 --> 00:12:44,907
- [Voiceover] With the
band's line-up in place
286
00:12:44,908 --> 00:12:46,856
after some rehearsing, they
made their way on to the
287
00:12:46,857 --> 00:12:48,529
Jacksonville Live Circuit.
288
00:12:48,530 --> 00:12:50,404
Although as the majority
of the members were still
289
00:12:50,405 --> 00:12:52,834
high school students, they
were restricted to playing
290
00:12:52,835 --> 00:12:55,285
teen clubs and youth centers.
291
00:12:55,286 --> 00:12:57,938
Their set list almost
exclusively made up of covers
292
00:12:57,939 --> 00:13:00,932
of songs by British invasion
acts, this group eventually
293
00:13:00,933 --> 00:13:03,553
named the Noble Five was the first step
294
00:13:03,554 --> 00:13:06,015
in the journey towards Lynyrd Skynyrd.
295
00:13:06,016 --> 00:13:08,759
- That band right there,
if we jumped on a copy tune
296
00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:13,256
at first it was good,
people were very impressed.
297
00:13:14,135 --> 00:13:18,950
Then they were saying,
"Damn, that sounds good."
298
00:13:18,951 --> 00:13:22,083
And before we quit playing copy tunes
299
00:13:22,084 --> 00:13:25,045
and we played anywhere from
the Doors and the Stones
300
00:13:25,046 --> 00:13:29,655
to Beatles, a lot of
rock-n-roll, some blues-rock,
301
00:13:30,853 --> 00:13:33,250
just on and on forever, good stuff.
302
00:13:33,251 --> 00:13:35,946
All the copy tunes, okay.
303
00:13:35,947 --> 00:13:40,943
And I'll vow it to say this
the band Ronnie, me, Gary,
304
00:13:40,997 --> 00:13:45,227
Allen and Larry probably had
one of the best copy bands
305
00:13:45,228 --> 00:13:46,687
in the world.
306
00:13:46,688 --> 00:13:47,817
We knocked it out.
307
00:13:47,818 --> 00:13:49,372
People loved it.
308
00:13:49,373 --> 00:13:50,144
- How good were they?
309
00:13:51,707 --> 00:13:52,878
Not really good.
310
00:13:52,879 --> 00:13:54,487
The Noble Five when
they were the Noble Five
311
00:13:54,488 --> 00:13:57,406
they were playing other people's
music and they were trying
312
00:13:57,407 --> 00:13:59,122
to put some of the
original stuff, you know,
313
00:13:59,123 --> 00:14:00,336
trying to come up with something.
314
00:14:00,337 --> 00:14:04,093
You know, they were average
young band, young musicians,
315
00:14:04,094 --> 00:14:06,517
they didn't hit every note perfect.
316
00:14:06,518 --> 00:14:08,265
- [Voiceover] If the Noble
Five still had to develop
317
00:14:08,266 --> 00:14:11,568
instrumental prowess and
musical creativity one thing
318
00:14:11,569 --> 00:14:14,956
it wasn't lacking was a
commanding presence out front.
319
00:14:14,957 --> 00:14:17,194
From the get go Ronnie
Van Zant was a striking
320
00:14:17,195 --> 00:14:20,039
and very singular lead singer.
321
00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:21,995
- I would say that Noble
Five was very average,
322
00:14:23,034 --> 00:14:28,029
but he knew his limitations
and he was very confident.
323
00:14:30,024 --> 00:14:33,647
He had a lot of stage
presence, a lot of charisma.
324
00:14:33,648 --> 00:14:35,883
In the beginning I think
that's what got him by
325
00:14:35,884 --> 00:14:36,949
more than anything.
326
00:14:36,950 --> 00:14:38,963
At that time he had not really come
327
00:14:38,964 --> 00:14:40,605
into his own as a singer.
328
00:14:40,606 --> 00:14:42,948
He had just recently made
up his mind that that's what
329
00:14:42,949 --> 00:14:44,110
he wanted to do.
330
00:14:44,111 --> 00:14:47,381
Actually to phrase it
like Ronnie did to me,
331
00:14:47,382 --> 00:14:50,514
not what he wanted to
do, what he had to do.
332
00:14:50,515 --> 00:14:53,220
He took it from there, he had, like I say,
333
00:14:53,221 --> 00:14:56,470
all the confidence in the
world and he had his plan,
334
00:14:56,471 --> 00:15:00,008
his idea about how it was
all going to come together
335
00:15:00,009 --> 00:15:01,617
and he stuck to it.
336
00:15:01,618 --> 00:15:03,759
- [Voiceover] As a Top-40
cover band the Noble Five
337
00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:06,082
were competing in a crowded market.
338
00:15:06,083 --> 00:15:08,617
The coming of the Beatles,
The Stones and the numerous
339
00:15:08,618 --> 00:15:10,898
other artists from across
the Atlantic had seen
340
00:15:10,899 --> 00:15:14,467
an explosion of musical
activity across the US.
341
00:15:14,468 --> 00:15:16,897
The major hub for the artists
who developed in the wake
342
00:15:16,898 --> 00:15:19,688
of this British invasion was California.
343
00:15:19,689 --> 00:15:22,300
Here the members of The Byrds,
The Mama's and the Papa's,
344
00:15:22,301 --> 00:15:24,771
and the Greatful Dead, among
many others were forging
345
00:15:24,772 --> 00:15:26,189
new sounds.
346
00:15:26,190 --> 00:15:28,331
The musicians dragging
themselves out of the once
347
00:15:28,332 --> 00:15:31,644
dominant folk revival scene
and into the brave new world
348
00:15:31,645 --> 00:15:34,223
suggested by the British acts.
349
00:15:34,224 --> 00:15:36,812
As distant as this all seemed
to the young bands playing
350
00:15:36,813 --> 00:15:39,338
cover songs in the South
and actually on occasion
351
00:15:39,339 --> 00:15:42,022
played the same clubs as
the Noble Five had made
352
00:15:42,023 --> 00:15:44,223
an attempt to break into
this competitive world.
353
00:15:45,263 --> 00:15:48,213
Brothers Dwayne and Gregg
Allman from Daytona Beach
354
00:15:48,214 --> 00:15:50,451
had initially began playing
on the Florida Circuit
355
00:15:50,452 --> 00:15:53,392
in the ensemble The Escorts in 1964.
356
00:15:53,393 --> 00:15:55,970
The following year they
had become The Allman Joys
357
00:15:55,971 --> 00:15:57,878
and they quickly rose
to the top of the scene.
358
00:15:57,879 --> 00:15:59,955
Playing venues not only
in their home state,
359
00:15:59,956 --> 00:16:01,261
but across the South.
360
00:16:02,205 --> 00:16:05,411
In 1967 they became the
Hour Glass and with industry
361
00:16:05,412 --> 00:16:08,555
support behind them they
relocated to Los Angles.
362
00:16:08,556 --> 00:16:11,794
Yet, despite several high
profile shows and two albums
363
00:16:11,795 --> 00:16:13,851
they failed to make their mark.
364
00:16:13,852 --> 00:16:16,632
To musicians on the Florida
Circuit however, including
365
00:16:16,633 --> 00:16:19,104
the ambitious, young
members of the Noble Five,
366
00:16:19,105 --> 00:16:21,011
they were an inspiration.
367
00:16:21,012 --> 00:16:23,046
As well as Gregg Allman's powerful vocals
368
00:16:23,047 --> 00:16:25,955
and Dwayne Allman's technical
virtuosity as a guitarist,
369
00:16:25,956 --> 00:16:28,960
the band wrote original material.
370
00:16:28,961 --> 00:16:31,592
- We opened up for the Allman Brothers.
371
00:16:31,593 --> 00:16:34,053
They were called the Hour Glass back then,
372
00:16:34,054 --> 00:16:35,961
but it was the Allman Brothers.
373
00:16:35,962 --> 00:16:38,805
We were on first.
374
00:16:38,806 --> 00:16:43,579
We got in there and Gregg
and Dwayne just sat there.
375
00:16:43,580 --> 00:16:47,895
They said, "Look, you
guys got a tremendously
376
00:16:47,896 --> 00:16:50,180
"powerful band."
377
00:16:50,181 --> 00:16:54,331
"You sound great, but
you'll never go anywhere
378
00:16:55,627 --> 00:16:58,145
"until you do your own stuff."
379
00:16:59,153 --> 00:17:02,328
He said, "What you gotta
do is get you a place
380
00:17:02,329 --> 00:17:06,238
"that to where you can
practice seven days a week
381
00:17:06,239 --> 00:17:09,019
"from morning till night,
you know, and put a little
382
00:17:09,020 --> 00:17:12,216
"recorder in there to keep
place with the songs."
383
00:17:12,217 --> 00:17:15,258
So we did that for seven years.
384
00:17:16,202 --> 00:17:19,237
- [Voiceover] Inspired by
Dwayne Allman's advice the band,
385
00:17:19,238 --> 00:17:22,232
having recently changed their
name to the One Percent.
386
00:17:22,233 --> 00:17:24,235
looked for a location in
which they could work up
387
00:17:24,236 --> 00:17:26,601
new material and hone
their musical skiills
388
00:17:26,602 --> 00:17:28,290
through repetitious rehearsals.
389
00:17:29,297 --> 00:17:31,833
After exhausting the patience
of family and friends
390
00:17:31,834 --> 00:17:34,039
they eventually found a
run down cabin in the town
391
00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:36,180
of Russell which they would call over time
392
00:17:36,181 --> 00:17:37,448
Hell House.
393
00:17:37,449 --> 00:17:40,388
Under Van Zant's stern
leadership they began their slow
394
00:17:40,389 --> 00:17:42,749
metamorphosis into a major rock band.
395
00:17:44,365 --> 00:17:48,672
- We practiced seven days a
week, from 10 in the morning
396
00:17:48,673 --> 00:17:50,782
until 10 at night.
397
00:17:50,783 --> 00:17:54,575
Tin roof, no air conditioning,
it was hard work.
398
00:17:54,576 --> 00:17:59,307
It was hard work, but we loved it, man.
399
00:17:59,308 --> 00:18:00,734
You know, we loved it.
400
00:18:00,735 --> 00:18:04,006
- Ronnie was just realizing
that we were going to have
401
00:18:04,007 --> 00:18:06,866
to work harder than
everybody else to make it.
402
00:18:06,867 --> 00:18:10,436
His work ethic just went into overdrive.
403
00:18:10,437 --> 00:18:11,789
There was no time off.
404
00:18:11,790 --> 00:18:13,580
If you weren't playing a
gig you were rehearsing
405
00:18:13,581 --> 00:18:15,580
to play the next gig.
406
00:18:15,581 --> 00:18:20,576
As a result of that there
was a huge transition.
407
00:18:21,701 --> 00:18:26,558
When they became One Percent
basically it was the same band
408
00:18:26,559 --> 00:18:29,906
the whole attitude was
completely different.
409
00:18:29,907 --> 00:18:32,136
- [Voiceover] This new vigor
led One Percent to quickly rise
410
00:18:32,137 --> 00:18:35,405
to the top of the local
circuit and in 1968
411
00:18:35,406 --> 00:18:37,628
they began playing regularly
at the recently opened
412
00:18:37,629 --> 00:18:41,410
Comic Book Club, the most
vibrant venue in Jacksonville.
413
00:18:41,411 --> 00:18:44,244
As the band continued to
develop, the following year
414
00:18:44,245 --> 00:18:46,397
there was a significant
shift in the music industry
415
00:18:46,398 --> 00:18:47,633
of the South.
416
00:18:47,634 --> 00:18:49,935
After the collapse of
their band The Hour Glass
417
00:18:49,936 --> 00:18:52,769
guitarist Dwayne Allman who
worked as session musician
418
00:18:52,770 --> 00:18:55,135
at famed studios in
Muscle Shoals, Alabama,
419
00:18:55,136 --> 00:18:57,937
immediately drawing the
attention of Atlantic Records,
420
00:18:57,938 --> 00:18:59,152
Jerry Wexler.
421
00:18:59,153 --> 00:19:02,764
He in turn introduced Allman
to an associate, Phil Walden
422
00:19:02,765 --> 00:19:05,386
a manager from Macon,
Georgia, who has previously
423
00:19:05,387 --> 00:19:09,488
represented R&B heavy weights,
Otis Redding and Al Green.
424
00:19:09,489 --> 00:19:12,429
So impressed was Walden by
the young guitarist's talent
425
00:19:12,430 --> 00:19:14,543
he encouraged Allman to form a new band
426
00:19:14,544 --> 00:19:16,748
and set up a record label, Capricorn
427
00:19:16,749 --> 00:19:18,815
to release their albums.
428
00:19:18,816 --> 00:19:22,630
In March 1969, The Allman
Brothers Band was born
429
00:19:22,631 --> 00:19:24,995
bring together musicians
from Floridian groups
430
00:19:24,996 --> 00:19:28,448
The 31st of February and
the Second Coming alongside
431
00:19:28,449 --> 00:19:29,727
Greg and Dwayne.
432
00:19:29,728 --> 00:19:32,582
By April they had moved to Macon.
433
00:19:32,583 --> 00:19:36,012
Here Walden set up a studio
and began to build Capricorn.
434
00:19:36,013 --> 00:19:38,586
a record label that would
become a beacon for talented
435
00:19:38,587 --> 00:19:41,414
young, local acts playing rock music.
436
00:19:41,415 --> 00:19:45,676
Phil Walden totally believed
that there was a lot
437
00:19:45,677 --> 00:19:49,843
of creativity where we
lived, where we came from
438
00:19:49,844 --> 00:19:50,983
and we experienced it.
439
00:19:50,984 --> 00:19:54,541
We experienced it in Alabama,
in Macon, Georgia, where
440
00:19:54,542 --> 00:19:57,009
I'd gone to school and Phil grew up.
441
00:19:57,010 --> 00:19:59,129
Phil was the leader of this thinking
442
00:19:59,130 --> 00:20:02,634
and his brother Alan joined in, too.
443
00:20:02,635 --> 00:20:07,195
You know, you've got great players around
444
00:20:07,196 --> 00:20:09,603
just look over your shoulder.
445
00:20:09,604 --> 00:20:11,617
Turn around and look about.
446
00:20:11,618 --> 00:20:13,567
Joe got a call from Gary Wexler
447
00:20:13,568 --> 00:20:16,763
about Dwayne Allman
and then he took action
448
00:20:16,764 --> 00:20:18,213
on that phone call.
449
00:20:18,214 --> 00:20:23,146
Dwayne was ready to make a move.
450
00:20:23,147 --> 00:20:26,704
♪ I've been run down ♪
451
00:20:26,705 --> 00:20:30,184
♪ I've been lied to ♪
452
00:20:30,185 --> 00:20:32,049
♪ I don't know why, ♪
453
00:20:32,050 --> 00:20:35,758
♪ I let that mean woman make me a fool ♪
454
00:20:35,759 --> 00:20:39,156
♪ She took all my money ♪
455
00:20:39,157 --> 00:20:43,237
♪ Wrecks my new car ♪
456
00:20:43,238 --> 00:20:46,231
♪ Now she's with one of
my good time buddies ♪
457
00:20:46,232 --> 00:20:48,768
♪ They're drinkin' in
some cross town bar ♪
458
00:20:48,769 --> 00:20:53,764
♪ Sometimes I feel ♪
459
00:20:53,820 --> 00:20:56,046
♪ Sometimes I feel ♪
460
00:20:56,047 --> 00:20:57,697
♪ Like I've been tied ♪
461
00:20:57,698 --> 00:21:01,154
♪ To the whipping post ♪
462
00:21:01,155 --> 00:21:03,871
♪ Tied to the whipping post ♪
463
00:21:03,872 --> 00:21:06,258
- It was very inspirational.
464
00:21:06,259 --> 00:21:09,678
It was the first inkling
that we had that it could
465
00:21:09,679 --> 00:21:11,181
actually be done.
466
00:21:11,182 --> 00:21:13,184
It was Ronnie in fact
that turned me onto Greg
467
00:21:13,185 --> 00:21:16,636
and Dwayne Allman and
we had known for years
468
00:21:16,637 --> 00:21:20,963
that they were the best around.
469
00:21:20,964 --> 00:21:23,519
If they didn't make it
we better start thinking
470
00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:25,012
about something else.
471
00:21:25,013 --> 00:21:28,123
Once they finally did,
once Capricorn signed
472
00:21:28,124 --> 00:21:33,119
The Allman Brothers, we knew
then, we can do this, too.
473
00:21:33,216 --> 00:21:35,160
♪ In Memory of Elizabeth Reed ♪
by The Allman Brothers ♪
474
00:21:50,861 --> 00:21:53,791
- The Allman brothers opened
the door for all of us.
475
00:21:53,792 --> 00:21:56,028
They were the ones that went out there
476
00:21:56,029 --> 00:21:58,287
and paid the dues, first.
477
00:21:58,288 --> 00:21:59,534
Little Richard had done a lot.
478
00:21:59,535 --> 00:22:00,701
Otis Redding had done a lot.
479
00:22:00,702 --> 00:22:01,958
Ray Charles had done a lot.
480
00:22:01,959 --> 00:22:03,823
James Brown had done a lot,
481
00:22:03,824 --> 00:22:07,749
but for a white band
482
00:22:07,750 --> 00:22:10,263
they were the pioneers.
483
00:22:10,264 --> 00:22:12,896
They were the first ones out there
484
00:22:12,897 --> 00:22:15,576
that really meant something,
that played the Fillmores
485
00:22:16,465 --> 00:22:20,716
and really played original music.
486
00:22:20,717 --> 00:22:23,721
That was one thing, they
set the example for,
487
00:22:23,722 --> 00:22:26,097
was playing original music.
488
00:22:26,098 --> 00:22:28,154
- [Voiceover] The Allman Brothers
immediately made an impact
489
00:22:28,155 --> 00:22:29,485
on the One Percent.
490
00:22:29,486 --> 00:22:31,872
Their distinctive, sonic
approach quickly absorbed
491
00:22:31,873 --> 00:22:34,260
into the young Jacksonville band sound.
492
00:22:34,261 --> 00:22:36,401
Yet, it was a British
group traveling to Florida,
493
00:22:36,402 --> 00:22:38,926
on a US tour that would
prove and even greater
494
00:22:38,927 --> 00:22:42,027
inspiration musically for the One Percent.
495
00:22:42,028 --> 00:22:43,919
- We followed the brothers a lot,
496
00:22:44,809 --> 00:22:47,754
the double leads kind of came in you know.
497
00:22:48,837 --> 00:22:52,150
Ronnie liked the way Greg sang.
498
00:22:52,151 --> 00:22:53,918
Hell, who didn't?
499
00:22:53,919 --> 00:22:58,169
Then we heard a band called Free that was
500
00:22:58,170 --> 00:23:00,119
supposed to be coming to town
501
00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:02,112
an English band.
502
00:23:02,113 --> 00:23:04,131
We heard them at a skating rink
503
00:23:05,245 --> 00:23:07,589
and I'm telling you what, right there
504
00:23:07,590 --> 00:23:11,755
I think Free changed our band more
505
00:23:11,756 --> 00:23:13,391
than any band in this world.
506
00:23:20,376 --> 00:23:23,433
♪ Every single day ♪
507
00:23:23,434 --> 00:23:27,312
♪ I got a heartache coming my way ♪
508
00:23:27,313 --> 00:23:31,350
♪ I don't want to say goodbye, baby ♪
509
00:23:31,351 --> 00:23:35,485
♪ But look at the tears in my eyes ♪
510
00:23:35,486 --> 00:23:38,831
♪ I don't want to say goodbye, baby ♪
511
00:23:38,832 --> 00:23:43,146
♪ But look at the way you made me cry ♪
512
00:23:43,147 --> 00:23:45,554
♪ In every way that's nice ♪
513
00:23:45,555 --> 00:23:48,900
♪ You show you got a
heart that's made of ice ♪
514
00:23:48,901 --> 00:23:53,045
♪ And I know Fire and water ♪
515
00:23:53,046 --> 00:23:58,041
Paul Kossoff, Gary
Rossington, it's identical
516
00:23:58,075 --> 00:23:59,939
to what Gary does.
517
00:23:59,940 --> 00:24:02,332
That was really beautiful, man.
518
00:24:03,446 --> 00:24:07,217
Beautiful , Simon Kirke on drums
519
00:24:07,218 --> 00:24:10,259
and Andy Frasier, that
little hat, you know?
520
00:24:13,452 --> 00:24:15,854
- [Voiceover] For Ronnie Van
Zant the emergence of Free
521
00:24:15,855 --> 00:24:18,336
was almost as influential
as his initial exposure
522
00:24:18,337 --> 00:24:20,514
to The Stones five years before him.
523
00:24:20,515 --> 00:24:22,017
♪ Took her home to my place ♪
524
00:24:22,018 --> 00:24:25,331
♪ Watching every move on her face ♪
525
00:24:25,332 --> 00:24:29,529
♪ She said, Look man ,what's your game ♪
526
00:24:29,530 --> 00:24:32,747
♪ Are you trying to put me in shame ♪
527
00:24:32,748 --> 00:24:36,978
♪ I said slow baby, don't go so fast ♪
528
00:24:36,979 --> 00:24:40,696
♪ Don't you think that love can last ♪
529
00:24:40,697 --> 00:24:44,831
♪ She said Love, Lord above ♪
530
00:24:44,832 --> 00:24:48,784
♪ Now you're trying to trick me in love ♪
531
00:24:48,785 --> 00:24:52,534
♪ All right now, baby ♪
532
00:24:52,535 --> 00:24:56,296
♪ It's all right now ♪
533
00:24:56,297 --> 00:24:57,149
♪ All right now, baby♪
534
00:24:57,150 --> 00:24:59,322
- The Stones may have ignited something,
535
00:24:59,323 --> 00:25:02,603
but it was really Paul Rogers
who was his great hero.
536
00:25:02,604 --> 00:25:04,766
He wanted to sing like Paul Rogers.
537
00:25:04,767 --> 00:25:07,537
The inside joke with people like Al Cooper
538
00:25:07,538 --> 00:25:09,753
who produced the Skynyrd albums was that
539
00:25:09,754 --> 00:25:13,056
on each one of those
there had to be Free song
540
00:25:13,057 --> 00:25:17,383
a song in which Ronnie would
try to sound like Paul Rogers.
541
00:25:17,384 --> 00:25:20,898
That was his (mumbles) ideal
of what a rock-n-roll star
542
00:25:20,899 --> 00:25:21,975
would be.
543
00:25:21,976 --> 00:25:25,885
Here's a guy in the deep South
and his hero is you know,
544
00:25:25,886 --> 00:25:27,431
across the pond.
545
00:25:27,432 --> 00:25:29,530
His sights were very broad even then.
546
00:25:29,531 --> 00:25:32,663
And it was very canny because
that wasn't being done
547
00:25:32,664 --> 00:25:34,239
back then in Jacksonville.
548
00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,232
Even The Allman Brothers
didn't sing that kind.
549
00:25:36,233 --> 00:25:39,024
They were a great blues
band but they didn't emulate
550
00:25:39,025 --> 00:25:42,061
Paul Rogers or Mick Jagger.
551
00:25:42,062 --> 00:25:45,438
So this is a whole new thing
that's coming with Skynyrd.
552
00:25:45,439 --> 00:25:47,740
It's taken a little time,
but it's on the way.
553
00:25:47,741 --> 00:25:50,382
- [Voiceover] Quickly
assimilating these influences
554
00:25:50,383 --> 00:25:53,590
hold up in the backwater
isolation of Hell House
555
00:25:53,591 --> 00:25:56,536
Van Zant and the band began
developing their own material.
556
00:25:57,394 --> 00:26:00,676
- Let's say Gary Rossington
and Allen went home
557
00:26:00,677 --> 00:26:03,319
and were just picking
around on their guitars.
558
00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:05,481
We practice all day,
they go home and clean up
559
00:26:05,482 --> 00:26:08,838
and play guitar and practicing.
560
00:26:08,839 --> 00:26:11,661
Well, they get into a groove,
something really cool,
561
00:26:11,662 --> 00:26:15,135
you know, it's a whole measure, you know.
562
00:26:15,136 --> 00:26:17,735
And a whole measure, so it could be a song
563
00:26:17,736 --> 00:26:20,633
even with a cord some of them sometimes,
564
00:26:20,634 --> 00:26:24,518
a whole song right there
and if the band liked it
565
00:26:25,408 --> 00:26:29,254
and Ronnie could dig it
and put some words to it
566
00:26:29,255 --> 00:26:30,319
we'd keep it.
567
00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:32,989
Ronnie never wrote down
one word to any song.
568
00:26:34,700 --> 00:26:37,352
If that don't freak
y'all out, I don't know.
569
00:26:37,353 --> 00:26:40,026
Nobody's ever done that.
570
00:26:40,027 --> 00:26:44,352
Intricate songs and they'd ask him,
571
00:26:44,353 --> 00:26:47,453
"Ronnie, why don't you write it down?"
572
00:26:47,454 --> 00:26:51,353
And he'd say, "Look, if
it ain't worth remembering
573
00:26:51,354 --> 00:26:52,851
"it ain't no good."
574
00:26:53,709 --> 00:26:55,200
- [Voiceover] With a clutch
of self-penned tracks
575
00:26:55,201 --> 00:26:58,679
now in their arsenal in
May 1969 the One Percent
576
00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:01,140
were offered their
first stab at recording.
577
00:27:01,141 --> 00:27:03,990
Local manager, David Griffin
seemed to capture the best
578
00:27:03,991 --> 00:27:07,235
of the up and coming
Jacksonville acts on vinyl booked
579
00:27:07,236 --> 00:27:09,126
both Van Zants band and Larry Steele's
580
00:27:09,127 --> 00:27:11,033
new ensemble Black Bear Angel
581
00:27:11,034 --> 00:27:14,113
into Norm Vincent's studios
to produce two promotional
582
00:27:14,114 --> 00:27:16,755
singles for Shade Tree Records.
583
00:27:16,756 --> 00:27:19,903
- David Griffin was the one
that set up the studio time
584
00:27:19,904 --> 00:27:23,569
for One Percent and Black Bear Angel.
585
00:27:23,570 --> 00:27:27,277
My band wasted time, Ronnie's did not.
586
00:27:27,278 --> 00:27:29,823
Ronnie went in there he knew
exactly what he wanted to do.
587
00:27:29,824 --> 00:27:31,933
He took advantage of the situation.
588
00:27:31,934 --> 00:27:35,567
They put down two songs
and the next thing you know
589
00:27:35,568 --> 00:27:40,117
he had TV exposure, a lot of
air play and stuff like that.
590
00:27:40,118 --> 00:27:43,793
That was a big thing to their career.
591
00:27:43,794 --> 00:27:47,852
♪ It's been so long since I been gone ♪
592
00:27:47,853 --> 00:27:52,083
♪ Lord I'm tired and want to go home ♪
593
00:27:52,084 --> 00:27:55,855
♪ I going strong but
I'm singing the blues ♪
594
00:27:55,856 --> 00:28:00,851
♪ Need all my friends to talk to ♪
595
00:28:01,759 --> 00:28:05,221
♪ Now yes I do ♪
596
00:28:05,222 --> 00:28:09,734
♪ Need all my friends to talk to ♪
597
00:28:15,190 --> 00:28:19,851
- Those were the days I enjoyed the most.
598
00:28:19,852 --> 00:28:22,856
These All My Friends,
that was the first really
599
00:28:22,857 --> 00:28:27,852
professional one we
just really grooved on.
600
00:28:27,913 --> 00:28:30,166
Everybody liked it, the crowd, my friends,
601
00:28:31,195 --> 00:28:35,243
and we like it, yeah, that
was a pretty good time.
602
00:28:35,244 --> 00:28:38,786
The songs brought us joy, you know?
603
00:28:44,748 --> 00:28:47,011
♪ Michelle, little girl I need you baby ♪
604
00:28:47,012 --> 00:28:49,995
♪ More than the air I breathe ♪
605
00:28:49,996 --> 00:28:51,822
♪ My love for you grows stronger, babe ♪
606
00:28:51,823 --> 00:28:55,467
♪ My words you must believe ♪
607
00:28:55,468 --> 00:28:57,917
♪ Well I need to see you laugh again ♪
608
00:28:57,918 --> 00:29:00,890
♪ And I want to see you smile ♪
609
00:29:00,891 --> 00:29:02,947
♪ Michelle, little girl I love you baby ♪
610
00:29:02,948 --> 00:29:05,020
♪ You're my only child ♪
611
00:29:12,762 --> 00:29:15,275
- To me I don't think they
have a distinctive, original
612
00:29:15,276 --> 00:29:17,503
sound on this first single.
613
00:29:17,504 --> 00:29:21,115
They sound like the typical
rock band of the day.
614
00:29:21,116 --> 00:29:23,752
Ronnie's voice is kind of Gregish.
615
00:29:24,909 --> 00:29:29,372
I'm sure that they were all
well aware of Greg and Dwayne
616
00:29:29,373 --> 00:29:33,666
from Daytona Beach and Gary told me
617
00:29:33,667 --> 00:29:35,925
that when he was 15 he was a massive
618
00:29:35,926 --> 00:29:38,014
Dickie Betts fan from Second Coming
619
00:29:38,015 --> 00:29:39,910
from before The Allman Brothers.
620
00:29:39,911 --> 00:29:44,221
They had been steeped in
that Florida thing already,
621
00:29:45,207 --> 00:29:49,766
but in Allen Collins solo
in Michelle I hear there's
622
00:29:49,767 --> 00:29:52,217
a little bit of that
Free Bird thing already.
623
00:29:52,218 --> 00:29:57,213
Michelle is a lot like While
My Guitar Gently Weeps,
624
00:29:57,290 --> 00:29:59,026
but a little more sped up.
625
00:29:59,027 --> 00:30:02,703
Allen Collins was a
huge Johnny Winter fan.
626
00:30:02,704 --> 00:30:04,908
You really hear the
Johnny Winter influence
627
00:30:04,909 --> 00:30:08,478
in his writing and his playing.
628
00:30:08,479 --> 00:30:10,145
(guitar music)
629
00:30:28,921 --> 00:30:31,391
Meet All My Friends and
Michelle, I don't think they
630
00:30:31,392 --> 00:30:33,129
sound all that original.
631
00:30:33,130 --> 00:30:35,217
They sound fairly derivative.
632
00:30:35,218 --> 00:30:38,264
Based on those tracks
you wouldn't really say
633
00:30:38,265 --> 00:30:40,353
this is a band that's going somewhere.
634
00:30:40,354 --> 00:30:42,697
I don't hear a lot of
really original music.
635
00:30:42,698 --> 00:30:44,770
I hear a little bit of the Yardbirds.
636
00:30:44,771 --> 00:30:47,259
I hear impact of Cream.
637
00:30:48,128 --> 00:30:51,482
Other really British
bands, but Ronnie Van Zant
638
00:30:51,483 --> 00:30:55,330
has a very distinctly
Southern, American, country
639
00:30:55,331 --> 00:30:59,496
tinged voice and you can
look back in retrospect
640
00:30:59,497 --> 00:31:01,872
and hear the budding of
something, but I don't think
641
00:31:01,873 --> 00:31:05,197
taken on their own those
cuts sound like a band
642
00:31:05,198 --> 00:31:07,700
on the cusp of great originality.
643
00:31:07,701 --> 00:31:09,778
- [Voiceover] Yet, week by week the band
644
00:31:09,779 --> 00:31:12,208
were adding new songs to
their set list and before
645
00:31:12,209 --> 00:31:14,935
the limited release of this
single they changed their
646
00:31:14,936 --> 00:31:16,108
name once again.
647
00:31:16,109 --> 00:31:18,153
This time it would be permanent.
648
00:31:18,154 --> 00:31:20,221
In a bastardization of the name of their
649
00:31:20,222 --> 00:31:22,085
high school gym teacher, they became
650
00:31:22,086 --> 00:31:25,442
Lynyrd Skynyrd stepping out
onto the Jacksonville Circuit
651
00:31:25,443 --> 00:31:28,660
with a fresh moniker and an
ever expanding catalogue.
652
00:31:28,661 --> 00:31:32,101
By the end of 1969 they
had their first break.
653
00:31:32,102 --> 00:31:35,138
An audition for Alan Walden,
the brother of Capricorn
654
00:31:35,139 --> 00:31:38,341
Records founder, Phil who was
looking to sign fresh talent.
655
00:31:39,359 --> 00:31:42,086
- My brother and I had seperated.
656
00:31:42,087 --> 00:31:46,721
I had gone out and auditioned 187 bands
657
00:31:46,722 --> 00:31:48,123
in one year.
658
00:31:48,124 --> 00:31:50,872
You know how many bands that is a week?
659
00:31:50,873 --> 00:31:52,363
Some of them I'd tape.
660
00:31:52,364 --> 00:31:53,599
Some of them I'd video.
661
00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:55,773
Some of them in person, you know?
662
00:31:55,774 --> 00:31:58,789
But I was invited to come
down to Jacksonville, Florida,
663
00:31:58,790 --> 00:32:02,707
and audition bands in a warehouse
664
00:32:02,708 --> 00:32:07,157
and a guy named Pat Armstrong,
he had 13 bands lined up.
665
00:32:08,228 --> 00:32:10,827
Lynyrd Skynyrd was the last
band that played that day.
666
00:32:10,828 --> 00:32:15,823
Allen Collins got down and
flipped all over the floor
667
00:32:15,836 --> 00:32:18,478
and did all sort of
stunts with the guitar.
668
00:32:18,479 --> 00:32:20,492
Played behind his head and everything.
669
00:32:20,493 --> 00:32:24,924
They were doing it, but they didn't stop.
670
00:32:24,925 --> 00:32:27,546
They kept going and driving.
671
00:32:27,547 --> 00:32:30,780
By the time they finished with
Free Bird, I was blown away.
672
00:32:31,638 --> 00:32:35,441
I assigned them to management,
production, publishing,
673
00:32:35,442 --> 00:32:38,713
recording, all of it.
674
00:32:38,714 --> 00:32:42,415
- Alan Walden is probably
one of the coolest people
675
00:32:42,416 --> 00:32:44,482
I have ever met.
676
00:32:44,483 --> 00:32:47,887
He used to ask, "Would you
like for me to mange you."
677
00:32:48,724 --> 00:32:52,016
He says, "I'll take a shot with you."
678
00:32:52,017 --> 00:32:56,283
And I said, "Yes, yeah, let's try."
679
00:32:58,466 --> 00:33:03,267
Both parties had something
to gain, nothing to lose.
680
00:33:03,268 --> 00:33:04,696
- [Voiceover] With a manager now looking
681
00:33:04,697 --> 00:33:07,061
after their interests
the bands live schedule
682
00:33:07,062 --> 00:33:09,086
intensified over the following year.
683
00:33:09,087 --> 00:33:11,467
While Walden himself tried
to secure Lynyrd Skynyrd
684
00:33:11,468 --> 00:33:14,270
recording time at Muscle Shoals Sound.
685
00:33:14,271 --> 00:33:16,966
This studio set up in
Sheffield, Alabama, by the
686
00:33:16,967 --> 00:33:18,931
session musicians who
had played along side
687
00:33:18,932 --> 00:33:22,373
Dwayne Allman at famed
studios in the late 1960's
688
00:33:22,374 --> 00:33:24,813
was an emblem of the growing
strength of the music
689
00:33:24,814 --> 00:33:26,944
industry in the South.
690
00:33:26,945 --> 00:33:28,723
As Phil Walden was building Capricorn
691
00:33:28,724 --> 00:33:31,558
and the Allman Brothers first
album was being released
692
00:33:31,559 --> 00:33:34,179
these session musicians were
recording The Rolling Stones
693
00:33:34,180 --> 00:33:37,162
in their isolated studio in rural Alabama.
694
00:33:37,163 --> 00:33:40,711
First trying to secure
sessions for the close of 1970
695
00:33:40,712 --> 00:33:43,140
Walden finally managed to
lock down a studio time
696
00:33:43,141 --> 00:33:46,668
in late June 1971 with
guitarist turned producer
697
00:33:46,669 --> 00:33:48,180
Jimmy Johnson.
698
00:33:48,181 --> 00:33:50,194
Although for Ronnie Van
Zant and his band mates
699
00:33:50,195 --> 00:33:53,278
it was an invaluable opportunity
to prove their talents
700
00:33:53,279 --> 00:33:55,740
the sessions coincided
with another unplanned
701
00:33:55,741 --> 00:33:57,328
personnel changes.
702
00:33:57,329 --> 00:33:59,864
Drummer Bob Burns left
the band shortly before
703
00:33:59,865 --> 00:34:02,965
the recordings while days
in bassist Larry Youngstrom
704
00:34:02,966 --> 00:34:05,543
was ejected from Skynyrd by manager Walden
705
00:34:05,544 --> 00:34:07,834
and they were replaced
temporarily by two musicians
706
00:34:07,835 --> 00:34:11,148
from fellow Florida band
Blackfoot, Ricky Medlock
707
00:34:11,149 --> 00:34:12,810
and Gary T. Walker.
708
00:34:12,811 --> 00:34:15,155
They were also joined in
the studio by their roadie
709
00:34:15,156 --> 00:34:17,349
Billy Powell who Ronnie had
only recently discovered
710
00:34:17,350 --> 00:34:20,141
was a pianist of some talent.
711
00:34:20,142 --> 00:34:22,869
Despite these unexpected
set backs and new editions
712
00:34:22,870 --> 00:34:25,820
the young Jacksonville
musicians took to the studio
713
00:34:25,821 --> 00:34:27,653
remarkably well.
714
00:34:27,654 --> 00:34:30,441
- Lynyrd Skynyrd, I didn't call
them a natural talent band.
715
00:34:31,384 --> 00:34:35,294
They were a rehearsed talent band.
716
00:34:35,295 --> 00:34:38,229
Without rehearsals they
would have been a weak band,
717
00:34:38,230 --> 00:34:42,454
but these guys went to,
every Monday through Friday
718
00:34:43,398 --> 00:34:48,042
they went to Hidden Hills
every day, so they were
719
00:34:48,043 --> 00:34:51,025
well rehearsed when the
came to Muscle Shoals
720
00:34:51,026 --> 00:34:53,519
all Jim and them had to
do was get the balances
721
00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:57,365
and the tones and let these
guys go to work, you know?
722
00:34:57,366 --> 00:35:00,002
And maybe suggest something
about the arrangement
723
00:35:00,003 --> 00:35:01,686
but very little.
724
00:35:01,687 --> 00:35:03,945
Jimmy Johnson and Roger Hawkins
725
00:35:03,946 --> 00:35:07,173
and those guys, Barry Baker all of them
726
00:35:07,174 --> 00:35:09,977
they taught Lynyrd Skynyrd how to record,
727
00:35:09,978 --> 00:35:12,624
how to really record, you know?
728
00:35:14,655 --> 00:35:16,919
Did I think their recordings were good?
729
00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:17,782
I do.
730
00:35:17,783 --> 00:35:20,274
I think they were excellent recordings.
731
00:35:20,275 --> 00:35:21,809
- [Voiceover] With the recordings in place
732
00:35:21,810 --> 00:35:23,364
Skynyrd hit the road hard
733
00:35:23,365 --> 00:35:25,634
for the remainder of 1971.
734
00:35:25,635 --> 00:35:28,895
Playing further afield venues
in Georgia and South Carolina,
735
00:35:28,896 --> 00:35:31,847
alongside their regular
shows in their home town.
736
00:35:31,848 --> 00:35:34,494
In the new year drummer, Bob
Burns returned to the band.
737
00:35:35,354 --> 00:35:37,920
Shortly afterwards they
brought in a new bassist,
738
00:35:37,921 --> 00:35:40,850
Leon Wilkeson who years
before played alongside
739
00:35:40,851 --> 00:35:43,759
another Van Zant, Ronnie's
younger brother Donny
740
00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:46,349
In high school band The Collegiates.
741
00:35:46,350 --> 00:35:48,177
After grueling rehearsals with this lineup
742
00:35:48,178 --> 00:35:51,533
at Hell House in September
1972 Skynyrd returned
743
00:35:51,534 --> 00:35:54,991
to the studio in Alabama, to
record six new compositions.
744
00:35:56,020 --> 00:35:58,464
Although the final collection
of Muscle Shoals tracks
745
00:35:58,465 --> 00:36:01,181
was passed around record
companies following the completion
746
00:36:01,182 --> 00:36:03,387
of these sessions, they would
not be heard by the public
747
00:36:03,388 --> 00:36:06,924
until 1978 when they
were issued as the LP,
748
00:36:06,925 --> 00:36:09,045
Skynyrd's First And Last.
749
00:36:09,046 --> 00:36:11,421
- You're hearing the pieces in place
750
00:36:11,422 --> 00:36:13,659
and they're getting there.
751
00:36:13,660 --> 00:36:15,172
Most of the picture's there.
752
00:36:15,173 --> 00:36:16,365
I think it's impressive.
753
00:36:16,366 --> 00:36:19,477
I think in a very short
amount of time they did
754
00:36:19,478 --> 00:36:22,183
develop their own sound and the song,
755
00:36:22,184 --> 00:36:24,800
Down South Jukin turned this country
756
00:36:24,801 --> 00:36:28,811
honkey-tonk, but rocked up thing.
757
00:36:28,812 --> 00:36:30,931
You don't really hear that
in any of The Allman Brothers
758
00:36:30,932 --> 00:36:33,637
music at all, but Skynyrd
is kind of defined
759
00:36:33,638 --> 00:36:37,901
by shit-kicking music, you know,
760
00:36:37,902 --> 00:36:39,830
for lack of another term.
761
00:36:39,831 --> 00:36:41,540
I think you hear it right away.
762
00:36:48,132 --> 00:36:53,127
♪ Well Billy Joe told me, said
every thing's lookin' fine ♪
763
00:36:55,431 --> 00:37:00,426
♪ He got the place all secured,
got the icebox full of wine ♪
764
00:37:02,687 --> 00:37:06,288
♪ He said, "Hurry on
over and don't be late" ♪
765
00:37:06,289 --> 00:37:10,390
♪ He got three lovely
ladies who just won't wait ♪
766
00:37:10,391 --> 00:37:12,297
♪ Do some down south jukin' ♪
767
00:37:12,298 --> 00:37:17,293
♪ And lookin' for a peace of mind ♪
768
00:37:17,296 --> 00:37:18,105
♪ Now put your Sunday pants on ♪
769
00:37:18,106 --> 00:37:20,096
- They were great recordings.
770
00:37:20,097 --> 00:37:23,016
They were a juking
band, right up my alley.
771
00:37:23,017 --> 00:37:25,371
I mean this was right up my alley, man.
772
00:37:25,372 --> 00:37:27,412
I been jukin with Johnny Taylor,
773
00:37:27,413 --> 00:37:29,553
who''s making love to you're old lady,
774
00:37:29,554 --> 00:37:31,572
all that, for years.
775
00:37:31,573 --> 00:37:34,119
Here's this white rock-n-roll band
776
00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:35,654
just jamming.
777
00:37:35,655 --> 00:37:39,500
They're getting it on,
and an original song.
778
00:37:39,501 --> 00:37:41,951
♪ Wino on the street. ♪
779
00:37:41,952 --> 00:37:44,178
♪ Drinkin' a bottle of booze ♪
780
00:37:44,179 --> 00:37:46,447
♪ Ain't got nothing to say, yeah ♪
781
00:37:46,448 --> 00:37:48,802
♪ And he don't got much to lose ♪
782
00:37:48,803 --> 00:37:51,157
♪ Times are on his face. ♪
783
00:37:51,158 --> 00:37:53,512
♪ Blisters on his brain ♪
784
00:37:53,513 --> 00:37:55,909
♪ Wonders who's at fault. ♪
785
00:37:55,910 --> 00:38:00,905
♪ Knows that he's to blame ♪
786
00:38:03,843 --> 00:38:04,945
♪ Yeah ♪
787
00:38:07,828 --> 00:38:10,081
- Muscle Shoals was a great studio,
788
00:38:10,918 --> 00:38:13,783
but whoever recorded
at Muscle Shoals needed
789
00:38:13,784 --> 00:38:15,116
a producer.
790
00:38:15,117 --> 00:38:17,790
The studio was fantastic,
the acoustics unbelievable,
791
00:38:17,791 --> 00:38:21,477
but they have to rely on
Jimmy Johnson as the producer
792
00:38:21,478 --> 00:38:25,046
and he's a great musician,
a great, you know, owner
793
00:38:25,047 --> 00:38:27,806
of a studio, but he's
not a great producer.
794
00:38:27,807 --> 00:38:30,965
He just gets it on tape, so again
795
00:38:30,966 --> 00:38:33,256
if you know Skynyrd's music
796
00:38:33,257 --> 00:38:34,503
from later on you can go back and listen
797
00:38:34,504 --> 00:38:38,051
to those Muscle Shoals tapes
and hear all the great stuff
798
00:38:38,052 --> 00:38:40,428
that would be, that would come out of it,
799
00:38:40,429 --> 00:38:42,255
but at the time it just
sounded like demos.
800
00:38:43,369 --> 00:38:45,265
- [Voiceover] Whatever the
quality of the recordings
801
00:38:45,266 --> 00:38:47,172
it was the band and their songs themselves
802
00:38:47,173 --> 00:38:49,709
that Alan Walden struggled to push.
803
00:38:49,710 --> 00:38:52,106
Armed with the Muscle
Shoals album he traveled
804
00:38:52,107 --> 00:38:54,163
to Los Angeles with Jimmy
Johnson and arranged
805
00:38:54,164 --> 00:38:57,391
several meetings with
record company executives.
806
00:38:57,392 --> 00:38:59,698
Yet, the reaction was in
most cases was overwhelmingly
807
00:38:59,699 --> 00:39:02,650
negative, and after two
years as their manager
808
00:39:02,651 --> 00:39:05,282
Walden was running out
of both money and options
809
00:39:05,283 --> 00:39:07,583
in his attempts to break the band.
810
00:39:07,584 --> 00:39:12,579
- Those first three years
were hard, hard, hard work.
811
00:39:12,677 --> 00:39:15,681
Lynyrd Skynyrd was turned
down by nine different
812
00:39:15,682 --> 00:39:17,344
major record companies.
813
00:39:17,345 --> 00:39:21,840
Turned down, not we like you
guys but the songs are weak.
814
00:39:21,841 --> 00:39:26,476
I'm talking about, we are not interested.
(laughs)
815
00:39:26,477 --> 00:39:28,745
It's like don't send us any more tapes.
816
00:39:28,746 --> 00:39:30,610
We don't want you, you know.
817
00:39:30,611 --> 00:39:32,794
That just broke my heart.
818
00:39:32,795 --> 00:39:35,895
I'm sitting there listening
to Gimme Three Steps,
819
00:39:35,896 --> 00:39:39,603
Simple Man, Free Bird, you know.
820
00:39:39,604 --> 00:39:42,187
These are great songs and
we were being turned down.
821
00:39:43,184 --> 00:39:46,359
My own brother turned Lynyrd
Skynyrd down, you know.
822
00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:49,534
At Grand Slammers, he heard them there
823
00:39:49,535 --> 00:39:52,752
and I asked him afterwards
what he thought he said,
824
00:39:52,753 --> 00:39:55,554
"You're lead singer's too cocky.
825
00:39:55,555 --> 00:39:58,783
"He can't sing and the songs are weak.
826
00:39:58,784 --> 00:40:00,952
"And they sound too much
like The Allman Brothers."
827
00:40:02,631 --> 00:40:06,780
I'm standing there listening
to him and he walks away
828
00:40:07,873 --> 00:40:10,280
and I'm walking this way and
Ronnie stops me and said,
829
00:40:10,281 --> 00:40:11,230
"What'd he say, man?"
830
00:40:11,231 --> 00:40:13,243
And i said, "Nothing important."
831
00:40:13,244 --> 00:40:15,118
All of the major record
companies said they sounded
832
00:40:15,119 --> 00:40:17,143
too much like The Allman Brothers.
833
00:40:17,144 --> 00:40:19,753
You take a Lynyrd Skynyrd
record and play it back-to-back
834
00:40:19,754 --> 00:40:22,875
to an Allman Brothers record
and tell me what are they
835
00:40:22,876 --> 00:40:25,645
similar, they're Southern bands, you know.
836
00:40:25,646 --> 00:40:28,427
They've got a massive guitar line-up.
837
00:40:28,428 --> 00:40:30,185
Great guitar work, you know,
838
00:40:30,186 --> 00:40:34,255
but what else to they
have really in common?
839
00:40:35,508 --> 00:40:37,733
- [Voiceover] By late 1972 when Walden was
840
00:40:37,734 --> 00:40:40,099
attempting to attract major label interest
841
00:40:40,100 --> 00:40:42,070
The Allman Brothers were no longer simply
842
00:40:42,071 --> 00:40:43,796
a Southern phenomenon.
843
00:40:43,797 --> 00:40:46,237
Despite the tragic death
of their driving force,
844
00:40:46,238 --> 00:40:49,071
Dwayne Allman, with the
release of their third album,
845
00:40:49,072 --> 00:40:52,524
Live at the Fillmore East
in 1971 and Eat A Peach
846
00:40:52,525 --> 00:40:55,091
the following year, they
had been propelled into
847
00:40:55,092 --> 00:40:57,820
the top flight both
critically and commercially.
848
00:40:57,821 --> 00:41:00,153
The negative comparisons to the band were
849
00:41:00,154 --> 00:41:02,156
damaging for Skynyrd and Alan Walden
850
00:41:02,157 --> 00:41:04,703
began to actively distance
himself and his group
851
00:41:04,704 --> 00:41:07,206
from both the Allmans and Capricorn.
852
00:41:07,207 --> 00:41:09,348
Yet, although his brother
Phil was uninterested
853
00:41:09,349 --> 00:41:12,278
in the Jacksonville act,
his colleague and promoter
854
00:41:12,279 --> 00:41:15,981
Alex Hodges was far
more intrigued by them.
855
00:41:15,982 --> 00:41:18,907
- I call up Alan and say, "I
want to know about your band."
856
00:41:18,908 --> 00:41:21,651
He said, "Well, they're probably
not going to sign with you
857
00:41:21,652 --> 00:41:24,719
"as a booking agent for
two or three reasons.
858
00:41:24,720 --> 00:41:27,788
"One, you represent The
Allman Brothers Band.
859
00:41:27,789 --> 00:41:32,360
"Two, you're in partnership
with my brother.
860
00:41:32,361 --> 00:41:35,226
"and your best friends with my brother,
861
00:41:35,227 --> 00:41:37,804
"and I'll think of a third reason
862
00:41:37,805 --> 00:41:41,481
"and we're just not
going to sign with you."
863
00:41:41,482 --> 00:41:45,828
I said, "Alan, who's the
best agent you know?"
864
00:41:45,829 --> 00:41:46,947
He said, "You are."
865
00:41:46,948 --> 00:41:49,738
I said, "So we've got to talk."
(laughs)
866
00:41:49,739 --> 00:41:51,118
I went to see them in Atlanta.
867
00:41:51,119 --> 00:41:52,887
Alan introduced me.
868
00:41:52,888 --> 00:41:54,304
Saw their whole show.
869
00:41:54,305 --> 00:41:55,690
It was fantastic.
870
00:41:55,691 --> 00:41:59,791
I met them in a hotel
and I think Allen Collins
871
00:41:59,792 --> 00:42:02,903
probably said, "So we might sign with you.
872
00:42:02,904 --> 00:42:05,450
"We want two shows with
The Allman Brothers Band,
873
00:42:05,451 --> 00:42:07,943
"but we don't want you
to be putting us on tour
874
00:42:07,944 --> 00:42:09,957
"with The Allman Brothers Band.
875
00:42:09,958 --> 00:42:10,843
"They do their thing.
876
00:42:10,843 --> 00:42:11,781
"We do our thing.
877
00:42:11,782 --> 00:42:15,327
"They're obviously enormously successful,
878
00:42:15,328 --> 00:42:18,322
"and we just want to be sure though,
879
00:42:18,323 --> 00:42:22,227
"that we play with them a few times,
880
00:42:23,240 --> 00:42:25,605
"but you've got to figure
out how to break us
881
00:42:25,606 --> 00:42:26,559
"on the road.
882
00:42:27,460 --> 00:42:29,334
"Give us our sense of independence
883
00:42:29,335 --> 00:42:30,389
"on the road."
884
00:42:30,390 --> 00:42:32,233
It was an independent nature,
885
00:42:33,475 --> 00:42:35,728
probably of most great bands.
886
00:42:36,714 --> 00:42:39,430
I felt I saw that and it was expressed
887
00:42:39,431 --> 00:42:42,883
in their words when I first met them.
888
00:42:42,884 --> 00:42:45,163
But we hit it off, and it was great.
889
00:42:45,164 --> 00:42:46,942
- [Voiceover] Hodges
respected Skynyrd's wish
890
00:42:46,943 --> 00:42:49,127
to only play on the same
bill as The Allman Brothers
891
00:42:49,128 --> 00:42:50,171
on occasion.
892
00:42:50,172 --> 00:42:52,611
Although towards the end
of 1972 he did arrange
893
00:42:52,612 --> 00:42:54,870
the first of these
shows in Macon, Georgia,
894
00:42:54,871 --> 00:42:57,268
in which the Jacksonville
ensemble held their own
895
00:42:57,269 --> 00:43:00,118
supporting the Capricorn
Headliners on their home turf.
896
00:43:01,105 --> 00:43:02,915
Van Zant and his band
mates had been gaining
897
00:43:02,916 --> 00:43:05,909
the most traction as a live
tour in Atlanta, however,
898
00:43:05,910 --> 00:43:07,912
where they had been booked
to support Bob Seger
899
00:43:07,913 --> 00:43:10,587
and his band at the club The
Head Rest, but also managed
900
00:43:10,588 --> 00:43:13,187
to secure a residency
at a more run down venue
901
00:43:13,188 --> 00:43:15,094
called Funocchio's.
902
00:43:15,095 --> 00:43:17,981
It was here that they
finally caught a break.
903
00:43:17,982 --> 00:43:19,899
- When we got into
Atlanta there was a club
904
00:43:19,900 --> 00:43:21,509
called Funocchio's.
905
00:43:21,510 --> 00:43:22,984
Fruit and nut bar all the way.
906
00:43:24,375 --> 00:43:27,016
More drug addicts than any other club
907
00:43:27,017 --> 00:43:28,130
in the whole city.
908
00:43:29,052 --> 00:43:32,360
I told the Skynyrd guys,
"If you can entertain,
909
00:43:33,219 --> 00:43:36,766
"these drug heads and
these junkies, then you can
910
00:43:36,767 --> 00:43:40,282
"entertain the world, cos
some of these guys are coming
911
00:43:40,283 --> 00:43:43,810
"in there and they need
something and they don't want
912
00:43:43,811 --> 00:43:47,198
"to hear nothing and if
you can entertain them,
913
00:43:47,199 --> 00:43:49,297
"you can entertain the world."
914
00:43:49,298 --> 00:43:52,451
And we stayed right there in Funocchio's.
915
00:43:52,452 --> 00:43:56,617
We played there probably
seven or eight times.
916
00:43:56,618 --> 00:43:59,335
- The first time we came
down and played for a week
917
00:43:59,336 --> 00:44:02,648
we got laughed at, we got laughed at.
918
00:44:02,649 --> 00:44:05,717
And they said, "Who in the
hell are these hillbillies?
919
00:44:05,718 --> 00:44:09,042
"What in the hell is
this hillbilly stuff?"
920
00:44:09,043 --> 00:44:11,243
But then they give us another chance.
921
00:44:12,277 --> 00:44:14,779
It started catching on, catching on,
922
00:44:14,780 --> 00:44:17,401
catching on, you know.
923
00:44:17,402 --> 00:44:20,352
Before we knew it every time we packed
924
00:44:20,353 --> 00:44:24,386
Funocchio's which would
hold 400, 500 people
925
00:44:25,489 --> 00:44:26,841
we'd pack it out.
926
00:44:26,842 --> 00:44:29,591
Ain't nobody dancing,
ain't nobody up there
927
00:44:29,592 --> 00:44:33,262
at the bar getting drinks,
all around the stage.
928
00:44:34,107 --> 00:44:36,623
- They worked, and they
worked, and they worked,
929
00:44:36,624 --> 00:44:39,351
and they always were better
every time you heard them
930
00:44:39,352 --> 00:44:40,619
they got better.
931
00:44:40,620 --> 00:44:42,974
You knew there was something
there, something was
932
00:44:42,975 --> 00:44:45,056
going to happen and you could just see it.
933
00:44:45,057 --> 00:44:47,129
The first time I knew they
were gonna make it big
934
00:44:47,130 --> 00:44:49,761
I was with them in Atlanta, Georgia.
935
00:44:49,762 --> 00:44:51,215
There's a place called The Head Rest.
936
00:44:52,308 --> 00:44:55,296
There were stages at each
end of the dance floor.
937
00:44:56,188 --> 00:44:58,456
The other band played,
they played a lot of Top-40
938
00:44:58,457 --> 00:45:00,576
stuff and everything and
all the kids were packing
939
00:45:00,577 --> 00:45:02,643
the dance floor and
dancing and everything.
940
00:45:02,644 --> 00:45:04,737
When they finished their
sets Skynyrd played.
941
00:45:06,683 --> 00:45:11,014
Well, one night, Skynyrd
started the set with Simple Man
942
00:45:12,011 --> 00:45:14,216
and all the people were
still on the dance floor
943
00:45:14,217 --> 00:45:18,004
from the other band playing and
nobody left the dance floor.
944
00:45:19,417 --> 00:45:20,465
Nobody danced.
945
00:45:21,324 --> 00:45:24,764
They just stood there
motionless and stared at them
946
00:45:24,765 --> 00:45:28,195
and everybody in the club,
when you looked around the club
947
00:45:28,196 --> 00:45:30,901
was staring at them and you
could've if not for the band
948
00:45:30,902 --> 00:45:33,342
you could've heard a pin
drop because everybody
949
00:45:33,343 --> 00:45:38,009
was tuned into Lynyrd Skynyrd
and that was the first time
950
00:45:38,010 --> 00:45:41,717
I knew, yeah these guys have got it.
951
00:45:41,718 --> 00:45:43,118
They're gonna make it.
952
00:45:44,126 --> 00:45:46,107
- [Voiceover] The crucial
figure would recognize Skynyrd's
953
00:45:46,108 --> 00:45:48,611
potential and take them into
the next level witnessed the
954
00:45:48,612 --> 00:45:51,285
band playing at Funocchio's
during their second residency
955
00:45:51,286 --> 00:45:53,732
at the club in January 1973.
956
00:45:54,952 --> 00:45:57,178
Al Kooper had been involved
in the music industry
957
00:45:57,179 --> 00:45:59,821
since his early teens as
first a musician and then
958
00:45:59,822 --> 00:46:03,092
song writer and in the mid
to late '60s was a key figure
959
00:46:03,093 --> 00:46:05,702
on the East Coast scene
playing in multiple sessions
960
00:46:05,703 --> 00:46:08,345
with Bob Dylan, Steven
Stills, The Rolling Stones
961
00:46:08,346 --> 00:46:11,814
and The Who and forming the
band, Blood, Sweat and Tears.
962
00:46:13,195 --> 00:46:17,019
In 1972 he had temporarily
relocated to Georgia to work
963
00:46:17,020 --> 00:46:19,629
with The Atlanta Rhythm
Section at their newly opened
964
00:46:19,630 --> 00:46:22,203
studio in Doraville, Studio one.
965
00:46:23,168 --> 00:46:26,214
During his time off in
Atlanta he had by chance begun
966
00:46:26,215 --> 00:46:29,400
frequenting Funniccio's
at the turn of 1973
967
00:46:29,401 --> 00:46:31,233
and was there to witness Lynyrd Skynyrd
968
00:46:31,234 --> 00:46:34,355
in all their glory during
their week long residency.
969
00:46:34,356 --> 00:46:36,625
By the third night he
was joining them on stage
970
00:46:36,626 --> 00:46:39,192
and was eager to develop
a working relationship
971
00:46:39,193 --> 00:46:41,717
with Van Zant and his band mates.
972
00:46:41,718 --> 00:46:45,122
- Just sounded great,
just had a great sound.
973
00:46:46,023 --> 00:46:49,774
The thing that we had
in common was we were
974
00:46:49,775 --> 00:46:54,558
both gigantic fans of the band Free
975
00:46:54,559 --> 00:46:56,887
and that's what really made it work
976
00:46:57,930 --> 00:47:02,036
because they understood what was great
977
00:47:02,037 --> 00:47:06,511
about Free and I
understood that and I heard
978
00:47:06,512 --> 00:47:09,212
the Free in them.
979
00:47:09,213 --> 00:47:12,724
Ronnie was not as great
a singer as Paul Rogers,
980
00:47:12,725 --> 00:47:17,332
but he wrote those songs
and he had a sound.
981
00:47:18,383 --> 00:47:22,511
Paul Rogers was influenced
by a lot of soul singers.
982
00:47:23,737 --> 00:47:27,005
and Ronnie didn't have that voice,
983
00:47:27,006 --> 00:47:29,734
so he just did his thing.
984
00:47:29,735 --> 00:47:31,604
And he sounded like Ronnie.
985
00:47:31,605 --> 00:47:33,862
- [Voiceover] Kooper's
response to this explosion
986
00:47:33,863 --> 00:47:35,898
to Skynyrd was incredibly committed.
987
00:47:35,899 --> 00:47:37,990
Within days he decided
to introduce their music
988
00:47:37,991 --> 00:47:41,871
to MCA Records who allowed
him to set up his own label,
989
00:47:41,872 --> 00:47:44,930
Sound Of The South in
order to represent Skynyrd
990
00:47:44,931 --> 00:47:47,627
and any other Southern
acts he could discover.
991
00:47:47,628 --> 00:47:49,596
Although the terms of
the contract that Kooper
992
00:47:49,597 --> 00:47:51,904
presented them with
were poor, offering only
993
00:47:51,905 --> 00:47:55,667
a $9000 advance, both
Skynyrd and Alan Walden knew
994
00:47:55,668 --> 00:47:57,948
that as Capricorn had shown no interest
995
00:47:57,949 --> 00:48:00,832
this was the only other horse in town.
996
00:48:00,833 --> 00:48:03,763
- If Capricorn turned you down
997
00:48:03,764 --> 00:48:06,459
you were through down there
998
00:48:06,460 --> 00:48:08,838
because there was nothing like it.
999
00:48:08,839 --> 00:48:10,132
I mean it was South
1000
00:48:11,030 --> 00:48:13,883
for white bands.
1001
00:48:14,794 --> 00:48:17,758
Alan Walden really didn't
have to do anything
1002
00:48:17,759 --> 00:48:20,747
because there was really no choice.
1003
00:48:20,748 --> 00:48:24,545
They'd been to Muscle
Shoals and nothing happened
1004
00:48:24,546 --> 00:48:25,682
with that.
1005
00:48:25,683 --> 00:48:30,678
I already had the makings
of a deal with MCA.
1006
00:48:30,817 --> 00:48:35,134
- Al Kooper was a last resort.
1007
00:48:38,238 --> 00:48:41,917
When I knew that Lynyrd
Skynyrd could not take
1008
00:48:41,918 --> 00:48:43,985
another year of starving to death.
1009
00:48:44,931 --> 00:48:48,516
When I knew that I was
ready to sign a deal
1010
00:48:48,517 --> 00:48:50,731
with almost anybody at that point
1011
00:48:50,732 --> 00:48:52,385
because it was gonna mean
1012
00:48:52,386 --> 00:48:55,139
the salvation of the band.
1013
00:48:55,140 --> 00:48:57,401
If I'd told them they
were going to play bars
1014
00:48:57,402 --> 00:48:59,968
for another year and a 1/2, two years
1015
00:48:59,969 --> 00:49:01,820
the band probably would've broke up.
1016
00:49:01,821 --> 00:49:05,934
- We were getting nowhere and
Ronnie called me one night
1017
00:49:05,935 --> 00:49:09,252
and said, "Someone broke
into our van and took a lot
1018
00:49:09,253 --> 00:49:10,911
"of our stuff.
1019
00:49:10,912 --> 00:49:11,919
"We can't work.
1020
00:49:11,920 --> 00:49:13,502
"We can't put food on the table.
1021
00:49:13,503 --> 00:49:17,046
"We need an advance of $5000."
1022
00:49:18,860 --> 00:49:21,589
I said, "You want me
to mail it or you want
1023
00:49:21,590 --> 00:49:23,082
"to come up and get it?"
1024
00:49:24,896 --> 00:49:28,188
And he said, "You can mail it
1025
00:49:28,189 --> 00:49:31,639
"and you just bought yourself a band."
1026
00:49:32,585 --> 00:49:34,917
- When they got ready to
sign their record deal
1027
00:49:34,918 --> 00:49:37,558
with Sounds Of The South
which was Al Kooper's label
1028
00:49:38,586 --> 00:49:41,656
had the recording contract
laid out on the hood
1029
00:49:41,657 --> 00:49:44,587
of my Ford pick-up
truck in the parking lot
1030
00:49:44,588 --> 00:49:47,881
of the Macon Coliseum, okay.
1031
00:49:47,882 --> 00:49:51,443
I laid out all the
contracts for them to sign
1032
00:49:51,444 --> 00:49:54,456
and Ronnie picks up the
pen and he looks at me
1033
00:49:54,457 --> 00:49:57,965
and he said, "Alan, what do
you think of our record deal?"
1034
00:49:59,451 --> 00:50:01,887
My reply was, "This is
the worst piece of shit
1035
00:50:01,888 --> 00:50:03,377
"I've ever seen in my life.
1036
00:50:03,378 --> 00:50:06,534
"It's worse than R&B
contracts that we have."
1037
00:50:07,527 --> 00:50:09,601
He said, "What else we got?"
1038
00:50:09,602 --> 00:50:10,772
I said, "Nothing."
1039
00:50:10,773 --> 00:50:13,011
He said, "Give me that God damn pen."
1040
00:50:13,012 --> 00:50:14,136
And he signed it.
1041
00:50:14,137 --> 00:50:16,387
- [Voiceover] Having finally
landing a recording contract
1042
00:50:16,388 --> 00:50:20,103
no matter the compromises
involved, the band set
1043
00:50:20,104 --> 00:50:22,705
about preparing to
record their debut album.
1044
00:50:22,706 --> 00:50:25,354
Yet, unexpectedly this
opportunity caused bassist
1045
00:50:25,355 --> 00:50:28,413
Leon Wilkeson to question
his commitment to Skynyrd
1046
00:50:28,414 --> 00:50:29,707
and he quit the band.
1047
00:50:30,571 --> 00:50:32,352
With the recording sessions due to begin
1048
00:50:32,353 --> 00:50:34,919
in March, rather than enlist
a player from the Jacksonville
1049
00:50:34,920 --> 00:50:38,336
pool Ronnie Van Zant turned
to an experienced musician
1050
00:50:38,337 --> 00:50:40,422
who they had toured with
three years before hand
1051
00:50:40,423 --> 00:50:43,568
as a support act, Californian
guitarist, Ed King.
1052
00:50:44,702 --> 00:50:47,737
- I think it was back in
1970 I was with a band called
1053
00:50:47,738 --> 00:50:49,354
The Strawberry Alarm Clock.
1054
00:50:49,355 --> 00:50:51,910
We had a number one record in 1967.
1055
00:50:51,911 --> 00:50:55,039
In 1970 our old manager
put together a bogus
1056
00:50:55,040 --> 00:50:57,833
Strawberry Alarm Clock and started booking
1057
00:50:57,834 --> 00:51:00,728
tours in the South, all these
Souther colleges and stuff.
1058
00:51:00,729 --> 00:51:01,818
We found out.
1059
00:51:01,819 --> 00:51:04,830
We filed an injunction him to stop him
1060
00:51:04,831 --> 00:51:07,140
and then we decided well,
were bankrupt, let's go ahead
1061
00:51:07,141 --> 00:51:09,941
and do the tour our
self, so our first gig,
1062
00:51:09,942 --> 00:51:12,554
I think we met down in
Jacksonville, Florida,
1063
00:51:12,555 --> 00:51:15,333
and the guys in Skynyrd
were our opening band.
1064
00:51:15,334 --> 00:51:18,216
The band was good and
Ronnie was spectacular.
1065
00:51:18,217 --> 00:51:20,994
He just had a charisma all of his own
1066
00:51:20,995 --> 00:51:23,315
and I told Ronnie later
I said, "If you ever need
1067
00:51:23,316 --> 00:51:26,539
"another guitar player
or bass player, you know,
1068
00:51:26,540 --> 00:51:27,745
"don't forget about about me.
1069
00:51:27,746 --> 00:51:28,906
"I'd love to play with you."
1070
00:51:28,907 --> 00:51:31,485
- Leon got kind of scared of a record deal
1071
00:51:31,486 --> 00:51:34,744
and didn't really know if he wanted to be
1072
00:51:34,745 --> 00:51:37,205
go through all that being famous routine
1073
00:51:37,206 --> 00:51:39,983
or whatever it was the work
that followed the commitment,
1074
00:51:39,984 --> 00:51:43,640
so he quit and went to work
at an ice cream factory
1075
00:51:43,641 --> 00:51:46,359
and then I joined the band on bass.
1076
00:51:46,360 --> 00:51:47,813
It was a real shock to me.
1077
00:51:47,814 --> 00:51:49,595
I had to really try and get used to it.
1078
00:51:49,596 --> 00:51:52,842
I didn't really hear my bass playing
1079
00:51:52,843 --> 00:51:54,014
with this band.
1080
00:51:54,015 --> 00:51:55,666
For some reason it was a different style
1081
00:51:55,667 --> 00:51:58,174
than I was used to, so
I had an awkward time.
1082
00:51:58,175 --> 00:51:59,851
- [Voiceover] In
preparation for the upcoming
1083
00:51:59,852 --> 00:52:02,371
studio sessions, King was
thrust into Skynyrd's world
1084
00:52:02,372 --> 00:52:04,915
beginning with intensive
rehearsals at Hell House
1085
00:52:04,916 --> 00:52:07,158
in which he was initiated into the band.
1086
00:52:08,010 --> 00:52:10,049
- Long before I joined
the band somebody came up
1087
00:52:10,050 --> 00:52:12,088
in a boat late at night
and stole a couple of amps,
1088
00:52:12,089 --> 00:52:14,385
so every night somebody had to stay there,
1089
00:52:14,386 --> 00:52:16,636
but my initiation for the
first week was to spend
1090
00:52:16,637 --> 00:52:18,476
every night there for the first week.
1091
00:52:18,477 --> 00:52:20,973
So here I am the first
night there, they all leave.
1092
00:52:20,974 --> 00:52:24,325
I'm out with a bag of potato
chips and a couple of Cokes,
1093
00:52:24,326 --> 00:52:28,896
you know, and I have two
at least maybe 150 watt
1094
00:52:28,897 --> 00:52:31,335
light bulbs hanging from
the ceiling and they stay on
1095
00:52:31,336 --> 00:52:36,331
all night long because the
sounds outside are unbelievable.
1096
00:52:36,388 --> 00:52:39,293
I mean, one time an
alligator came up on shore.
1097
00:52:39,294 --> 00:52:41,251
The guy who owned the house way up front
1098
00:52:41,252 --> 00:52:43,354
had to come up with a rifle
and shoot it in the head.
1099
00:52:45,425 --> 00:52:47,948
That week was absolutely terrifying.
1100
00:52:49,070 --> 00:52:51,038
- [Voiceover] Outside of this
initiation, King also had
1101
00:52:51,039 --> 00:52:53,945
more significant hurdles to overcome.
1102
00:52:53,946 --> 00:52:57,450
Having already enjoyed chart
success in the late 1960s
1103
00:52:57,451 --> 00:53:00,016
he had to adapt himself
to Ronnie Van Zant's often
1104
00:53:00,017 --> 00:53:02,690
oppressive leadership of
the ensemble while also
1105
00:53:02,691 --> 00:53:06,007
ingratiating himself
with the rest of the band
1106
00:53:06,008 --> 00:53:08,082
in which he was the first non-Southerner.
1107
00:53:08,083 --> 00:53:10,261
Ronnie and I had a
disagreement where he told me
1108
00:53:10,262 --> 00:53:11,457
he was the leader of the band.
1109
00:53:11,458 --> 00:53:13,181
I said something that everybody around
1110
00:53:13,182 --> 00:53:17,388
that I disagreed with
and he pulled me aside
1111
00:53:17,389 --> 00:53:20,780
and made it extremely clear
(laughs)
1112
00:53:21,867 --> 00:53:24,093
that it was his band
and if I didn't like it
1113
00:53:24,094 --> 00:53:26,413
there was the door and it
was gonna be done his way.
1114
00:53:26,414 --> 00:53:27,515
And I said, "That's fine."
1115
00:53:27,516 --> 00:53:31,864
I said, "As long as I can
just throw in my two cents."
1116
00:53:31,865 --> 00:53:34,033
He said, "That's okay, I
just want you to understand,
1117
00:53:34,034 --> 00:53:35,287
"this is going to be my way."
1118
00:53:35,288 --> 00:53:38,241
No problem, I never had
a problem with that.
1119
00:53:38,242 --> 00:53:42,636
If you want to get a
glimpse of me integrating
1120
00:53:42,637 --> 00:53:44,757
with the band, here it is.
1121
00:53:44,758 --> 00:53:46,949
In the box set there's
a picture of us standing
1122
00:53:46,950 --> 00:53:48,216
in front of Hell House.
1123
00:53:48,217 --> 00:53:50,419
You've got six guys on
one side of the door
1124
00:53:50,420 --> 00:53:53,490
and me on the other and that says it all.
1125
00:53:53,491 --> 00:53:56,889
It was difficult and I was
invited there by Ronnie,
1126
00:53:56,890 --> 00:53:58,699
but the other guys really
didn't want me there.
1127
00:54:02,611 --> 00:54:06,689
- [Voiceover] On March 27, 1973
the band entered Studio one
1128
00:54:06,690 --> 00:54:09,701
in Doraville to begin
recording their debut album
1129
00:54:09,702 --> 00:54:12,538
with Ed Kind on board and
ex-roadie, Billy Powell
1130
00:54:12,539 --> 00:54:15,221
now a permanent member
of the group on piano.
1131
00:54:15,222 --> 00:54:17,777
Al Kooper himself decided
to produce the record
1132
00:54:17,778 --> 00:54:20,269
and the peculiarities of
the band he had only seen
1133
00:54:20,270 --> 00:54:23,211
perform live were
immediately revealed to him.
1134
00:54:23,212 --> 00:54:27,138
- When started working
with them I discovered
1135
00:54:27,139 --> 00:54:29,634
what really made the unique.
1136
00:54:29,635 --> 00:54:34,630
There was no, not one
moment of improvisation
1137
00:54:36,832 --> 00:54:39,098
in their whole show.
1138
00:54:42,201 --> 00:54:46,935
When we recorded every
guitar solo they played was
1139
00:54:46,936 --> 00:54:51,931
pre-written and memorized
and never differed.
1140
00:54:51,953 --> 00:54:56,371
The whole solo in Free Bird
he could play in exactly
1141
00:54:56,372 --> 00:54:59,125
the same every time he played it
1142
00:54:59,126 --> 00:55:02,443
and I'd never worked with anyone
1143
00:55:02,444 --> 00:55:05,549
that pre-wrote guitar solos.
1144
00:55:05,550 --> 00:55:07,558
It was phenomenal.
1145
00:55:08,611 --> 00:55:10,239
- [Voiceover] And although
Ronnie Van Zant had a
1146
00:55:10,240 --> 00:55:12,560
domineering approach to
his fellow band mates
1147
00:55:12,561 --> 00:55:15,350
with Al Kooper he relented
recognizing the producer's
1148
00:55:15,351 --> 00:55:17,707
previous track record
and experience although
1149
00:55:17,708 --> 00:55:20,379
others were less certain
of his creative vision
1150
00:55:20,380 --> 00:55:21,668
for the album.
1151
00:55:21,669 --> 00:55:24,728
- If I wanted to change
something, they would fight me
1152
00:55:24,729 --> 00:55:27,154
tooth and nail to the point where
1153
00:55:29,395 --> 00:55:31,802
I was discussing something
with Allen Collins
1154
00:55:33,204 --> 00:55:36,462
and he said, "Why don't
you just leave us alone."
1155
00:55:36,463 --> 00:55:39,983
And Ronnie came over and
said, "No, no, no, no.
1156
00:55:42,576 --> 00:55:47,571
"If he suggests 20 things
over the course of this album
1157
00:55:49,023 --> 00:55:52,562
"and we use one of those,
then that's one thing
1158
00:55:52,563 --> 00:55:57,558
"that made us better and
I'll suffer the other 19
1159
00:55:59,503 --> 00:56:02,103
"to get that one thing."
1160
00:56:02,104 --> 00:56:05,784
- Al Kooper, you know, he's a
dominating guy in the studio.
1161
00:56:05,785 --> 00:56:07,026
He was very difficult.
1162
00:56:07,027 --> 00:56:09,500
We had two different
personalities and we clashed
1163
00:56:09,501 --> 00:56:11,668
from the beginning to the end.
1164
00:56:11,669 --> 00:56:13,767
And I finally told him after
I saw him at the 20th reunion
1165
00:56:13,768 --> 00:56:18,473
after I saw him at the 20th reunion
1166
00:56:19,442 --> 00:56:21,633
I said, "Al Kooper, I
have to say one thing,
1167
00:56:21,634 --> 00:56:24,481
""You certainly sweetened
the Skynyrd sound.""
1168
00:56:24,482 --> 00:56:27,189
And that was the highest
compliment I ever paid him
1169
00:56:27,190 --> 00:56:28,736
and he did.
1170
00:56:28,737 --> 00:56:31,092
That was exactly what
he did to their sound.
1171
00:56:31,093 --> 00:56:33,542
- Al had a vision for the
band, and it was good.
1172
00:56:33,543 --> 00:56:37,293
Nobody else did and he mixed
the band a certain way,
1173
00:56:37,294 --> 00:56:38,735
how he heard it.
1174
00:56:38,736 --> 00:56:41,806
I could tell it was fit for radio.
1175
00:56:41,807 --> 00:56:44,361
But there was one special
time when there was a real
1176
00:56:44,362 --> 00:56:48,627
big clash and that was when
we thought the album was fully
1177
00:56:48,628 --> 00:56:51,569
recorded and Kooper called
up and said, "We need one
1178
00:56:51,570 --> 00:56:52,671
"more song."
1179
00:56:52,672 --> 00:56:54,887
That was the time when Leon showed up
1180
00:56:54,888 --> 00:56:57,758
and showed us Simple Man,
showed me Simple Man.
1181
00:56:57,759 --> 00:56:59,247
We worked it up.
1182
00:56:59,248 --> 00:57:01,521
Within a couple of days we
went to Atlanta to record it.
1183
00:57:01,522 --> 00:57:05,284
We set up in the studio
for Al and we played it
1184
00:57:05,285 --> 00:57:07,253
for him, live.
1185
00:57:07,254 --> 00:57:09,526
And he said, "I'm really sorry
you guys, we can't cut that
1186
00:57:09,527 --> 00:57:11,636
"we're looking for something else."
1187
00:57:11,637 --> 00:57:14,960
♪ Mama told me ♪
1188
00:57:14,961 --> 00:57:19,098
♪ When I was young ♪
1189
00:57:19,099 --> 00:57:22,837
♪ Come sit beside me ♪
1190
00:57:22,838 --> 00:57:26,975
♪ My only son ♪
1191
00:57:26,976 --> 00:57:30,562
♪ And listen closely ♪
1192
00:57:30,563 --> 00:57:35,004
♪ To what I say ♪
1193
00:57:35,005 --> 00:57:38,779
♪ And if you do this it'll help you ♪
1194
00:57:38,780 --> 00:57:41,268
♪ Some sunny day ♪
1195
00:57:45,226 --> 00:57:48,578
Ronnie asked Al to step
outside and Al drove
1196
00:57:48,579 --> 00:57:52,469
a I think it was an old Bele,
and Ronnie opened the door
1197
00:57:52,470 --> 00:57:54,773
to the Bele and told Al to get in the car.
1198
00:57:54,774 --> 00:57:58,199
Al gets in Ronnie rolls down
the window, shuts the dorr
1199
00:57:58,200 --> 00:57:59,676
and he sticks his head through the window
1200
00:57:59,677 --> 00:58:02,594
and he said, "Al, when
we're done cutting it,
1201
00:58:02,595 --> 00:58:04,388
"we'll call you."
1202
00:58:04,389 --> 00:58:08,034
So he sent Al on his way and
the rest of us were really
1203
00:58:08,035 --> 00:58:09,042
kind of surprised.
1204
00:58:09,043 --> 00:58:13,109
You don't hear very many times in history
1205
00:58:13,110 --> 00:58:16,449
when a first album band tells the producer
1206
00:58:16,450 --> 00:58:17,750
to get lost.
1207
00:58:17,751 --> 00:58:20,329
Usually they get fired or
something, but you want
1208
00:58:20,330 --> 00:58:23,939
to talk about Al Kooper's
passion, he put up with that
1209
00:58:23,940 --> 00:58:25,967
you know, where many others wouldn't.
1210
00:58:25,968 --> 00:58:28,815
They'd say, "Like, you're gone, you know."
1211
00:58:28,816 --> 00:58:31,582
- [Voiceover] With the album
completed Kooper's mind
1212
00:58:31,583 --> 00:58:33,786
now turned to selling
Lynyrd Skynyrd to as wide
1213
00:58:33,787 --> 00:58:36,518
an audience as possible
and the first obstacle
1214
00:58:36,519 --> 00:58:39,401
for the general public that
he envisaged was the band's
1215
00:58:39,402 --> 00:58:41,030
name itself.
1216
00:58:41,031 --> 00:58:43,598
- They were the second
band to come into the club
1217
00:58:43,599 --> 00:58:46,293
when we were residents in Atlanta.
1218
00:58:46,294 --> 00:58:49,938
Up on the marquee it
said, "Linerd Skinerd."
1219
00:58:49,939 --> 00:58:51,901
I went, "What the hell is this?
1220
00:58:53,362 --> 00:58:54,815
"What is that?
1221
00:58:54,816 --> 00:58:56,953
"Linderd Skinerd, what is that?"
1222
00:58:58,391 --> 00:59:00,852
And then they introduced them and said,
1223
00:59:00,853 --> 00:59:03,770
"Oh, it's Lynyrd Skynyrd,
I see, yeah, I get it."
1224
00:59:03,771 --> 00:59:06,783
They said, "What a dumb way to do that."
1225
00:59:06,784 --> 00:59:08,929
So I was saddled with that.
1226
00:59:08,930 --> 00:59:11,214
It was the first thing
that came to me was let's
1227
00:59:11,215 --> 00:59:13,394
put it to our advantage.
1228
00:59:13,395 --> 00:59:17,814
It's like, what is who is
Linerd Skinerd and I thought
1229
00:59:17,815 --> 00:59:21,517
everyone would mispronounce
it, so I thought the best
1230
00:59:21,518 --> 00:59:25,034
thing to do was to name
the album, Pronounced
1231
00:59:25,035 --> 00:59:29,828
and put that dictionary thing 'Lĕh-'nérd
1232
00:59:29,829 --> 00:59:32,571
'Skin-'nérd like that.
1233
00:59:32,572 --> 00:59:34,029
- [Voiceover] One, two, three.
1234
00:59:46,064 --> 00:59:49,157
- [Voiceover] Released on August 13, 1973,
1235
00:59:49,158 --> 00:59:51,021
Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd
'Skin-'nérd was an album
1236
00:59:51,022 --> 00:59:53,189
that may never have
existed given the struggles
1237
00:59:53,190 --> 00:59:55,280
the band had gone through to get it made.
1238
00:59:56,179 --> 00:59:58,429
In the press Kooper was declaring the band
1239
00:59:58,430 --> 01:00:01,371
America's Rolling Stones
and while not an overnight
1240
01:00:01,372 --> 01:00:04,395
success the LP's reputation steadily grew
1241
01:00:04,396 --> 01:00:06,892
with Skynyrd slowly seeping into the heart
1242
01:00:06,893 --> 01:00:09,975
of American culture
across the following year.
1243
01:00:09,976 --> 01:00:11,618
- Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd
'Skin-'nérd is a very, very
1244
01:00:11,619 --> 01:00:13,025
strong debut.
1245
01:00:13,026 --> 01:00:15,650
It announces them from
the very first notes
1246
01:00:15,651 --> 01:00:19,389
of I Ain't The One as a unique
entity, as a self-confident
1247
01:00:19,390 --> 01:00:23,204
entity and it has a handful of songs on it
1248
01:00:23,205 --> 01:00:27,045
that are rock-n-roll classics,
that stand up to this day.
1249
01:00:27,046 --> 01:00:30,526
It has Tuesday's Gone, Gimme
Three Steps, Free Bird,
1250
01:00:30,527 --> 01:00:32,342
that was all there on their first record
1251
01:00:32,343 --> 01:00:35,109
and they had a very distinct
sound, a very distinct
1252
01:00:35,110 --> 01:00:38,138
vision and it's a very,
very impressive debut.
1253
01:00:50,020 --> 01:00:54,203
♪ Train roll on ♪
1254
01:00:54,204 --> 01:00:56,842
♪ On down the line ♪
1255
01:00:56,843 --> 01:01:01,838
♪ Won't you please take me far ♪
1256
01:01:02,739 --> 01:01:07,734
♪ Away ♪
1257
01:01:08,224 --> 01:01:12,302
♪ Well I feel the wind blow ♪
1258
01:01:12,303 --> 01:01:15,855
♪ Outside my door ♪
1259
01:01:15,856 --> 01:01:20,824
♪ Because I'm leaving my woman ♪
1260
01:01:20,825 --> 01:01:24,446
♪ at home ♪
1261
01:01:24,447 --> 01:01:26,708
♪ Lord and ♪
1262
01:01:26,709 --> 01:01:29,463
♪ Tuesday's gone ♪
1263
01:01:29,464 --> 01:01:34,459
♪ With the wind ♪
1264
01:01:35,664 --> 01:01:36,533
♪ My baby's gone ♪
1265
01:01:36,534 --> 01:01:38,595
- They had been working
hard for a long time
1266
01:01:38,596 --> 01:01:40,695
by that point, and you can hear it.
1267
01:01:40,696 --> 01:01:42,711
To me it's a phenomenally strong debut
1268
01:01:42,712 --> 01:01:45,549
because they sound, they
are a fully formed entity
1269
01:01:45,550 --> 01:01:47,922
at this point and you've got
1270
01:01:50,571 --> 01:01:51,757
Gimme Three Steps,
1271
01:01:51,758 --> 01:01:56,012
You've got Tuesday's Gone
which is a great pop song
1272
01:01:56,013 --> 01:01:58,087
like fantastic pop song
1273
01:01:58,088 --> 01:02:00,724
and then I mean Free Bird, you know.
1274
01:02:00,725 --> 01:02:03,467
It's their first real album, it has their
1275
01:02:03,468 --> 01:02:06,198
the biggest song they every wrote on it.
1276
01:02:06,199 --> 01:02:10,265
If you had to boil Lynyrd
Skynyrd down to one song
1277
01:02:10,266 --> 01:02:12,053
it would have to be to me it would have
1278
01:02:12,054 --> 01:02:13,683
to be Free Bird.
1279
01:02:13,684 --> 01:02:15,445
♪ Free Bird ♪
1280
01:02:16,555 --> 01:02:18,082
(piano)
1281
01:02:44,372 --> 01:02:47,681
(guitar)
1282
01:02:53,803 --> 01:02:55,372
- Free Bird had developed quite a bit
1283
01:02:55,373 --> 01:02:57,131
from the time they had first recorded it
1284
01:02:57,132 --> 01:03:00,378
as a demo until their first album.
1285
01:03:00,379 --> 01:03:01,948
One of the things that
had happened I think
1286
01:03:01,949 --> 01:03:04,211
was a result of all these
gigs they had played
1287
01:03:04,212 --> 01:03:06,121
and gaining their confidence on the stage
1288
01:03:06,122 --> 01:03:07,342
and as a live band.
1289
01:03:07,343 --> 01:03:09,534
It was also the addition of
keyboard player, Billy Powell
1290
01:03:09,535 --> 01:03:13,683
and the elegant piano playing
he brought to that song
1291
01:03:13,684 --> 01:03:15,301
and to the band in general.
1292
01:03:15,302 --> 01:03:17,668
iIthink that in many ways
Billy Powell was sort
1293
01:03:17,669 --> 01:03:21,384
of the underrated secret
weapon that Skynyrd had
1294
01:03:21,385 --> 01:03:23,729
because as much as they
could be a hard-hitting
1295
01:03:23,730 --> 01:03:26,718
rock ban,d as much as people think of them
1296
01:03:26,719 --> 01:03:29,777
right off the bat as a two or
even three at various stages
1297
01:03:29,778 --> 01:03:33,011
a guitar band which they certainly were
1298
01:03:33,012 --> 01:03:36,646
they also had this sort of
elegant swinging piano playing
1299
01:03:36,647 --> 01:03:39,259
of Billy Powell and
that can really be heard
1300
01:03:39,260 --> 01:03:40,174
on Free Bird.
1301
01:03:40,175 --> 01:03:42,905
He added a tremendous
amount by having this
1302
01:03:42,906 --> 01:03:46,092
beautiful piano intro rather
than it being just a finger-
1303
01:03:46,093 --> 01:03:47,969
picked guitar and that's something else
1304
01:03:47,970 --> 01:03:49,222
that set them apart.
1305
01:03:49,223 --> 01:03:54,218
♪ If I leave here tomorrow ♪
1306
01:03:57,229 --> 01:04:02,225
♪ Would you still remember me ♪
1307
01:04:05,422 --> 01:04:10,417
♪ For I must be traveling on now ♪
1308
01:04:10,880 --> 01:04:13,258
- You have this terrain and you start
1309
01:04:13,259 --> 01:04:15,977
on this journey with this song.
1310
01:04:15,978 --> 01:04:18,931
It really draws you in with
the slide-guitar playing
1311
01:04:18,932 --> 01:04:22,002
the sort of haunting melody
and it's kind of hypnotic
1312
01:04:22,003 --> 01:04:25,085
you know, it's kind of slow mournful.
1313
01:04:25,086 --> 01:04:26,356
It's like a ballad
1314
01:04:27,231 --> 01:04:32,226
and then a lot like Stairway To Heaven
1315
01:04:32,623 --> 01:04:34,650
which is the same thing.
1316
01:04:34,651 --> 01:04:39,444
The song builds in intensity
very gradually, you know
1317
01:04:39,445 --> 01:04:43,453
and it's that shift where
you're going from this sort
1318
01:04:43,454 --> 01:04:46,019
of gentle thing and then
the power starts to come
1319
01:04:46,020 --> 01:04:48,563
behind it and the tempo's
picking up a little bit.
1320
01:04:48,564 --> 01:04:50,837
It's true for both songs.
1321
01:04:50,838 --> 01:04:54,095
You know, that's it's
there's a payoff there
1322
01:04:54,096 --> 01:04:56,092
for the listener, everytime.
1323
01:04:57,730 --> 01:05:02,109
♪ Oh, I can't change ♪
1324
01:05:02,110 --> 01:05:05,104
♪ Won't you fly ♪
1325
01:05:05,105 --> 01:05:08,573
♪ Oh, Free Bird, yeah ♪
1326
01:05:08,574 --> 01:05:10,359
(guitar music)
1327
01:05:15,865 --> 01:05:20,482
- When I heard Free
Bird for the first time
1328
01:05:20,483 --> 01:05:22,744
I thought I would like to see
1329
01:05:22,745 --> 01:05:26,432
any kid
1330
01:05:26,433 --> 01:05:30,538
between the ages of 12 and 21
1331
01:05:32,961 --> 01:05:37,956
when they hear this they will
just put their heads down
1332
01:05:37,966 --> 01:05:40,989
and run into the nearest wall.
1333
01:05:40,990 --> 01:05:42,947
I thought it was irresistible.
1334
01:05:42,948 --> 01:05:46,698
I thought it was much more primiative
1335
01:05:46,699 --> 01:05:50,362
than Whipping Post which
is the Allman's big song
1336
01:05:50,363 --> 01:05:51,487
at the time.
1337
01:05:51,488 --> 01:05:55,238
This is very simple,
other than it starts slow
1338
01:05:55,239 --> 01:05:58,795
and then it gets fast, but
that's very simple, too.
1339
01:06:00,525 --> 01:06:02,205
And it was phenomenal.
1340
01:06:03,315 --> 01:06:05,741
- [Voiceover] Initial reactions
to the LP in the music press
1341
01:06:05,742 --> 01:06:08,518
saw lazy comparisons to The
Allman Brothers mirroring
1342
01:06:08,519 --> 01:06:10,452
the record company's initial reception
1343
01:06:10,453 --> 01:06:12,398
to the Muscle Shoals demos.
1344
01:06:12,399 --> 01:06:14,273
And although these weren't
necessarily negative
1345
01:06:14,274 --> 01:06:16,817
they continued to baffle
the band themselves
1346
01:06:16,818 --> 01:06:19,443
along with the more
perceptive critics who found
1347
01:06:19,444 --> 01:06:21,252
no in distinguishing the two bands.
1348
01:06:22,268 --> 01:06:24,190
- They were a blues band and later on kind
1349
01:06:24,191 --> 01:06:26,792
of a what?
A fusion band.
1350
01:06:26,793 --> 01:06:30,262
I mean but in their own
way they were virtuoso's.
1351
01:06:30,263 --> 01:06:32,425
We were not virtuoso's
because Ronnie liked
1352
01:06:32,426 --> 01:06:33,949
the same thing every night.
1353
01:06:33,950 --> 01:06:35,836
He wanted to make sure the band sounded
1354
01:06:35,837 --> 01:06:36,961
like the record.
1355
01:06:36,962 --> 01:06:38,508
He's very scripted.
1356
01:06:38,509 --> 01:06:40,021
There was no improvisation.
1357
01:06:40,022 --> 01:06:40,562
We couldn't really.
1358
01:06:40,563 --> 01:06:43,004
We were lousy improvisers and that's okay.
1359
01:06:43,938 --> 01:06:46,621
We're still in the Rock-N-Roll
Hall of Fame, you know?
1360
01:06:46,622 --> 01:06:48,942
- The Allman Brothers were a jam band
1361
01:06:48,943 --> 01:06:50,665
and Lynyrd Skynyrd is a song band.
1362
01:06:50,666 --> 01:06:52,037
That's the difference.
1363
01:06:52,038 --> 01:06:54,311
Ronnie Van Zant was a great song writer.
1364
01:06:54,312 --> 01:06:56,667
Dwayne Allman was not a great song writer.
1365
01:06:56,668 --> 01:06:59,515
He wasn't, great player?
Sure.
1366
01:06:59,516 --> 01:07:00,564
Knew a great song when he heard it?
1367
01:07:00,565 --> 01:07:04,057
Damn right, but he wasn't
a great song writer.
1368
01:07:04,058 --> 01:07:07,538
The good song writer in
that band was Dickey Betts,
1369
01:07:07,539 --> 01:07:10,222
for better or worse and
he wasn't so great either.
1370
01:07:10,223 --> 01:07:12,790
Ronnie Van Zant on the
other hand, I mean what?
1371
01:07:12,791 --> 01:07:15,978
They put out six albums, 80,
90 percent of those songs
1372
01:07:15,979 --> 01:07:17,349
were absolutely top grade.
1373
01:07:17,350 --> 01:07:20,103
It's amazing, it's amazing,
1374
01:07:20,104 --> 01:07:22,015
and so you know, when
I heard the first album
1375
01:07:22,016 --> 01:07:24,569
I just knew something
different was going on there.
1376
01:07:24,570 --> 01:07:26,715
First I noticed that
Al Kooper was involved,
1377
01:07:26,716 --> 01:07:29,410
not exactly a Southerner, New York, Jew
1378
01:07:29,411 --> 01:07:31,931
from Queens, my stomping ground.
1379
01:07:31,932 --> 01:07:34,514
And he understands that this
band is something special.
1380
01:07:35,459 --> 01:07:38,764
I liked the record when it came out,
1381
01:07:38,765 --> 01:07:40,862
but I'd say it was a
little hard for me to hear
1382
01:07:40,863 --> 01:07:44,255
from my own prejudices about Southerners,
1383
01:07:45,142 --> 01:07:47,567
exactly how good Van Zant was.
1384
01:07:47,568 --> 01:07:48,708
But it didn't take long.
1385
01:07:50,159 --> 01:07:51,693
- [Voiceover] Comparisons
to The Allmans quickly
1386
01:07:51,694 --> 01:07:53,767
diminished however, once
Van Zant and his band
1387
01:07:53,768 --> 01:07:56,077
began doing the rounds
for the Music Press.
1388
01:07:56,078 --> 01:07:58,866
Unlike the Capricorn
act these were clearly
1389
01:07:58,867 --> 01:08:01,679
not Southern hippies and
the simmering aggression
1390
01:08:01,680 --> 01:08:03,942
and redneck swagger of
Lynyrd Skynyrd quickly
1391
01:08:03,943 --> 01:08:06,274
mobbed them out as
something totally distinct
1392
01:08:06,275 --> 01:08:08,115
from any their contemporaries.
1393
01:08:08,116 --> 01:08:11,268
- That was the beauty
of late '60s early '70s,
1394
01:08:11,269 --> 01:08:15,292
the beginning of rock, the
first good 10 years of rock
1395
01:08:15,293 --> 01:08:17,310
was be different, you know?
1396
01:08:19,456 --> 01:08:23,313
Do everything you can to
sound like yourselves.
1397
01:08:23,314 --> 01:08:25,013
They had a band personality.
1398
01:08:25,014 --> 01:08:26,994
It was a very strong personality
1399
01:08:26,995 --> 01:08:28,307
and it was distinct.
1400
01:08:28,308 --> 01:08:29,655
- They were bringing something
that had never been heard
1401
01:08:29,656 --> 01:08:31,507
before, it was redneck rock.
1402
01:08:31,508 --> 01:08:34,168
They made redneck rock into an art.
1403
01:08:34,169 --> 01:08:35,903
They made it into an idiom itself
1404
01:08:35,904 --> 01:08:39,374
not just an offshoot
rock-a-billy or country
1405
01:08:39,375 --> 01:08:40,488
or something like that.
1406
01:08:40,489 --> 01:08:43,359
It was totally indescribable
which was the reason
1407
01:08:43,360 --> 01:08:45,375
they had such a hard time at the beginning
1408
01:08:45,376 --> 01:08:48,622
getting that contract, but
in the end, you really have
1409
01:08:48,623 --> 01:08:51,588
to admire people like Al
Kooper and the MCA people
1410
01:08:51,589 --> 01:08:53,183
for recognizing that.
1411
01:08:53,184 --> 01:08:56,429
At the time there was nothing like it.
1412
01:08:56,430 --> 01:08:58,176
There'd never been anything like it.
1413
01:08:58,177 --> 01:09:02,535
- All of those guys except
Ed King were rough and tough.
1414
01:09:02,536 --> 01:09:04,416
But they portrayed that on stage.
1415
01:09:05,586 --> 01:09:09,985
I can remember getting to New York
1416
01:09:09,986 --> 01:09:13,537
one of the early trade magazines
came in to interview us
1417
01:09:13,538 --> 01:09:17,018
and they said, "Well, we heard
y'all are from deep South
1418
01:09:17,019 --> 01:09:20,246
"and might be referred to as rednecks."
1419
01:09:21,168 --> 01:09:24,262
And Ronnie's answer was,
"Hell yes, damn right,
1420
01:09:24,263 --> 01:09:27,192
"where's your daughter?"
(laughs)
1421
01:09:27,193 --> 01:09:32,155
He took the poor white trash image
1422
01:09:33,288 --> 01:09:35,894
and turned it into something glamorous.
1423
01:09:36,840 --> 01:09:41,598
He made people feel proud
that they were rednecks
1424
01:09:41,599 --> 01:09:44,462
and that The Allman's hadn't done that.
1425
01:09:45,584 --> 01:09:47,658
- [Voiceover] The white,
Southern, working-class mentality
1426
01:09:47,659 --> 01:09:50,096
and outlook was not only
expressed through the band's
1427
01:09:50,097 --> 01:09:53,460
image but also in the lyrics
and Ronnie Van Zant himself.
1428
01:09:53,461 --> 01:09:56,918
The album introduced a very
singular if under appreciated
1429
01:09:56,919 --> 01:09:58,633
writer into the rock world.
1430
01:09:59,626 --> 01:10:04,009
- I gotta say that working-class
was never something
1431
01:10:04,010 --> 01:10:08,510
that I as a very class-conscious
person actually thought of.
1432
01:10:08,511 --> 01:10:10,620
I never thought of them
as a proletarian band.
1433
01:10:10,621 --> 01:10:11,605
iIwas wrong.
1434
01:10:11,606 --> 01:10:13,222
It's a very good way to think about them.
1435
01:10:13,223 --> 01:10:15,613
When you say Ronnie Van
Zant is a great song writer,
1436
01:10:15,614 --> 01:10:16,644
well, why is that?
1437
01:10:16,645 --> 01:10:19,792
Well, one of the reasons
is that they were narrative
1438
01:10:19,793 --> 01:10:23,086
details in his songs that he observed life
1439
01:10:23,087 --> 01:10:24,481
and wrote about it.
1440
01:10:24,482 --> 01:10:27,658
Gimme two steps is a great song
1441
01:10:27,659 --> 01:10:31,162
about being in a bar fight, or not.
1442
01:10:31,163 --> 01:10:32,585
Great, great song.
1443
01:10:36,719 --> 01:10:37,890
There are a lot of songs
1444
01:10:37,891 --> 01:10:39,613
about Saturday night's
alright for fighting
1445
01:10:39,614 --> 01:10:43,106
as Elton John did it,
but very few good songs
1446
01:10:43,107 --> 01:10:44,922
about how he doesn't
actually want to fight
1447
01:10:44,923 --> 01:10:48,123
and he's gonna get the fuck
out of there, you know.
1448
01:10:48,124 --> 01:10:52,944
I always thought that was, I
loved it because he had the
1449
01:10:52,945 --> 01:10:55,465
guts to paint himself in that way.
1450
01:11:00,478 --> 01:11:02,399
♪ Well the crowd cleared away ♪
1451
01:11:02,400 --> 01:11:04,006
♪ And I began to pray ♪
1452
01:11:04,007 --> 01:11:07,686
♪ And the water fell on the floor ♪
1453
01:11:07,687 --> 01:11:09,280
♪ And I'm telling you, son ♪
1454
01:11:09,281 --> 01:11:11,191
♪ Well, it ain't no fun ♪
1455
01:11:11,192 --> 01:11:14,672
♪ Staring straight down a forty-four ♪
1456
01:11:14,673 --> 01:11:18,271
♪ Well, he turned and
screamed at Linda Lou ♪
1457
01:11:18,272 --> 01:11:21,857
♪ And that's the break I was looking for ♪
1458
01:11:21,858 --> 01:11:25,339
♪ Well, you could hear me
screaming a mile away ♪
1459
01:11:25,340 --> 01:11:29,160
♪ I was headed out toward the door ♪
1460
01:11:29,161 --> 01:11:31,012
♪ Look at here big man ♪
1461
01:11:31,013 --> 01:11:31,974
♪ Oh, won't you ♪
1462
01:11:31,975 --> 01:11:34,599
♪ Gimme three steps, gimme
three steps, mister ♪
1463
01:11:34,600 --> 01:11:38,781
♪ Gimme three steps toward the door ♪
1464
01:11:38,782 --> 01:11:41,860
♪ Gimme three steps, gimme
three steps, mister ♪
1465
01:11:41,861 --> 01:11:45,448
♪ And you'll never see me no more ♪
1466
01:11:45,449 --> 01:11:46,304
♪ Whoo ♪
1467
01:11:46,305 --> 01:11:49,027
- Ronnie Van Zant was the
son of a truck driver.
1468
01:11:52,188 --> 01:11:54,137
And that's what he knew.
1469
01:11:56,373 --> 01:11:59,377
His experiences with women
1470
01:12:00,569 --> 01:12:05,564
were lyrically in some songs
1471
01:12:05,809 --> 01:12:08,116
hilarious to me.
1472
01:12:08,117 --> 01:12:10,079
I'm trying to tell you I love you
1473
01:12:11,212 --> 01:12:13,356
in each and every way.
1474
01:12:13,357 --> 01:12:15,501
I'm trying to tell you I need you
1475
01:12:15,502 --> 01:12:17,979
much more than just a piece of leg.
1476
01:12:19,113 --> 01:12:20,623
I couldn't write that.
1477
01:12:20,624 --> 01:12:23,476
A, it was from the heart
1478
01:12:25,044 --> 01:12:30,039
and B, it was realer
1479
01:12:30,372 --> 01:12:32,118
than most people
1480
01:12:32,119 --> 01:12:34,127
have the nerve to write.
1481
01:12:35,084 --> 01:12:37,076
- [Voiceover] Shortly after
the recording of the album
1482
01:12:37,077 --> 01:12:39,092
the band's lineup shifted once again
1483
01:12:39,093 --> 01:12:42,292
with Leon Wilkeson coming
back into the ensemble
1484
01:12:42,293 --> 01:12:45,234
and Ed King moving from bass to guitar.
1485
01:12:45,235 --> 01:12:47,203
Although apparently only a small change
1486
01:12:47,204 --> 01:12:49,576
it made an instant impact
on the Skynyrd sound.
1487
01:12:51,060 --> 01:12:53,837
- Ed was my favorite guitar player
1488
01:12:53,838 --> 01:12:56,174
and in the beginning I didn't
even know he played guitar.
1489
01:12:58,339 --> 01:12:59,831
First of all he played
1490
01:13:01,961 --> 01:13:04,949
Fender guitar, so there was that
1491
01:13:04,950 --> 01:13:09,385
and B, he was a phenomenal guitar player.
1492
01:13:10,905 --> 01:13:12,714
(guitar music)
1493
01:13:25,873 --> 01:13:28,497
Now, he had the opportunity to bring
1494
01:13:28,498 --> 01:13:30,948
his knowledge into the band and he was,
1495
01:13:30,949 --> 01:13:33,549
you know, he wasn't a Southern guy.
1496
01:13:33,550 --> 01:13:37,887
He was from California, so now
1497
01:13:37,888 --> 01:13:41,872
they had this added to
their pool of thought.
1498
01:13:41,873 --> 01:13:45,119
- Once I became the third
guitarist in the band
1499
01:13:45,120 --> 01:13:47,030
integrating myself was so much easier
1500
01:13:47,031 --> 01:13:48,581
than being a bass player.
1501
01:13:49,768 --> 01:13:53,131
Pretty much I stayed out
of the other guy's way.
1502
01:13:53,132 --> 01:13:55,546
I found myself a third part.
1503
01:13:55,547 --> 01:13:57,937
I try not to play too
much which I realize now,
1504
01:13:57,938 --> 01:14:00,867
I still overplayed some,
but I thought we integrated
1505
01:14:00,868 --> 01:14:04,665
very well and the crowd loved
it, but I think my really
1506
01:14:04,666 --> 01:14:07,607
clean Stratocaster sounded
against their dirty Gibsons
1507
01:14:07,608 --> 01:14:09,670
was a beautiful contrast.
1508
01:14:09,671 --> 01:14:11,053
I didn't have to explain it to them.
1509
01:14:11,054 --> 01:14:12,869
They just excepted it.
1510
01:14:12,870 --> 01:14:14,605
- [Voiceover] Now, playing
his favorite instrument,
1511
01:14:14,606 --> 01:14:17,007
King immediately contributed
to Skynyrd's material
1512
01:14:17,008 --> 01:14:18,379
in a crucial manner.
1513
01:14:18,380 --> 01:14:20,594
Before the first album
had even been released
1514
01:14:20,595 --> 01:14:22,857
bring his compositional
skills into the band's
1515
01:14:22,858 --> 01:14:24,549
daily Hell House rehearsals.
1516
01:14:25,853 --> 01:14:28,513
- How a typical day at rehearsal would go,
1517
01:14:28,514 --> 01:14:30,346
we'd all show up at
pretty much the same time
1518
01:14:31,491 --> 01:14:33,952
and Ronnie would say to
any of the guitar players
1519
01:14:33,953 --> 01:14:36,218
or whoever, "What do you got?"
1520
01:14:37,469 --> 01:14:40,351
And of course ideas were always flowing.
1521
01:14:40,352 --> 01:14:42,180
You made sure you showed up at rehearsal
1522
01:14:42,181 --> 01:14:45,064
with something to work on and somebody had
1523
01:14:45,065 --> 01:14:46,927
something good, you know,
Ronnie would be sitting
1524
01:14:46,928 --> 01:14:51,521
in his corner on this long sofa we had
1525
01:14:51,522 --> 01:14:54,851
and if he liked it he'd
have his head in his hands
1526
01:14:54,852 --> 01:14:56,585
and he'd go like this.
1527
01:14:56,586 --> 01:15:00,488
Keep going, keep going and
after a few minutes or so
1528
01:15:00,489 --> 01:15:04,263
20 minutes he might come
up and sing a verse.
1529
01:15:04,264 --> 01:15:06,328
I mean Sweet Home Alabama
didn't take longer than
1530
01:15:06,329 --> 01:15:07,781
20 minutes to write.
1531
01:15:07,782 --> 01:15:10,419
I walked into rehearsal and
Gary Rossington was playing
1532
01:15:10,420 --> 01:15:13,337
this figure on the guitar
and I picked up this Strat
1533
01:15:13,338 --> 01:15:15,413
that I had just bought, I
don't know, maybe a couple
1534
01:15:15,414 --> 01:15:18,156
months before and immediately
bounced mine off of his
1535
01:15:18,157 --> 01:15:19,481
a totally different lick.
1536
01:15:19,482 --> 01:15:20,887
Mine went dum, dum, da, da,
1537
01:15:20,888 --> 01:15:23,419
dadunen do dun na and Ronnie heard that
1538
01:15:23,420 --> 01:15:25,670
and just locked into it.
1539
01:15:25,671 --> 01:15:26,412
iIcould just see him
1540
01:15:26,413 --> 01:15:28,009
and you could tell when he locked into it.
1541
01:15:29,037 --> 01:15:32,119
20 minutes later he sang
it, he grabbed the mic
1542
01:15:32,120 --> 01:15:34,874
and sang us the first verse.
1543
01:15:34,875 --> 01:15:37,593
Once he started singing I
came up with the rest of it.
1544
01:15:37,594 --> 01:15:38,782
(guitar music)
1545
01:15:56,637 --> 01:16:01,337
♪ Big wheels keep on turning ♪
1546
01:16:01,338 --> 01:16:05,997
♪ Carry me home to see my kin ♪
1547
01:16:05,998 --> 01:16:10,709
♪ Singing songs about the Southland ♪
1548
01:16:10,710 --> 01:16:12,784
♪ I miss my family once again ♪
1549
01:16:12,785 --> 01:16:14,277
♪ And I think it's a sin ♪
1550
01:16:15,381 --> 01:16:18,264
- Ronnie called me up and
said, "I need a favor."
1551
01:16:18,265 --> 01:16:19,916
I said, "How much?"
1552
01:16:19,917 --> 01:16:21,476
He said, "No, no, no."
1553
01:16:21,477 --> 01:16:25,590
He said, "We wrote a new
song and I love the way
1554
01:16:25,591 --> 01:16:30,586
"it sounds now, and I think
maybe it'll change in tempo
1555
01:16:30,737 --> 01:16:34,561
"or this and that and I want
to record it right now."
1556
01:16:36,104 --> 01:16:38,530
I said, "I don't have
a problem with that."
1557
01:16:38,531 --> 01:16:41,273
I said, "The only thing I would like to do
1558
01:16:41,274 --> 01:16:44,790
"is the night before we
record, I'd like to go
1559
01:16:44,791 --> 01:16:48,376
"into the rehearsal studio
and just listen to it
1560
01:16:48,377 --> 01:16:51,842
"and see if I have anything
I want to change in it
1561
01:16:51,843 --> 01:16:53,928
"before we record it."
1562
01:16:53,929 --> 01:16:57,397
So he came down and they
played Sweet Home Alabama
1563
01:16:57,398 --> 01:16:59,214
and I thought the same thing.
1564
01:16:59,215 --> 01:17:01,910
I thought this is a number one record.
1565
01:17:01,911 --> 01:17:03,469
- [Voiceover] Both Kooper and the band
1566
01:17:03,470 --> 01:17:05,344
decided to hold Sweet Home Alabama
1567
01:17:05,345 --> 01:17:08,076
in the reserves and after
their debut was released
1568
01:17:08,077 --> 01:17:10,033
Skynyrd headed straight out on the road
1569
01:17:10,034 --> 01:17:11,608
playing shows across the South.
1570
01:17:12,612 --> 01:17:15,167
These dates in modest venues help spread
1571
01:17:15,168 --> 01:17:18,074
their name it had little wider impact.
1572
01:17:18,075 --> 01:17:20,430
In November however,
they began a second date
1573
01:17:20,431 --> 01:17:22,446
that would propel them into the spotlight
1574
01:17:22,447 --> 01:17:24,832
as they embarked on a 13 show run opening
1575
01:17:24,833 --> 01:17:28,711
for The Who on their
1973 Quadrophenia Tour.
1576
01:17:28,712 --> 01:17:31,584
Although Alan Walden and Alex
Hodges handled the logistics
1577
01:17:31,585 --> 01:17:34,900
of these shows, the opportunity
itself occurred by chance
1578
01:17:34,901 --> 01:17:37,807
after Al Kooper had been
meeting executives at MCA's
1579
01:17:37,808 --> 01:17:40,902
offices shortly before
the release of Pronounced.
1580
01:17:40,903 --> 01:17:43,152
- I came out of the meeting and I bumped
1581
01:17:43,153 --> 01:17:47,759
into Pete Townsend, who I
knew, and hey, how ya doing,
1582
01:17:47,760 --> 01:17:49,036
blah, blah, blah.
1583
01:17:49,037 --> 01:17:50,408
I said, "What are you doing?"
1584
01:17:50,409 --> 01:17:52,213
He says, "Well."
1585
01:17:52,214 --> 01:17:56,010
He says, "We're gonna tour
the Quadrophenia album.
1586
01:17:56,011 --> 01:17:57,617
I said, "Wow, that's great."
1587
01:17:57,618 --> 01:18:00,289
He says, "As a matter of
fact we're looking for
1588
01:18:00,290 --> 01:18:03,454
"an opening act, do you know anyone
1589
01:18:03,455 --> 01:18:04,591
"that would be good?"
1590
01:18:04,592 --> 01:18:09,085
I had just gotten a pressing
or two of the first album.
1591
01:18:11,121 --> 01:18:15,386
I had three of them with me,
so I said, "Take this home
1592
01:18:15,387 --> 01:18:16,500
"and play it.
1593
01:18:16,501 --> 01:18:20,052
"This band would be
phenomenal to open for you."
1594
01:18:20,053 --> 01:18:23,544
I wrote my phone number on the label
1595
01:18:23,545 --> 01:18:25,085
because it's just a white label.
1596
01:18:26,382 --> 01:18:28,702
So he called me the next day and said,
1597
01:18:28,703 --> 01:18:30,988
"You're right, this is great.
1598
01:18:30,989 --> 01:18:32,804
"This would be great.
1599
01:18:32,805 --> 01:18:34,223
"Let's do this."
1600
01:18:34,224 --> 01:18:37,704
- When we opened for The
Who, we only had 30 minutes.
1601
01:18:37,705 --> 01:18:40,822
We had eight inputs into the
sound board in 30 minutes,
1602
01:18:40,823 --> 01:18:44,233
plus we had to play Free
Bird which is nine minutes,
1603
01:18:44,234 --> 01:18:47,761
so we only got about maybe
five songs maybe six songs in,
1604
01:18:47,762 --> 01:18:49,402
but made quite an impact.
1605
01:18:49,403 --> 01:18:52,278
- I said, "Look, this is
the way we gotta do it.
1606
01:18:53,541 --> 01:18:56,275
"Don't give them a chance to boo you.
1607
01:18:57,409 --> 01:18:59,698
"Don't give them a chance to applaud you.
1608
01:19:00,820 --> 01:19:04,046
"No more than a three
second delay between songs.
1609
01:19:05,591 --> 01:19:09,457
"I want it, like that
,(clapping) all the way."
1610
01:19:09,458 --> 01:19:13,302
And buddy, Ronnie Van Zant delivered.
1611
01:19:13,303 --> 01:19:15,470
- We were more used to almost
1612
01:19:15,471 --> 01:19:18,729
like a nightclub deal.
1613
01:19:18,730 --> 01:19:21,331
You know where you just get tight
1614
01:19:21,332 --> 01:19:23,382
with everybody sitting
all around, you know,
1615
01:19:23,383 --> 01:19:27,426
but you look down and there's 15,000 feet
1616
01:19:27,427 --> 01:19:29,119
and there's the first person.
1617
01:19:30,874 --> 01:19:33,182
Leon way over there.
1618
01:19:33,183 --> 01:19:36,827
Ronnie way up there and
I'm looking down at him.
1619
01:19:36,828 --> 01:19:38,257
I hated it.
1620
01:19:38,258 --> 01:19:41,855
I was nervous, but I overcame it, see.
1621
01:19:41,856 --> 01:19:46,795
I overcame it and I actually
enjoyed turning them on
1622
01:19:47,776 --> 01:19:49,510
because if I turn them on,
1623
01:19:49,511 --> 01:19:52,159
here it come back,
1624
01:19:52,160 --> 01:19:53,835
and I turn it on some more,
1625
01:19:53,836 --> 01:19:55,547
here it come back.
1626
01:19:55,548 --> 01:19:57,426
- They were really, really, nervous,
1627
01:19:58,665 --> 01:20:02,596
but they were incredibly professional.
1628
01:20:03,483 --> 01:20:07,221
They got worried because
they're gonna play
1629
01:20:07,222 --> 01:20:10,233
20,000 seaters every night.
1630
01:20:10,234 --> 01:20:13,550
And you know we played
like Madison Square Garden,
1631
01:20:13,551 --> 01:20:15,712
Cobo Hall in Detroit.
1632
01:20:18,686 --> 01:20:21,451
And what must've that been like
1633
01:20:21,452 --> 01:20:22,881
for them?
1634
01:20:22,882 --> 01:20:25,483
Hanging out with The Who, you know who are
1635
01:20:25,484 --> 01:20:29,351
very generous with their time and drugs
1636
01:20:29,352 --> 01:20:33,348
to the lads, so it was
a wonderful experience
1637
01:20:33,349 --> 01:20:35,920
and it broke them as an act.
1638
01:20:37,124 --> 01:20:38,693
- [Voiceover] Riding high on the back
1639
01:20:38,694 --> 01:20:40,416
of The Who shows in the new year the band
1640
01:20:40,417 --> 01:20:43,815
returned to the studio to
begin work on a second album.
1641
01:20:43,816 --> 01:20:46,534
Now, partly established
the financial necessities
1642
01:20:46,535 --> 01:20:48,949
of staying in the South no longer applied
1643
01:20:48,950 --> 01:20:51,200
and for this LP Al Kooper decided to bring
1644
01:20:51,201 --> 01:20:53,251
the Jacksonville boys into the heart
1645
01:20:53,252 --> 01:20:55,326
of the entertainment
world, booking sessions
1646
01:20:55,327 --> 01:20:58,694
at the Record Plant in Los
Angeles in January 1974.
1647
01:20:59,751 --> 01:21:01,837
For the rising stars
what was becoming know
1648
01:21:01,838 --> 01:21:05,534
as Southern Rock it was a far
cry from Doraville, Georgia.
1649
01:21:06,445 --> 01:21:10,124
- They were out recording a track together
1650
01:21:10,125 --> 01:21:13,535
and John Lennon came into the control room
1651
01:21:13,536 --> 01:21:15,223
to ask me a question.
1652
01:21:15,224 --> 01:21:18,540
I think he was in there
for maybe 30 seconds.
1653
01:21:18,541 --> 01:21:21,682
He went back out and the
stopped playing and they said,
1654
01:21:21,683 --> 01:21:24,358
"Was that John Lennon that
just came in the booth?"
1655
01:21:26,113 --> 01:21:27,894
I said, "Yeah."
1656
01:21:27,895 --> 01:21:32,411
Ronnie said, "We have to take
a break for a few minutes."
1657
01:21:33,744 --> 01:21:36,169
- [Voiceover] Yet, despite
the prestigious, newly built
1658
01:21:36,170 --> 01:21:38,854
studio Kooper had chosen
to record the album in
1659
01:21:38,855 --> 01:21:41,338
some band members weren't
entirely convinced
1660
01:21:41,339 --> 01:21:44,427
with the Record Plant
or the material itself.
1661
01:21:44,428 --> 01:21:49,423
- To me it was not as much
fun as playing albums.
1662
01:21:49,656 --> 01:21:53,570
It seemed like it was
a whole lot harder work
1663
01:21:53,571 --> 01:21:56,782
cause those songs weren't to me
1664
01:21:56,783 --> 01:22:00,111
as close to me as the songs on Pronounced.
1665
01:22:00,112 --> 01:22:01,857
- The Second Helping was not as pleasant
1666
01:22:01,858 --> 01:22:03,909
because of the environment.
1667
01:22:03,910 --> 01:22:07,105
Really, Studio One in Doraville,
Georgia, is a great place
1668
01:22:07,106 --> 01:22:07,962
to record.
1669
01:22:07,963 --> 01:22:09,297
I don't even know if it's there anymore,
1670
01:22:09,298 --> 01:22:14,293
but the ambient sound,
the familiarity we had
1671
01:22:14,572 --> 01:22:19,568
with the board, the guys, we
missed it, missed it a lot.
1672
01:22:20,422 --> 01:22:21,909
The difference between playing in a room
1673
01:22:21,910 --> 01:22:26,633
where the floor is tiled or wood versus
1674
01:22:26,634 --> 01:22:29,000
playing in a room where
the whole floor is carpeted
1675
01:22:29,001 --> 01:22:31,813
and at Record Plant, the
whole floor was carpeted
1676
01:22:31,814 --> 01:22:33,560
and it was just dead in there.
1677
01:22:33,561 --> 01:22:35,904
To me Second Helping, except
for Sweet Home Alabama
1678
01:22:35,905 --> 01:22:38,952
which was recorded in
Doraville, Second Helping has
1679
01:22:38,953 --> 01:22:40,492
that dead sound to it.
135262
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