What Song Is It You Wanna Hear?

I couldn't sleep recently one night. As cliche as that is & as if I was able to be anything but nocturnal. I always catch up. Corporate America cannot fault or stop me from the serenity of weekend hibernation.

I decided to throw on a classic. I enjoyed the soothing feeling of listening to a dated broadcast for the retro pop. The soul felt the touch of a late night TV appearance by Lynyrd Skynyrd, a double feature with, you guessed it, (not Stallone) "Sweet Home Alabama" (Gump voice) & "Don't Ask Me No Questions".

It has indeed been 50 years since Lynyrd Skynyrd's debut album was released. It's hard to grasp even not being born in that time at the age of 31 because songs like "Sweet Home Alabama" are a daily thing. It's as usual as waking up for work (maybe for M...well we'll get to that.) It's music that is truly a part of who I am.

What Skynyrd did for music cannot be understated, let alone artists. Their tragedy brought so much awareness to how artists were treated as well as tracks like "Working for MCA" exposing the darkness of the music industry. Thankfully they made it though unlike other less fortunate acts like Paul Pena or Badfinger for example. CCR famously received the short end of the stick (reference "Vanz Kan't Dance").

Originally a smaller assemblance with only three members lead by singer Ronnie Van Zant in 1964, they eventually changed from "My Backyard" to "Lynyrd Skynyrd" in 1966 Jacksonville, FL. They traded lineups throughout their tenure. With guitarists like Gary Rossington and Steve Gaines however the sound remained the same. This applied to their percussion section as well with Bob Burns eventually replaced by ex-Marine Artimus Pyle. Still they always treated you like family.

Dubbed a "musical prophet", Van Zant always said he expected to live a short life. Sadly, he did. The Gaines and Van Zant families eventual losses were foreshadowed by the 1976 auto accident of Gary Rossington. The FM/Spotify rock staple "That Smell" depicted what rock was and still is: pure excess. He thankfully survived but a tragic accident a year later took the lives of Van Zant, 30, Cassie Gaines, 29 & new lead guitarist Steve Gaines, 28 on October 20, 1977.

While the band has carried on since the late 70's with various lineups and new albums, the country grass with food grilling in the summer type vibe remains the same. What Johnny has tried to duplicate as a vocalist has to be appreciated but the classics remain just that. On Friday, it was 46 years since that awful day. The spirit thankfully survived. The sound travels on everywhere.