Formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, this US southern rock band took their      name from their Physical Education teacher, Leonard
 Skinner. The group initially comprised Ronnie Van Zant  , Gary Rossington , Allen Collins , Larry Jungstrom  and Bob  Burns , the quintet meeting
 through minor league baseball connections. They played  together under various names, including Noble Five,  Wildcats, Sons Of Satan and My Backyard, releasing one  single, 'Need All My Friends', in 1968, before changing  their name to Lynyrd Skynyrd. After playing the southern  states during the late 60s they released a second single,  'I've Been Your Fool', in 1971, after recording demos in   Sheffield, Alabama. The group were discovered in Atlanta  by Al Kooper in 1972 while he was scouting for new talent  for his Sounds Of The South label. Signed for $9000, the
  group's ranks were swollen by the addition of Leon  Wilkeson , who replaced Jungstrom. Kooper produced the group's debut album,
  Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd, which also featured  former Strawberry Alarm Clock guitarist Ed King and Billy Powell . Their three-guitar line-up attracted a  great deal of attention, much of it generated through
 support slots with the Who, and the combination of blues,   honky tonk and boogie proved invigorating. Their  momentous anthem, 'Free Bird' (a tribute to Duane Allman), included a superb guitar finale, while its gravity and   durability were indicated by frequent reappearances in  the charts years later. In 1974 the group enjoyed their  biggest US hit with 'Sweet Home Alabama', an amusing and heartfelt response to Neil Young who had criticized the south in his compositions 'Southern Man' and 'Alabama'.
 After the release of parent album Second Helping, drummer Bob Burns was replaced by Artimus Pyle . The group  were by now renowned as much for their hard living as  their music, and Ed King became the first victim of excess when retiring from the band in May 1975 .  Gimme Back My Bullets arrived in March of the following year, with production expertise from Tom Dowd.

        In September 1976 Rossington was injured in a car crash,  while Steve Gaines  became King's replacement. With their tally of gold discs increasing each year and a series of sell-out tours, the band suffered an
  irrevocable setback in late 1977. On 20 October, Van Zant, Gaines, his sister Cassie  and personal manager Dean Kilpatrick were killed  in a plane crash en route from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Rossington, Collins, Powell and Wilkeson were seriously injured, but all recovered. That same month the group's new album, Street Survivors, was  withdrawn as the sleeve featured an unintentionally
 macabre design of the band surrounded by flames. With their line-up devastated, the group dispersed and the remaining members went on to join the Rossington-Collins Band (with the exception of Pyle).

       In 1987 the name Lynyrd Skynyrd was revived for a 'reunion' tour featuring Rossington, Powell, Pyle, Wilkeson and King, with Ronnie's brother Johnny Van Zant and Randell Hall ). One of their performances was later issued as the live double set, For The Glory Of The South. Collins had earlier been paralyzed and his  girlfriend killed during an automobile accident in 1986. When he died in 1990 from pneumonia, this only helped to confirm Lynyrd Skynyrd's status as a 'tragic' band. However, members continued to perform and record after disentangling themselves from legal complications over the use of the name caused by objections from Van Zant's widow. The most spectacular aspect of this was a 20th anniversary performance live on cable television in  February 1993, with Rossington, Powell, Wilkeson, King  and Johnny Van Zant joined by guests including Peter Frampton, Brett Michaels , Charlie Daniels and Tom Kiefer, the latter having also written new songs with Rossington. Pyle was conspicuous by his absence, having been charged with the sexual assault of a four-year-old girl the previous year. The Rossington led  line-up have continued to release worthy new recordings  throughout the decade.