Lynyrd Skynyrd

Remembering the Free Birds of Southern Rock

By: Gene Odom, Frank Dorman - contributor

Narrated by: Arthur Flavell

In the summer of 1964 Jacksonville, Florida teenager Ronnie Van Zant and some of his friends hatched the idea of forming a band to play covers of the Rolling Stones, Beatles, Yardbirds, and the country and blues-rock music they had grown to love. Naming their band after Leonard Skinner, the gym teacher at Robert E. Lee Senior High School who constantly badgered the long-haired aspiring musicians to get haircuts, they were soon playing gigs at parties, and bars throughout the South. During the next decade Lynyrd Skynyrd grew into the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful of the rock bands to emerge from the South since the Allman Brothers. Their hits "Free Bird" and "Sweet Home Alabama" became classics. Then, at the height of its popularity in 1977, the band was struck with tragedy - a plane crash that killed Ronnie Van Zant and two other band members.

For the fans who have purchased a cumulative 35 million copies of Lynyrd Skynyrd's albums and continue to pack concerts today, Lynyrd Skynyrd is a celebration of an immortal American band.

©2002 Gene Odom (P)2019 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Van Zant dominates the book, and the authors effectively show both his hard-drinking, brawling side, and his softer touches." (Publishers Weekly)

Great book

Loved learning all this new info about LS. Miss this group. Gene has so many stories he shares. So glad Gene is still giving us new videos and old stories on his YouTube channel, Hangin Out with Gene Odom. This book he wrote is so worth buying and reading or listening too.

A tragic sorry, but honestly told

I've read other books on Skynyrd before, but this is the best. Straightforward and honest, this is the closest version of one of the greatest bands in the world.

Great Story, Great Band

I enjoyed this. Held my interest and is well written. Worth a listen if you liked anything about the band.

Fuck V. Elliot

Great book. Don’t believe the negative review by V. Elliot. Tells a nice story of a great band.

Touching & Inspiring Musically

As a guitar player for the last 26 years I adored this book right to my soul! Gene Odom who was security manager for Skynyrd and a childhood friend of Ronnie's and a survivor of the plane crash gives such an awesomely Inspiring account of one of the greatest rock n' roll bands we could ever imagine in our time! No part of this book was boring. The first chapter starts with the fated plane ride and ends as the plane starts skimming the tree tops. and the next chapter is about the beautoful life Lynyrd Skynyrd gave to us and it goes into the formation, tranformation, and years of the band giving us hit after and the band's reformation with Johnny (Ronnie's younger brother) fronting Skynyrd. I loved this book! Great narrator too. A+