In an early '70s soft rock musical scene, Lynyrd Skynyrd was a welcome dose of rowdy. The Lynyrd Skynyrd legend was made with the six albums they released between 1973 and 1977: Pronounced , Second Helping, Nuthin' Fancy, Gimme Back My Bullets, the live One More from the Road ,and Street Survivors all chronicled a band with humble roots slugging it out (literally in some cases) to get to the top.

But there's more to the story. There is the hilarious story by Gary Rossington of the formation of the band on a Jacksonville Florida baseball diamond; the hiring of Ed King after extracting him in a backstage fight from a rival bar band; the discovery that their roadie (soon to be band member) Billy Powell was a classically trained pianist; numerous brawls on both sides of the Atlantic; the notorious 1975 "Torture Tour"; multiple defections by original members; and like a Greek tragedy, the tragic plane crash that would put an abrupt stop to one of the most influential Southern Rock outfits of all time.

Ironically, the story doesn't end there. In part two, Gary Rossington and Ed King's revelation is Ronnie Van Zant's stated desire to stop performing with the band prior to the plane crash; and Van Zant's youngest brother Johnny describes filling his brother's shoes in 1987 in the story of Lynyrd Skynyrd's rebirth.

Check out part one here and part two - here.

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