It was the AM radio version with no solo on the end as I had yet to discover the wonderland known as FM radio and our local rock station WKDF-FM. I remember dad would listen to FM radio sometimes at night "because you could listen in stereo," I had no idea what that even meant.
He would listen to grown-up music on the big stereo receiver, which was a mystery to Paulie and me. We figured out the turntable and how to play records, mainly the Beatles, but listening to the radio was still my treasured little battery-powered AM radio. I had my own little earbuds, too! They were these flesh-colored buttons eerily similar to today's earbuds.
It was on this little radio that I first heard Alice Cooper's School's Out, and the sound of those electric guitars cranked through Marshall Amps stole my heart and set me on the life trajectory I still navigate.
It was amid this Alice fervor that I may have first heard Free Bird.
All I wanted was my own record player and my own copy of the School's Out album, but until that happened, I was stuck with the little radio. The Free Bird single caught my ear with Gary's sublime slide guitar and Ronnie's soulful, heartfelt vocals and lyrics. It became one of my favorite songs, even though I was unaware of the epic ending. That part always faded as a big-mouthed DJ would chime in or another song faded in without hinting at the magic solo Allen Collins recorded one night in 1973.
It wasn’t until well after I got my own record player and Alice Cooper album for Christmas that I heard the glorious complete masterpiece Free Bird on the FM radio one summer night in 1974.
Dad finally relented and showed me how to dial in WDKF-FM on the living room's big stereo and how to use his big-ass killer headphones to get the whole stereo experience. A cool DJ named Moby would come on at 7pm and play all the good shit. He was so laid back, unlike the loud, announcer-voice dudes on the AM stations. He was like the cool uncle who would let you smoke weed, give you a Playboy, and tell ya not to tell your mom.
Moby played the full version, of course.
I was listening along, going, "Oh yeah, I like this song," I think it reminded me of one of my first girlfriends or something, and then the part came where it would fade out on the AM stations, but it did not fade out... No, it did not fucking fade out... IT DID NOT FADE OUT AT ALL, GODDAMNIT!
How was this happening? Why was this kept from me?
Those fucking loud-mouthed, happy-ass, deep-voiced, AM radio assholes!
They had been holding out on me!
This was pure smokin' guitar badassery! It was not just a little solo in the middle of the song; this solo was almost ANOTHER SONG! This was the best song ever written! (This was shortly before I discovered Deep Purple.) I had never heard anything like it before.
God, I loved that solo. It wasn’t until much later in life that I learned it was all Allen Collins... I thought it was everybody...like six guys or something. I knew nothing about the band, but that was about to change!
Lynyrd Skynyrd Pronounced became the second album I ever owned.
I held that solo in reverence for so long that I never even attempted to learn it note for note. Oh sure, I borrowed parts and certain licks here and there like every other aspiring guitar kid, but learning the whole thing seemed like a mountain that I could never climb.
I bought every album they made. Even though I would become obsessed with Deep Purple, Kiss, and Rainbow, Skynyrd was always in hard rotation.
When One More From The Road came out, I was in heaven.
There were many pantomime concerts in the front room to that record. Having the crowd noise in there, I could fully immerse myself in the fantasy of playing these killer songs for thousands of people on a big stage. I even had a cut-out Explorer guitar cut from a piece of plywood scarfed from a scrap pile from houses being built in our young subdivision. Nothing was more fun than smoking a big joint after school, blasting Free Bird live, and pretending to be Allen.
One of my biggest regrets is not seeing that version of the band live. I remember seeing a flyer for Skynyrd at my first concert at Nashville Municipal Auditorium, KISS Destroyer Tour. Being only 13 at the time, it had almost taken an act of God to get mom to let Paulie and me go to the KISS show, and I knew how many mowed yards it took to buy a ticket, so I thought, "I'll catch Skynyrd the next time they come here."
There would be no next time.
Coincidentally, I listened to WKDF one afternoon, and Moby came on the air, which was weird because it wasn’t nighttime.
He announced the news of the plane crash, obviously emotional and crying, not having the whole story yet but confirming Ronnie and Steve's deaths.
I sat there crying along with Moby. I couldn’t believe it.
Not long after that, I got my copy of Street Survivors. I loved that record so much. I had just begun my journey of playing a real guitar since getting a guitar and amp for Christmas 1976, and I remember jamming along with that record a lot.
Over the years, Free Bird became a running joke among bands and musicians primarily due to the absolutely horrible cover versions you would hear in bars, clubs, and music stores. I always knew it was no joke, and I always loved listening to the original and live versions and all of their killer songs.
They had songs, man!
Not only that, those motherfuckers burned on guitars.
Whether it was just Gary and Allen or them with Ed or Steve, the ensemble guitar parts they would come up with were sheer genius. Their execution was devastating. Nobody could touch them.
God help any band that had to follow them back in the day.
I was very sad when Allen passed away... he was one of my heroes and one of my biggest influences... He and Gary both, really.
I was happy to see the band carry on with Johnny later. I went to see them many times in the 90s.
Through my job at Underground Sound, I met and hung with them on many occasions during that era. It got to be a running joke when they saw me backstage at Starwood or somewhere, "Well shit, there he is again! Want a beer, Mikey?" LOL! Those guys were so awesome... and they loved their crew. It was like a big traveling family.
I loved Gary. He was always super cool to me and always talked to me just like any other bro.
I'm so glad Gary got my buddy Damon Johnson in the band this past year. He is the perfect guy to play those parts with the reverence, humility, and talent he possesses. Gary wanted the band to go on. I hope they keep Skynyrd going as long as people want to pay to see them. What a testament to their legacy and the body of work they created. Those songs will live forever.
Gary was supposed to be here at Blackbird doing overdubs the week he passed. I was looking forward to popping in to say hey.
Godspeed, Gary, you were the best. Tell the boys we love and miss them!
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