Free Bird

"Free Bird" (often spelled "Freebird", including by the band itself on the cover of the single) is a song by the American southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. It first featured on the band's debut album in 1973, and has been included on subsequent albums released by the band, including the previously unreleased, unfaded-ending version of the original recording (featured on Skynyrd's Innyrds).

Released as a single in November 1974, "Free Bird" became the band's second Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1975, where it peaked at No. 19.^[2] A live version of the song also reached the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1977, peaking at No. 38.^[2] Free Bird also achieved the No. 3 spot on Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos.^[3]

It is used as a finale by Lynyrd Skynyrd during their live performances, and is their longest song, often going well over 14 minutes when played live.

Origins

The lyrical portion of the song was written early in the group's history. Roadie Billy Powell was discovered as a keyboardist for the band when he played the intro piece to "Free Bird" at a high school prom. Lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant noted his talent and invited him to join.

Allen Collins's then-girlfriend, Kathy, whom he later married, asked him, "If I leave here tomorrow would you still remember me?" Collins jotted the question down and it eventually became the opening line of "Free Bird".^[4]

Slide guitar

Gary Rossington played a Gibson SG and used a glass Coricidin bottle for a slide on this song to emulate one of his heroes, Duane Allman.^[5] This was the only song for which he used a guitar other than a Les Paul. He also stuck a nail-like piece of metal under the strings near the nut to raise the action of the guitar when playing slide.^[5] The guitar's B string was tuned down to a G during this song. Rossington currently uses two G strings tuned to G instead of tuning down a B string.^[5]

Reception

"Free Bird" is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, and at number 191 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2009 it was named the 26th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.^[6]

The song—half ballad, half up-tempo guitar solo—quickly became a staple for Lynyrd Skynyrd at their live performances. Many recognize its 5:12 triple guitar solo section that closes it out. It often turned into an extended jam session at concerts. The band would consistently play it as the last song of every show, as it was their biggest crowd pleaser. Overall the song proved to be a huge hit for Lynyrd Skynyrd and it remains a fan favorite to this day. It is also a classic rock radio staple.

Following the plane crash in 1977 in which several band members were killed, all of the songs played by surviving members were performed as instrumentals beginning with the Charlie Daniels Volunteer Jam V in 1979. When "Free Bird" came up, a solitary microphone with a single spotlight would be at center stage while the band played the instrumental version. This tradition lasted until 1989, when an almost-rioting audience coerced Rossington to urge Johnny Van Zant to sing the song for the first time – something he had vowed never to do on stage during the Tribute Tour. The current version has a shortened solo similar to the original studio version.

Legacy

It has become something of a humorous tradition for audience members at concerts to shout "Free Bird" as a request to hear the song, regardless of the performer or style of music.^[7] The phenomenon began earlier in the 1970s with The Allman Brothers Band's epic "Whipping Post", but then took off to a much greater extent with "Free Bird", which was very popular by 1979. This can be traced back to Skynyrd's first live album, 1976's One More from the Road. For their second encore, Van Zant asked the crowd, "What song is it you wanna hear?", which was immediately followed by several shouts of "Free Bird", to which the band responded with a 14-minute rendition of the song. The spoken interaction was reproduced on the album as an introduction to the song.

Chart performance

Personnel

(Studio version) – 1973

• Ronnie Van Zant – vocals
• Allen Collins – lead guitar, acoustic guitar
• Gary Rossington – rhythm guitar, slide guitar
• Ed King – bass
• Billy Powell – piano
• Bob Burns – drums
• "Roosevelt Gook" (Producer Al Kooper) – organ, mellotron

Cover versions

The American dance-pop group Will to Power created a medley of this song and the 1976 Peter Frampton hit "Baby, I Love Your Way" in 1988. Titled "Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley", it spent one week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[2] It was also covered by Wynonna on her 1996 album Revelations, which reached No. 2 in the U.S. Country Charts. The band Phish has been known to perform an "a cappella" version of Free Bird during their live concerts.

References

External links

• Wall Street Journal: Rock's Oldest Joke: Yelling 'Free Bird!' In a Crowded Theater