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"They were a barely-controlled tornado! 

When they took to the stage, it was magic."  RetroTechNoir

ISSUE #35 LYNYRD SKYNYRD

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Hawkwind

ISSUE #33

April 2022 Featuring Hawkwind with Jimi Hendrix roadie Lemmy Kilmister, Motörhead, Fast Eddie Clarke, Fastway, Pete Way, Larry Wallis, Ginger Baker, Uriah Heep...

Capricorn Records

ISSUE #34

June 2022 Featuring Capricorn Records Birthplace Of Rock, Allman Brothers, The 1%-Lynyrd Skynyrd, Phil Walden, Al Kooper, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Studio...

Lynyrd Skynyrd

ISSUE #35

October 2022 Special Edition Issue features Lynyrd Skynyrd The Early Years. It’s the 45th year anniversary of Ronnie Van Zant’s premonition of...

REHEARSAL STARTED AT 8:00AM

"The band practiced like madmen - up to 18 hours a day. When they took to the stage, it was magic." RetroTechNoir

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ISSUE #35 EXCERPTS

August 21, 1976, Lynyrd Skynyrd took the stage at Knebworth

 

PEERLESS CHEMISTRY & TALENT - A PHENOMENON

"Lynyrd Skynyrd wasn't a band - it was a barely-controlled tornado. Fistfights & broken bones were common. Drugs & booze were everywhere. Despite it, the band practiced like madmen - up to 18 hours a day. When they took to the stage, it was magic." 

 — RetroTechNoir

“After smoking pot with Jack Nicholson, according to Gary Rossington, the band was especially loose for their opening slot with the Stones at Knebworth Park in the U.K, 1976. At the climax of a rousing set, Ronnie encouraged his guitarists to solo on the stage’s extending ramp – in the shape of the Stones’ famous tongue logo. “Mick Jagger was mad,” says Rossington. “It took their breath away to see how well we went over and how we broke their only rule: don’t go out on the tongue.” 

ISSUE #34 EXCERPTS

Capricorn Records Studio

Alan & Phil Walden at Capricorn Records Studio, Macon, GA, "Birthplace of Rock." As seen in Rock Legend News Issue #34, Capricorn Records, Southern Rock. Tours available at Capricorn.

LYNYRD SKYNYRD FREE BIRD DEMO

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio

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Lynyrd Skynyrd's demo version of, "Free Bird" was recorded at:

3614 Jackson Highway - Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. Tours available of Muscle Shoals@BFisch: "There was another demo recorded before the Muscle Shoals "album." The very first recording of Free Bird did not have a piano part since it was recorded before Powell joined the band. It was also recorded before they added the solo at the end, so it faded out after the last chorus (click green record to listen to it)." 

Lynyrd Skynyrd 8x10 on the wall of Grant’s Lounge, where they auditioned for Capricorn Rec

Lynyrd Skynyrd 8x10 on the wall of Grant’s Lounge, where they auditioned for Capricorn Records in the early 1970s. You can watch Alan Walden, who managed the band at that time, talk about the early days of Lynyrd Skynyrd on Southern Rock Insider’s Youtube Channel: Southern Rock Insider

"They were turned down by nine major record companies!" "Allen Collins was my Duane Allman." 

Alan Walden, Lynyrd Skynyrd's first manager

Road To Hell House

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"I think people who want to do something do it - no matter what. And, they won't quit until they do it." Gary Rossington

Trending

Video shows Michael Jackson’s last ever rehearsal just 12 hours before he passed away. Earth Song, This Is It Rehearsals - June 24, 2009  "these weeping shores."

Michael Jackson Born: Friday, August 29, 1958, 7:33 PM In: Gary (IN) (United States)

Sun: Virgo

Ascendant: Pisces

Moon: Pisces 
Midheaven: Sagittarius

Michael Jackson - May 25th 2009 - Center Staging - This Is It Rehearsals
When Michael Jackson just stood on stage and made fans faint Live In Bucharest (The Dangerous Tour) 
Michael Jackson - Jennifer Batten
Michael Jackson - Steve Stevens, Dirty Diana Official Trailer
Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Medley of “Simple Man” & “Sweet Home Alabama” 2023 CMT Music Awards

April 3, 2023 #CMTAwards #LynyrdSkynyrd #GaryRossington

Cody Johnson, Billy Gibbons, Paul Rodgers, Slash, Chuck Leavell, Warren Hayes, Wynonna Judd, and LeAnn Rimes perform “Simple Man” and “Sweet Home Alabama” as tribute to Gary Rossington and Lynyrd Skynyrd at the 2023 CMT Music Awards.

Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005). 
Link Wray, performing “Rumble” November 12, 1984; the only instrumental song banned from the radio. In the 1950s when it was released, it was censored. It became the most banned song in history. It had no lyrics.

Link Wray - Rumble Recorded Live: November 19, 1974, Winterland - San Francisco, CA

 

His 1958 instrumental single "Rumble," reached the top 20 in the United States, and was one of the earliest songs in rock music to utilize distortion and tremolo.
 

Rolling Stone ranked Wray at No. 45 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. He received two nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, prior to being inducted in the Musical Influence category in 2023.

According to Rolling Stone, Pete Townshend of The Who once said, "If it hadn't been for Link Wray and 'Rumble,' I never would have picked up a guitar." Iggy Pop and Neil Young have also cited Wray as an influence on their work.

Born in Dunn, North Carolina, Link was Shawnee Indian.

ROCK STAR

Interviews

Bassist Pete Way, UFO & Waysted

Excerpt With Pete Way

Rock Legend News: "I want to ask you the same thing I am asking others because it is a profound occurrence now. Why do you think the 80’s are re-igniting? I mean, it is like it’s 1985 in Colombia, South America; it is happening here in Italy and it is apparent all over the world that the 80’s and even the 70’s rock styles are becoming enlivened again."

 

Pete Way: "Because we all tried to be better than each other so the music had a particular spark to it. The music back then was quality. Great songs and great sound. Anything that wouldn’t make it on X Factor! Would Led Zeppelin have made it on XFactor - I don’t think so."

Read Full Interview >

Review

“Pete Way is one of this country's true heavy rock legends. Few bassists have done more to elevate the profile of the Thunderbird than Pete Way.” 

 

—Alexo, “Way Up: Pete Way”

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