Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom, and Bob Burns (drums). The band spent five years touring small venues under various names and with several lineup changes before deciding on "Lynyrd Skynyrd" in 1969. The band released its first album, (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd), in 1973. By then, they had settled on a lineup that included bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboardist Billy Powell, and guitarist Ed King. Burns left and was replaced by Artimus Pyle in 1974. King left in 1975 and was replaced by Steve Gaines in 1976. At the height of their fame in the 1970s, the band popularized the Southern rock genre with songs such as "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird". After releasing five studio albums and one live album, the band's career was abruptly halted on October 20, 1977, when their chartered airplane crashed, killing Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines; and seriously injuring the rest of the band.
Alabama is a southern state in the United States.
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculates the term "Southern rock" may have been coined in 1972 by Mo Slotin, writing for Atlanta's underground paper, The Great Speckled Bird, in a review of an Allman Brothers Band concert.
Alabama has played a central role in the development of both blues and country music. Appalachian folk music, fiddle music, gospel, spirituals, and polka have had local scenes in parts of Alabama. The Tuskegee Institute's School of Music, especially the Tuskegee Choir, is an internationally renowned institution. There are three major modern orchestras, the Mobile Symphony, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra; the last is the oldest continuously operating professional orchestra in the state, giving its first performance in 1955.
"Sweet Home Alabama" is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on the band's second album Second Helping (1974). It was written in response to Neil Young's 1970 song "Southern Man", which the band felt blamed the entire South for American slavery; Young is name-checked and dissed in the lyrics. It reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1974, becoming the band's highest-charting single.
Alton Delmore and Rabon Delmore, billed as The Delmore Brothers, were country music pioneer singer-songwriters and musicians who were stars of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1930s. The Delmore Brothers, together with other brother duos such as the Louvin Brothers, the Blue Sky Boys, the Monroe Brothers, the McGee Brothers, and The Stanley Brothers, had a profound impact on the history of country music and American popular music. The duo performed extensively with old time fiddler Arthur Smith as the Arthur Smith Trio throughout the 1930s.
The Volunteer Jam is a sporadically-held concert series headlined by the Charlie Daniels Band, featuring a multitude of musical acts that perform onstage with the band. It was first held on October 4, 1974, at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Damon Rogers Johnson is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, currently a solo artist, a member of Brother Cane and guitarist in Lynyrd Skynyrd. In the 1990s he co-founded Brother Cane, and later joined Alice Cooper's band as lead guitarist. He became a member of Thin Lizzy in 2011 and was also the lead guitarist and co-songwriter for hard rock group Black Star Riders from 2012 to 2018. Johnson has also released several solo albums and his songs have been recorded by many artists including Stevie Nicks and Carlos Santana.
The Million Dollar Band is the official marching band of the University of Alabama. Founded in 1912, the Million Dollar Band is the largest student organization at the University of Alabama. The band performs during pregame and halftime of every home and neutral-site Alabama football game; it also supplies at least a pep band to every away football game, as well as home men's basketball, women's basketball, women's gymnastics, and volleyball games. In 2003, the band was awarded the Sudler Trophy, recognizing it as one of the top college bands in the United States.
The 1964 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 1964 NCAA University Division football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 70th overall and 31st season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Bear Bryant, in his seventh year, and played their home games at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Legion Field in Birmingham and Ladd Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. They finished the season with ten wins and one loss, as SEC champions and with a loss to Texas in the Orange Bowl. As the major wire services at that time awarded their national champions prior to the bowl season, Alabama was also recognized as national champions by the AP and UPI before their loss to Texas. After the bowl games, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) named the undefeated Arkansas Razorbacks as the national champions.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of Alabama:
Christopher G. Tompkins is an American songwriter based in Nashville. Since 2002 he has co-written songs for pop, rock, and country artists Jimmy Buffett, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, and Nickelback and has written charting singles for artists such as Kenny Chesney, Florida Georgia Line, and Tim McGraw.
Curley Williams was an American country and western musician and songwriter from Georgia. His best-known song is "Half As Much". He was admitted to the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999.
Backwater was an American jazz fusion band formed in Mobile, Alabama, that was active in the 1970s.
The 2018 Alabama gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the governor of Alabama. Incumbent Governor Kay Ivey (R), who took office on April 10, 2017 upon the resignation of Robert Bentley (R) ran for election to a full term and won over Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox. Ivey was sworn in for her first full term on January 14, 2019. This was the first time since 1966 that a woman was elected Governor of Alabama.
Greg Morrow is an American drummer, percussionist, session musician, mixing engineer, and vocalist.
Kevin Bowe is an American songwriter, record producer and musician from Minneapolis. He is best known for his work with prominent rock and blues artists including Paul Westerberg and the Replacements; writing songs for hit albums by Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd; as well as Etta James' Grammy-winning Let's Roll. He has contributed to dozens of albums over his career, including several of his own as a bandleader; he has appeared on many film and television soundtracks including ESPN and The Sopranos. His songs have been covered by many prominent rock and blues artists, including Joe Cocker, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Robben Ford, and John Mayall.
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