"What's Your Name" | ||||
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Single by Lynyrd Skynyrd | ||||
from the album Street Survivors | ||||
B-side | "I Know a Little" | |||
Released | November 1977 | |||
Recorded | 1977 | |||
Genre | Southern rock | |||
Length | 3:31 | |||
Label | MCA | |||
Songwriter(s) | Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant | |||
Producer(s) | Tom Dowd | |||
Lynyrd Skynyrd singles chronology | ||||
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"What's Your Name" is a rock song by Lynyrd Skynyrd, the opening track on their album Street Survivors . It peaked at No. 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 6 in Canada. [1] [2]
Lynyrd Skynyrd lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Gary Rossington wrote "What's Your Name" while in Miami with producer Tom Dowd and Booker T. & the M.G.'s guitarist Steve Cropper. The lyrics depict life on tour for a band and its entourage, and one of the verses is based on a true story of the band drinking at their hotel bar during a tour when one of their roadies got into a fight. The band got kicked out of the bar, but they went into another room and ordered champagne. However, unlike the song suggests, the incident did not happen in the city of Boise, Idaho. Instead, when Van Zant found out that the band 38 Special (led by his younger brother Donnie) was starting its first national tour in that city, the lyric was changed. [3]
Billboard praised the "strong, accessible melody" and the "excellent instrumentation." [4] Cash Box said that it "tells the standard 'rock and rollers on the road' story with a punchy lyric and a rousing beat." [5] Record World said that "it rocks with authority, powered by a driving brass section and Van Zant's ironic vocal work." [6]
The music video, released after the plane crash that killed several band members, depicts Ronnie's brother Johnny along with a newly reformed Lynyrd Skynyrd live in concert (presumably at the Pensacola Civic Center as the video suggests). Interspersed within are shots of the road crew setting up for the show and the musicians tuning their instruments, having makeup done, meeting with fans, autographing albums and playing baseball together. [7] At the end of the video, a hat in the style of Ronnie's trademark "High Roller" look is seen atop a microphone stand as a tribute to him.
The song was made available to download on November 30, 2010 for use in the Rock Band 3 music gaming platform in both Basic and Pro mode, the latter of which takes advantage of the use of a real guitar or bass guitar and MIDI-compatible electronic drum kits and keyboards in addition to three-part harmony vocals.[ citation needed ]
"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.
"Free Bird", also spelled "Freebird", is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, written by guitarist Allen Collins and lead singer Ronnie Van Zant. The song was released on their 1973 debut studio album.
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"You Made Me Believe in Magic" is the title of a 1977 international hit single by the Bay City Rollers, taken from their album It's a Game. The recording, a mid-tempo disco-styled pop tune featuring strings and horns, had its greatest impact in North America, where it was issued as the album's lead single in May 1977 to reach number 10 on the US Hot 100 in Billboard magazine that August. "You Made Me Believe in Magic" was the Bay City Rollers' third US Top 10 hit; the follow-up single "The Way I Feel Tonight" (#25) would mark the group's final Hot 100 appearance.
"My Angel Baby" is a 1978 song by Toby Beau. "My Angel Baby" was written by band members Danny McKenna and Balde Silva. The single, from the group's self-titled album, went to #1 on the Easy Listening chart for one week, and peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. "My Angel Baby" was the group's only Top 40 single. In Canada, the song reached #10 on the Top 100 chart.
"Take It Easy on Me" is a song by Australian soft rock band Little River Band, released in March 1982 as the third and final single from the album Time Exposure. The song reached No. 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, becoming their sixth and last top 10 hit on the chart and also reached No. 14 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The song was written by band member Graham Goble and produced by British record producer George Martin.
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"Falling" is a 1977 song by Lenny LeBlanc and Pete Carr. It was their highest-charting single, peaking at number 13 in the United States during the winter of 1978. It was the first of two charting singles from their Midnight Light LP.
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