The band spent four years touring small venues under various names and with several lineup changes before deciding on "Lynyrd Skynyrd" in 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 King left in and was replaced by Steve Gaines in At the height of their fame in the s, 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, , when their chartered airplane crashed , killing Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines , and seriously injuring the rest of the band. Lynyrd Skynyrd reformed in for a reunion tour with Ronnie's brother, Johnny Van Zant , as lead vocalist.
They continued to tour and record with co-founder Rossington, Johnny Van Zant, and Rickey Medlocke , who first wrote and recorded with the band from to before his return in Over the years, other founding members of the band have died either duringβor afterβtheir time in the band. In January , Lynyrd Skynyrd announced its farewell tour , [ 3 ] and continued touring until Members were still working on the band's fifteenth album at the time of Rossington's death in , [ 4 ] after which no founding members remained in the band.
AllMusic called them "the definitive Southern rock band". Allen Collins received his first guitar in and was later in a band called The Mods in Jacksonville, Florida. The Mods membership included J. Rice and Larry Steele. Van Zant, however, left Us shortly afterward. Later in the summer of , teenagers Van Zant, Rossington, and Burns all became acquainted while playing on rival baseball teams. The trio decided to jam together one afternoon after Burns was injured by a ball hit by Van Zant.
Liking what they heard, they immediately decided to form a band. Bassist Larry Junstrom rounded out the lineup. They soon approached guitarist Allen Collins to join the band just two weeks later, and he agreed to join. In , Van Zant sought a new name after growing tired of taunts from audiences that the band had "one percent talent". At Burns' suggestion, [ 8 ] the group settled on Leonard Skinnerd , which was in part a reference to a character named "Leonard Skinner" in Allan Sherman 's novelty song " Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh " [ 10 ] and in part a mocking tribute to P.
