Speaking of Neil Young…Is That “Southern Man” We Hear? photo credit: Ī crucial part of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s legacy, producer Al Kooper was as much a part of the band as anyone could hope to be. They are accusatory and condescending, not fully thought out, and too easy to misconstrue”.ģ. I don’t like my words when I listen to it. In 2012, Young reflected on Lynyrd Skynyrd by writing this in his book Waging Heavy Peace: “My own song ‘Alabama’ richly deserved the shot Lynyrd Skynyrd gave me with their great record. Shortly after the plane crash that claimed the lives of Ronnie Van Zant, Cassie Gaines and her brother Steve, Neil performed “Sweet Home Alabama” at a memorial for Lynyrd Skynyrd’s fallen as his way of paying tribute to people who weren’t just great musicians, but taught him a lesson in kindness. (Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns)ĭespite the years of rumors of a feud between Lynyrd Skynyrd and Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young, the truth is that not only were these legends friends, they held a healthy respect for each other and were even fans of each others’ work. Neil Young performs on stage on the ‘Tonight’s The Night’ tour at the Rainbow Theatre, London, 5th November 1973. Neil Young Has Actually Played “Sweet Home Alabama” Before

These days, you can hear the lovely Dale Krantz-Rossington and Carol Chase singing backup on “Sweet Home Alabama” and boy, can those ladies sing!Ĥ. It was the first instance where Lynyrd Skynyrd featured backup singers on songs, and was no doubt a catalyst in their decision to incorporate The Honkettes into the lineup two years later, rounding things out with the addition of Cassie Gaines, Jojo Billingsley and Leslie Hawkins. Oh, “Sweet Home Alabama” – what would you be without the chorus of background singers supporting Ronnie Van Zant? For this classic, former Raelettes Clydie King and Merry Clayton (she had a duet with Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger for Gimme Shelter’ and has also performed with Neil Young, Joe Cocker, Carole King and Linda Ronstadt) were recruited to sing backup on “Sweet Home Alabama,” giving the song a soulful boost with those gospel undertones we’ve come to know and love over the years. “Sweet Home Alabama” was the first Lynyrd Skynyrd Song To Feature Backup Singers Merry Clayton | photo credit: Clydie King | photo credit: They cut their first two singles in 1968 with “Michelle” and “Need My Friends,” had toured with The Who, and were thrown onto the world stage with their first studio album Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd a year earlier, seeing success with their first hit “Gimme Three Steps” but it wasn’t until October 1974 that Lynyrd Skynyrd made their grand entrance onto Billboard’s charts, with “Sweet Home Alabama” peaking at a whopping #8 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and making it the band’s very first song to chart.ĥ. It was Lynyrd Skynyrd’s first song to chartīy 1974, Lynyrd Skynyrd had already been a band for well over a decade. A key part of “Sweet Home Alabama” wasn’t planned photo credit: įor the past 4 decades, we’ve all followed Ronnie Van Zant’s directions to “turn it up” to the letter – sorry neighbors! However, that one line in “Sweet Home Alabama” wasn’t even supposed to be there as the legend goes, Ronnie was having a hard time hearing the track while he was laying down vocals and asked producer Al Kooper and studio engineer Rodney Mills to increase the volume in his headphones so he could hear the track better, and instead of scrapping it, the “turn it up” stayed.Ħ. Judging by the fact that it was a tremendous success and an immediate crowd favorite, it looks like Skynyrd’s decision to save it for the next album was a great one!ħ. That’s exactly what Lynyrd Skynyrd did when they wrote “Sweet Home Alabama” written during the Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd sessions in 1973, “Sweet Home Alabama” was briefly considered for the album until the band decided to hold off on it, saving it so that they had a HUGE album opener for their second studio album, Second Helping. One of the things modern bands could learn from Lynyrd Skynyrd is foresight and the ability to write for future albums while you’re working on your next album. “Sweet Home Alabama” was written during the Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd sessions

Sweet home alabama lynyrd skynyrd