Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd: Free Bird

Almost all of my video time is devoted to YouTube. I sponsor some content creators and I follow a lot on that platform. I pay a monthly fee for NO ADs. Everything is content now. One of the types of content I enjoy are first-reaction videos to songs I grew up loving. Watching them experience what I once experienced for the first time. It always puts a smile on my face. I was that way once.

I especially enjoy compilation first-reactions, where 10-12 reactors have separately listened a piece of music and someone edited their reactions all together as a highlight reel of listening to the song. These are usually great fun. Little wonder that the YouTube algorithm fed me the compilation for Lynyrd Skynyrd’s epic masterpiece “Free Bird.”

“Free Bird” (or “Freebird”) is an anthem from my early college years. I became aware of it in high school but it became an indelible part of my life during my first quarter in college. My roommate was into Lynyrd Skynyrd the way I was into Eagles music.

The band was in a plane crash following a concert performance. My roommate stayed up all night listening to radio updates on his headphones. Ronnie van Zant, the lead singer and a primary force in the band, was dead. Other key members survived. “Free Bird” was already a popular song to play at parties but suddenly it became required listening. And I did not mind hearing it again at all.

Years later, when Jennifer and I designed and built the home we still live in, we became the ‘Dillo party house. We had custom shelving for our large stereo speakers to get the proper surround sound experience in our open living/dining room. We called our house Freebird. The original architectural drawings refer to it as such. And “Free Bird” was naturally the anthem of our home. Well, on party nights anyway. Southern rock to truly rival The Allman Brothers Band.

That lasted a few years then things changed as they always do. Other influences like careers and our daughter entered our home and the party house gradually became a family home which we ultimately decided to call Two Oaks. But, in the beginning, there was Freebird.

Watching that YouTube compilation, I was laughing at the various, mostly astounded, reactions but I was especially drawn toward the original studio cut of the song. It is of excellent quality, which is why streaming is taking over everything. Back in the day, the version of choice was the fantastic rendition from the live One More From The Road album (which came out 50 years ago this year). The one where van Zant asks the jam-packed Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia “What song is it you want to hear?’ And the crowd yells as one “FREE BIRD!”

That version has all the beauty and grander of the music mixed with the band’s strong audience adulation. But, in hearing the studio version for the first time in forever during that compilation video, I was just simply amazed at how damn good it sounds. This is a fantastic mix, giving piano, bass and drums fair prominence along with the two incredible guitars. 

There are many songs better live than in the studio. “Free Bird” is fantastic live. There is another compilation reaction to them in California during the summer of 1977 that, while fun to watch, just does not have the sound quality it deserves. But this studio version really nails the tune distinctly and triumphantly. A magnificent moment in southern rock music.

One thing leads to another, of course, and I decided to revisit Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1973 debut album, which featured “Free Bird.” It has the distinction of being the most unusually titled album I've ever come up on. 

(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd). See here.

As debuts go, this was a strong one. The album has some obvious filler but much of it is outstanding, really. “Tuesday’s Gone,” “Gimme Three Steps,” and “Simple Man” are all fine rock songs – a little bluesy, a little boogie, full of confidence and obvious expertise. It was so nice hearing this material again. Very strong sound. Out of the blue.

Just the way some of these reactors said they felt “shaking,” “the Holy Ghost,” "no way," "that's insane," and “fire.” Out of the blue, “Free Bird” grabs you and you take flight whether you were expecting it or not. It was great to spread my wings in this way again, to remember, to celebrate, to be grateful like all those first-time listeners as they were collectively blown away.