In 1972 Skynyrd was hired to play the Bolles School prom and while they were setting up, Billy noticed a piano off in the corner. "All of a sudden I sat down and played them my own version of 'Freebird', Billy remembered. "Ronnie VanZant came up to me and said, 'You mean to tell me, you've been playing the piano like that and you've been workin' for us for a year....' And I said, 'Well, you know, I've been classically trained most of my life.' So, right then and there, he said, 'We need a keyboard player.'" [source]My mother once told my that Lynyrd Skynyrd played at her high school prom in Jacksonville, Forida, where the band is from. Just yesterday, I was looking for documentation of that night and I stumbled upon the story from above which stuck in my mind. Earlier today, Billy Powell passed away. [rollingstone.com]
3 comments:
Ok, Asshole know-it-all-alert -
Billy Powell was not an original member of Skynyrd, in their early incarnation he was just a roadie for them. He was however featured on their first album, along with other living members such as Ed King (bass & guitar), Rickey Medlocke(drums and later guitar) Bob Burns(drums) and Gary Rossington (guitar, the "Original" last original surviving member). And while not on the debut album, I believe special mention of Artimus Pyle (Drums) is in order. He being inducted into the rock hall of fame with the band, and also showing the heroism to insure that there were any surviving members of Skynyrd after the crash.
Had to put that in plain site...feel free to call me an asshole.
Sliwa
From my mum: Well it was 1972, It wasn't at my prom, it was just a school dance held in our cafeteria. Only we didn't dance at that time, we "boogied" which is a little different and doesn't require a partner. Of course you saw pics of them in my yearbook doing that gig. A few months later the played at Forest High School, where they had attended, in the auditorium. They actually charged $3.00! It was fun. Andrew (my sister's bf) graduated from Forest. Where we put the boat in cedar creek is where they fished as young teens.
In the words of Wayne Campbell, "I did not know that."
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