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]
