Thirty years ago this week, Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and Dean Kilpatrick died when their band's plane crashed in McComb, Mississippi.Do you remember the first time you heard "Free Bird?" I do, and it was the version from One More From The Road album.
But what I remember more vividly is hearing the studio version played at one of the very first high school dances. I had no date...what self-respecting Freshman would...but I got the opportunity to watch the older dudes with their dates, dancing to the latest radio favorites and the well established classics.
The dj started playing "Free Bird" and the guys starting slow dancing with the girls upon the initial slow part. Then, when the guitars all start to come in after the "And this bird you'll never change" part, the couples looked retardedly silly trying to keep up with the increasing tempo while still slow dancing. The quarterback of the football team, in an act of supreme coolness, continued dancing really slow with his date, making out with her on the dance floor while the guitar solos turned everyone else into awkward dorks.
Of course now, I'm sick of "Free Bird" and will actually turn the dial when it comes on. It's popularity is justified, but the burn for me has turned it into an irritant, a source of groans and dumb guy mimics.
I also remember how they changed the cover art for their (then) latest album Street Survivors from the fiery imagery that graced the album before the plane crash. Apparently, MCA records thought that the flames were in bad taste considering the band's fiery demise and they airbrushed them out of future pressings.
The only thing about that cover to me was how Artimus Pyle showed up at the photo shoot wearing cut-offs. I don't care if you're the king of Southern rock, put some pants on, dude...
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