| Free Bird | |
| Border: | no |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Lynyrd Skynyrd |
| Album: | (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) |
| B-Side: | Down South Jukin' |
| Recorded: | April 3, 1973 |
| Studio: | Studio One, Doraville, Georgia, U.S. |
| Label: | MCA |
| Producer: | Al Kooper |
| Prev Title: | Sweet Home Alabama |
| Prev Year: | 1974 |
| Next Title: | Saturday Night Special |
| Next Year: | 1975 |
"Free Bird",[1] [2] [3] also spelled "Freebird",[4] [5] is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, written by guitarist Allen Collins and lead singer Ronnie Van Zant. The song was released on their 1973 debut studio album.
Released as a single in November 1974, "Free Bird" debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 on November 23 at No. 87[6] and became the band's second Top 40 hit in early 1975, peaking at No. 19 on January 25.[7] A live version of the song re-entered the charts in late 1976,[8] eventually peaking at No. 38 in January 1977.[9]
"Free Bird" achieved No. 3 on Guitar World's list of greatest guitar solos of all time in 2010 and 2016,[10] [11] while placing at No. 8 in their rankings by 2022.[12] It is Lynyrd Skynyrd's signature song, the finale during live performances, and their longest song, often going well over 14 minutes when played live.[13] "Free Bird" was once the most requested song on FM radio,[14] and remains a staple on classic rock stations.
According to guitarist Gary Rossington, for two years after Allen Collins wrote the initial chords, vocalist Ronnie Van Zant insisted that there were too many for him to create a melody in the belief that the melody needed to change alongside the chords. After Collins played the unused sequence at rehearsal one day, Van Zant asked him to repeat it, then wrote out the melody and lyrics in three or four minutes. The guitar solos that finish the song were added originally to give Van Zant a chance to rest, as the band was playing several sets per night at clubs at the time. Soon afterward, the band learned piano-playing roadie Billy Powell had written an introduction to the song; upon hearing it, they included it as the finishing touch and had him formally join as their keyboardist.
Allen Collins's girlfriend, Kathy, whom he later married, asked him, "If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?" Collins noted the question and it eventually became the opening line of "Free Bird." Also, in an interview filmed during a fishing outing on a boat with Gary Rossington, an interviewer asked Ronnie Van Zant what the song meant. Van Zant replied that in essence, that the song is "what it means to be free, in that a bird can fly wherever he wants to go." He further stated that "everyone wants to be free...that's what this country's all about."[15]
The song is dedicated to the memory of Duane Allman by the band in their live shows.[16] During their 1975 performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test, Van Zant dedicated the song to both Allman and Berry Oakley, commenting, "they're both free birds".[17] [18]
During the 1987–1988 Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour, the band played "Free Bird" as an instrumental. Johnny Van Zant first sang the song on its Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 Tour in Baton Rouge, where the band had been headed in 1977 when several members were killed in a plane crash.
Upon the single release, Record World said that the band "sees this country-tinged tune soar to further feather their hit nest."[19]
"Free Bird" is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll and at number 407 in Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2009, it was named the 26th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.[20]
In 2008, the 1973 recording of "Free Bird" from the Lynyrd Skynyrd (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nerd 'Skin-'nerd) album on MCA Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[21]
On Skynyrd's first live album, 1976's One More from the Road, Van Zant can be heard asking the crowd, "What song is it you want to hear?" The calls for "Free Bird" led into a fourteen-and-a-half-minute rendition of the song. It has become something of a humorous tradition for audience members at concerts to shout "Free Bird!" as a request to hear the song, regardless of the performer or style of music.[22] For example, during Nirvana's 1993 MTV Unplugged in New York show, a shout-out for "Free Bird!" eventually resulted in a lyrically slurred, if short, rendition of "Sweet Home Alabama". An attendee of a Bob Dylan concert on June 9, 2016 in Berkeley, California, shouted during the last encore for "Free Bird" to be played, and Dylan and his band unexpectedly obliged, performing an instrumental snippet of the song as the closing track of the show.[23] [24]
The song has sold 2,111,000 downloads in the digital era, as of 2013.[27]
Studio version
| Chart (1974–1975) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Canada RPM Top Singles[28] | 58 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 19 | |
| US Cashbox Top 100 | 25 |
Live version
| Chart (1976–1977) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Canada RPM Top Singles[29] | 47 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[30] | 38 | |
| US Cash Box Top 100[31] | 32 |
