| .....Ronnie Van Zant was the
oldest of 3 and hailed from the tough west side
of Jacksonville, Florida and he grew up in an
area where fighting was a normal pastime. He
first started singing in a Gospel Church Women's
Choir, but there was another type of music that
Ronnie Van Zant wanted. One he pieced together
from various musical influences in his life:
Shorty Medlocke (Father of Rick Medlocke of the
band Blackfoot) was a former sharecropper who
played a scrappy style of "Swamp Music"
that Ronnie Van Zant became familiar with. .......At the age of 16, Ronnie
Van Zant was approached by the Band called Us.
They needed a lead singer for their Rhythm and
Blues Band. "US" was a local favorite
that had competed in "Battle of the
Bands" Contests. Another such band was
called the Mods, which catered to the then
rampant British Invasion and featured a young man
named Allen Collins. Ronnie Van Zant was also
influenced by a new long-hair band called The
Rolling Stones. The high-energy music of The
Rolling Stones and the Southern influences of
Shorty Medlocke had created a dream in the young
Ronnie Van Zant.
.......Ronnie first
approached Bob Burns, who had a drum set, and 13
year-old guitar player Gary Rossington.
Rossington then recruited Larry Junstrom, the guy
with the bass. The final member of what was to be
known as "The Noble Five" was Allen
Collins, who had the only amplifier! They began
playing "Psychedelic Rock", patterned
after the Yardbirds and Hendrix, among other
notable names.
.......While in High
School, their Gym teacher and local Real Estate
Agent Leonard Skinner would often hand out
suspensions because they had long hair. At the
age of 16 or 17, they dropped out of school and
began their musical careers. Then, while playing
at local high schools, the Band (as a joke)
announced itself as "The Leonard Skinner
Band". Members of the crowd that knew about
the gym teacher laughed and cheered at the joke,
but it was the nucleus they needed. With a few
alterations, they would eventually become the
" Lynyrd Skynyrd Band "
.......The Burns Family
driveway was the hangout and practice area, which
caused complaints of "loud music" from
the area neighbors. To escape this problem, the
Band began practicing at a farmhouse they dubbed
"Hellhouse", located 20 miles from
Jacksonville, Florida. Fishing was one of the
favorite pastimes of Ronnie Van Zant. Many of the
songs from the "Pronounced" album would
be "created" during this time.
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