Steve Gaines Guitar Solo, Sweet Home Alabama,(1977)

Youtube ^ | 7/2/1977

[DrJeff]

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama Recorded Live: 7/2/1977 - Oakland Coliseum Stadium - Oakland, CA

Personnel:

Ronnie Van Zant - vocals
Allen Collins - guitar
Gary Rossington - guitar
Steve Gaines - guitar
Artimus Pyle - drums
Leon Wilkeson - bass
Billy Powell - piano
Cassie Gaines - vocals
Jo Billingsley - vocals
Leslie Hawkins - vocals

Summary: Just three and a half months before the fateful plane crash that killed Skynyrd members Steve Gaines, his sister, backing vocalist Cassie Gaines (of the Honkettes), and lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zandt, Lynyrd Skynyrd played this 4th of July weekend program in Oakland.

While this is only a partial recording of the show, two of the three songs are probably the ones you would skip to anyway: "Sweet Home Alabama" and the legendary closing track that has inspired legions of concert-going yokels to make millions of ironic requests over the years, "Free Bird." The first track is an excerpt of a standard Skynyrd live show cover, Jimmie Rodgers' "T for Texas" The guys take six minutes to stretch their legs on this version of "Sweet Home Alabama." The song had been released three years prior as a response song to the Neil Young numbers "Southern Man" and "Alabama," which were both critical of southern politics. Ironically, by some reports, Van Zant was wearing a Neil Young t-shirt at the time of this performance.

The show is closed with "Free Bird," which by many fans' estimations is only rivaled by Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" as the most epic closing song in rock history. Allen Collins handles most of the five-minute solo, while Gary Rossington plays the "bird-chirp" guitar parts, which are not on the original recording, as well as the slide work on the opening riffs. Billy Powell also plays a masterful piano solo that is unique to the live show.

While Lynyrd Skynyrd would release the multi-platinum Street Survivors in October of 1977, the band's structure would be fundamentally devastated by the crash of their private Convair 240 that took the lives of three members, as well as the pilots and assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, and terribly injured every other member, except for Honkette, JoJo Billingsley, who was at home with her children and had reportedly begged the band to quit using the plane after dreaming of such a crash.

From the ashes of this Skynyrd incarnation, Van Zant's younger brother, Johnny, stepped in and made Lynyrd Skynyrd a popular band once more when they reformed in 1987. Lynyrd Skynyrd is planning to release an unearthed recording of pre-plane crash Skynyrd in 2009

[DrJeff]

Unreal MtnClimber - two days after.

[Charles Martel]

My musical diversity is Steve's strat, Gary's Les Paul, and whatever that beast is Allen is playing!

Took me a minute to dig through the brain sludge, but I think that's a Gibson Explorer that Allen is playing.

[duckworth]

Wow, thanks for posting. I remember that feeling and it’s great to have some shred of it on my little laptop screen.

[Mr. Mojo]

Gaines replaced King in '76 right before One More For the Road. Outstanding player.

[blam]

I still have this album somewhere out in my shed. After the airplane crash it was withdrawn from the market and replaced with this one below:

Contrary to popular opinion, Ronnie and Neil Young were friends. Neil wrote a song and gave it to Ronnie for LS to record but they had the plane crash before anything was done with it.

Here is that (Powderfinger) song done by the the group Cowboy Junkies.

The same song done by Neil Young.

This is my favorite rendition of Sweet Home Alabama done in a live concert in Nashville.

LS dedicated their song Freebird to Duanne Allman.

- Roll Tide -

[Mr. Mojo]

Contrary to popular opinion, Ronnie and Neil Young were friends.

Yep, but most LS fans loves to believe otherwise. I've seen pics Ronnie wearing Neil tee shirts.

[DrJeff]

I think Neil is on Ronnie’s T-shirt....

[DrJeff]

Ah...thanks Mr. Mojo. I watched an interview with Medlocke and he talked about playing drums for the boys when Ronnie called him up to replace Bob B. Never thought of him as a drummer!

[Mr. Mojo]

Yep. A Tonight's the Night t-shirt, to be precise. Neil's best album, imo. Underrated classic.

[DrJeff]

Roger that - Thanks Charles. A.C. shreds - such a unique sound. I used to have some LP’s of Rossington-Collins band. They had some great tunes.

[HereInTheHeartland]

Big wheels keep on turning....

[FreedomPoster]

I love that Ronnie is wearing a Neil Young Tonight’s the Night t-shirt. HA!

[haywoodwebb]

!gnip

[GBA]

And just a few short months later, Steve Gaines, his sister Cassie and Ronnie Van Zant would all be dead.

For me, Steve Gaines took Lynyrd Skynyrd to the next level and it hurt when he died.

Here's a recording of Steve Gaines performing I Know A Little live before joining Skynyrd.

He and his band Crawdad with Ain't No Good Life follows.

[GBA]

Works better with a link: Steve Gaines and Crawdad with Ain't No Good Life.

[DrJeff]

Man - he absolutely shreds on this one....Steve was so talented...just wow. Thanks GBA - I had never heard this one!

[JoeProBono]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5GRpA5H3CI

[Ace the Biker]

I’m so pissed, went to Pandora to set up a Steve Gaines station and they have no record of him. Might just cancel my sub.

[GBA]

Sad, but that's the world we live in. Fortunately, you got there in time and, with any luck, their ignorance can be cured!

One Saturday night not long ago I was looking for guitar "how to play" videos and I Know a Little and You Got That Right are always top of my list.

I found what I was looking for and kinda got lost in Steve Gaines' life and work for a while. Lots of stuff I'd never heard or knew about. He was the real deal. A hard working musician coming up in an amazing time for music who added good stuff to the mix.

I still can't play either song all that well, but I sure like listening to him play them, from that first time on Zeta-4 in 1977 to now.

He left way too soon, but he left us with some great stuff to remember him by.

Bittersweet as it is, at least he went out while at the top of his game, with his highest note still ringing on with a Les Paul's sustain.

With my pick in my right hand, I raise my BIC with my left hand in salute.