Lynyrd Skynyrd : NPR

Lynyrd Skynyrd founding member Gary Rossington dies at 71

Gary Rossington of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd performs at the 2015 Big Barrel Country Music Festival in Dover, Del., on June 26, 2015. Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP hide caption

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Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP

Obituaries

Lynyrd Skynyrd founding member Gary Rossington dies at 71

March 6, 2023 • Rossington was the last surviving original founding member of the Southern rock band, known for its anthemic "Free Bird," among many other hit songs.

Bruce Springsteen in 1985, performing in Washington, D.C. during his Born in the U.S.A. Tour. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

NPR Music Playlists

American Anthem: The Playlist

July 1, 2019 • Sometimes, a song isn't just a song: It's shorthand for an idea. Hear the music of NPR's American Anthem series, on songs that rouse, unite, celebrate and call to action.

Unfurling 'Sweet Home Alabama,' A Tapestry Of Southern Discomfort

Ronnie Van Zant in 1975, onstage with Lynyrd Skynyrd at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta. Tom Hill/WireImage hide caption

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Tom Hill/WireImage

American Anthem

Unfurling 'Sweet Home Alabama,' A Tapestry Of Southern Discomfort

December 17, 2018 • More than 40 years after its release, Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama is still one of the most recognized rock anthems celebrating the deep South. It's also a song with a complicated legacy.

Unfurling 'Sweet Home Alabama,' A Tapestry Of Southern Discomfort

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The music that makes one of us emotional doesn't always make sense to others. William Lovelace/Getty Images hide caption

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William Lovelace/Getty Images

All Songs Considered

The Songs That Make Us Cry

May 19, 2015 • This week: results from our survey about the songs that bring tears to your eyes. Hear listener submissions, as well as personal picks from the All Songs crew.

The Songs That Make Us Cry

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Capricorn In Retrograde: Macon's Endangered Musical History

Otis Redding in 1967. Redding was also known as "The Mad Man From Macon." Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Music News

Capricorn In Retrograde: Macon's Endangered Musical History

October 16, 2014 • The Georgia town was home to Otis Redding, Little Richard and Capricorn Records, a label that played a key role in the birth of Southern rock. Now, many of the city's musical landmarks are threatened.

Capricorn In Retrograde: Macon's Endangered Musical History

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Brad Paisley's 'Accidental Racist' And The History Of White Southern Musical Identity

Brad Paisley onstage at the 48th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards Sunday in Las Vegas. Jerod Harris/ACMA2013/Getty Images for ACM hide caption

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Jerod Harris/ACMA2013/Getty Images for ACM

The Record

Brad Paisley's 'Accidental Racist' And The History Of White Southern Musical Identity

April 9, 2013 • The song that has made Paisley the object of derision on the Internet is part of a complicated expression of white Southern heritage that stretches back to the early 20th century and reaches its peak on "Sweet Home Alabama."

Review

Music Reviews

Reissued Hits from Costello, Beck and Skynyrd

Fresh Air

April 16, 2008 • Fresh Air's music critic reviews three new deluxe reissues on the Universal Music label: Elvis Costello's This Year's Model, Beck's Odelay and Lynyrd Skynyrd's Street Survivors.

Reissued Hits from Costello, Beck and Skynyrd

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