Free Bird#Legacy
{{Short description|1974 single by Lynyrd Skynyrd}}
{{Redirect|Freebird|the 2013 animated film|Free Birds|the Beatles song|Free as a Bird|the Germanic legal concept|Vogelfrei|other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Free Bird
| image = Free bird lynyrd skynyrd US single 1973 studio side-A.png
| alt = side-A label
| border = no
| caption = US single of the shortened studio recording
| type = single
| artist = Lynyrd Skynyrd
| album = (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)
| B-side = Down South Jukin'
| released = {{Start date|1974|11}}
| recorded = April 3, 1973
| studio = Studio One, Doraville, Georgia, U.S.
| genre = {{hlist|Southern rock{{cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/southern-rock-history-in-30-songs|title=The History Of Southern Rock In 30 Songs|date=June 5, 2016|website=Classic Rock Magazine|access-date=June 2, 2019|quote=The track that, more than any other, defined the southern rock genre.}}{{cite book|title= Electric Shock: From the Gramophone to the iPhone - 125 Years of Pop Music|first=Peter|last=Doggett|date= 1 January 2015|chapter= Push-Button Rock|page= 458|publisher=The Bodley Head|location= London|isbn=978-1-847-92218-2
|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Electric_Shock.html?id=guSsCAAAQBAJ|access-date= 22 February 2025}}|hard rock{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gxmLCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA158|title=Good Night and Good Riddance: How Thirty-Five Years of John Peel Helped to Shape Modern Life|last=Cavanagh|first=David|date=2015|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=978-0-57130-248-2|page=158}}|arena rock{{cite web|first= Tom |last= Breihan |title= The Number Ones: Will To Power's "Baby, I Love Your Way / Freebird Medley (Free Baby)" |website= Stereogum |date= June 11, 2021 |url= https://www.stereogum.com/2150259/the-number-ones-will-to-powers-baby-i-love-your-way-freebird-medley-free-baby/columns/the-number-ones/ |quote= ...Peter Frampton’s “Baby, I Love Your Way” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” two entries in the grand pantheon of ’70s lighters-up arena-rock power ballads.|accessdate= October 10, 2022}}}}
| length = {{unbulleted list|{{Duration|m=9|s=08}} (album version)|{{Duration|m=4|s=41}} (single version)|{{Duration|m=10|s=07}} (Skynyrd's Innyrds version)}}
| label = MCA
| writer = {{hlist|Allen Collins|Ronnie Van Zant}}
| producer = Al Kooper
| prev_title = Sweet Home Alabama
| prev_year = 1974
| next_title = Saturday Night Special
| next_year = 1975
| misc =
{{External music video|header=Audio|1={{YouTube|IGLVMBTIAPE|"Free Bird" (album version)}}}}
{{External music video|header=no|1={{YouTube|bwqfwieV-mc|"Free Bird" (Extended Music Version)}}}}
{{External music video|header=no|1={{YouTube|1kphg_kWMwE|"Free Bird" (live, undubbed, 1976)}}}}
{{External music video|header=Live video|1={{YouTube|QxIWDmmqZzY|"Free Bird" (live, 1977)}}}}
{{External music video|header=Music video|1={{YouTube|MQNRKX8GwPo|"Free Bird" (Music Video)}}}}
}}
"Free Bird",Lynyrd Skynyrd. [http://www.discogs.com/Lynyrd-Skynyrd-Pronounced-L%C4%95h-n%C3%A9rd-Skin-n%C3%A9rd/release/4301456 (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)]. Songs of the South (Universal City), 1973. Hosted at Discogs {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060424042854/http://www.discogs.com/ |date=April 24, 2006}}. Retrieved June 9, 2014.Lynyrd Skynyrd. "[http://www.discogs.com/Lynyrd-Skynyrd-Free-Bird-Searching/release/4908776 Free Bird / Searching]". MCA Records (Universal City), 1976. Hosted at [http://www.discogs.com/ Discogs] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060424042854/http://www.discogs.com/ |date=April 24, 2006 }}. Retrieved June 9, 2014.Whitburn, Joel. [https://books.google.com/books?id=1Bvm2rnwUDIC&pg=PA403 The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 9th ed., p. 403]. Billboard Books (New York), 2010. Retrieved June 9, 2014. also spelled "Freebird",Lynyrd Skynyrd. "[http://www.discogs.com/Lynyrd-Skynyrd-Free-Bird-Sweet-Home-Alabama-Double-Trouble/release/3367566 Free Bird / Sweet Home Alabama / Double Trouble]". Leeds Music Ltd. (London), 1976. Hosted at Discogs {{Cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/ |title=Discogs |access-date=June 9, 2014 |archive-date=June 29, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040629023053/http://www.discogs.com/ |url-status=live }}. Retrieved June 9, 2014.Lynyrd Skynyrd. Official Website. "[http://www.lynyrdskynyrd.com/board_posts/pronounced (pronounced leh-nerd skin-nerd)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227083914/http://www.lynyrdskynyrd.com/board_posts/pronounced |date=February 27, 2012}}". Retrieved June 9, 2014. 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
{{cite magazine
| title= Billboard Charts Archive, November 23, 1974
| date= January 2, 2013
| magazine= Billboard
| url= https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1974-11-23
| access-date= 2018-07-16
}}
and became the band's second Top 40 hit in early 1975, peaking at No. 19 on January 25.
{{cite magazine
| title= Lynyrd Skynyrd Chart History
| magazine= Billboard
| url= https://www.billboard.com/artist/lynyrd-skynyrd/chart-history/hsi/
| access-date= 2018-07-16
}}
A live version of the song, recorded at Atlanta's Fox Theater and included on the album One More From The Road,
{{cite magazine
| title= Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Gary Rossington Recalls When ‘Free Bird’ Took Flight at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre
| magazine= Billboard, May 27, 2015 Music News
| url= https://www.billboard.com/pro/lynyrd-skynyrds-gary-rossington-recalls-when-free-bird-took-flight-at/
| access-date=2025-03-07}}
re-entered the charts in late 1976,
{{cite magazine
| title= Billboard Charts Archive, December 4, 1976
| magazine= Billboard
| url= https://www.billboard.com/artist/lynyrd-skynyrd/chart-history/hsi/
| access-date= 2018-07-16
}}
eventually peaking at No. 38 in January 1977.
{{cite magazine
| title= Billboard Charts Archive, December 4, 1976
| date= January 2, 2013
| magazine= Billboard
| url= https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1977-01-15
| access-date= 2018-07-16
}}
"Free Bird" achieved No. 3 on Guitar World's list of greatest guitar solos of all time in 2010 and 2016,{{Cite book |last=Guitar World Magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ar1JAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22guitar+world%22+magazine+free+bird+number+3+greatest+solos&pg=PT375 |title=The Complete History of Guitar World: 30 Years of Music, Magic, and Six-String Mayhem |date=2010-10-01 |publisher=Backbeat Books |isbn=978-1-4768-5592-9 |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2016-07-18 |title=Hear Allen Collins' Isolated Guitar Solo from Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" {{!}} Guitar World |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/hear-allen-collins-isolated-guitar-solo-lynyrd-skynyrds-free-bird |access-date=2024-01-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920073400/https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/hear-allen-collins-isolated-guitar-solo-lynyrd-skynyrds-free-bird |archive-date=September 20, 2020 }} while placing at No. 8 in their rankings by 2022.
{{cite web |date=July 20, 2022 |title=The 50 greatest guitar solos of all time |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-50-greatest-guitar-solos-of-all-time/5 |access-date=April 1, 2023 |work=Guitar World}}
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.
{{cite magazine
| title= Lynyrd Skynyrd Biography
| magazine= Rolling Stone
| url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/lynyrd-skynyrd/biography
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120114151759/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/lynyrd-skynyrd/biography
| url-status= dead
| archive-date= January 14, 2012
| access-date= November 7, 2014
}}
"Free Bird" was once the most requested song on FM radio,{{Cite journal |last=Kozak |first=Roman |date=Aug 30, 1980 |title=U.S. Rock Groups Will Play In China |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_yMEAAAAMBAJ&dq=free+bird+most+request+song+on+the+radio&pg=PT9 |journal=Billboard Magazine |pages=10 |access-date=4 January 2024 |quote="'Free Bird,' the only Skynyrd number they perform on stage now, has become FM radio's most popular request song, overtaking Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven,' they say. |via=Google Books}} and remains a staple on classic rock stations.
Origins
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.
In subsequent interviews, Gary Rossington stated that the record company executives initially felt the song was too long and "wouldn't get any airplay", and that it "needed to be shortened to 3 or 3-1/2 minutes for radio". Also, the band was told, "Why would you ruin a pretty song like that with a wild "LSD-type" ending?" Rossington stated that the band refused to change the length of the song and that "we weren't changing our ways, hell no".
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."{{cite web|url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1703|title=Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd Songfacts|publisher=Songfacts.com|access-date=March 7, 2012}}
The song is dedicated to the memory of Duane Allman by the band in their live shows.{{cite web|last=Paul|first=Alan|title=Prime Cuts: Lynyrd Skynyrd|publisher=Guitar World|date=March 4, 2009|url=http://www.guitarworld.com/prime-cuts-lynyrd-skynyrd|access-date=September 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515175017/http://www.guitarworld.com/prime-cuts-lynyrd-skynyrd|archive-date=May 15, 2013}} 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".{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqCoeZ8uybQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/vqCoeZ8uybQ |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Lynyrd Skynyrd-Free Bird Live Old Grey Whistle Test 1975|date=May 27, 2013 |publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}{{cite AV media|title=The Old Grey Whistle Test|medium=DVD|publisher=Warner Home Video|year=2003}}
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.
Reception
Upon the single release, Record World said that the band "sees this country-tinged tune soar to further feather their hit nest."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=November 16, 1974|accessdate=2023-03-14|title=Hits of the Week|page=1|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/74/RW-1974-11-16.pdf}}
"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 Stone{{'}}s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2009, it was named the 26th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.{{cite web|title=spreadit.org music|url=http://music.spreadit.org/vh1-top-100-hard-rock-songs/|access-date=February 7, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212180319/http://music.spreadit.org/vh1-top-100-hard-rock-songs/|archive-date=February 12, 2009|df=mdy}}
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.{{Cite web|url=https://grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award|title=GRAMMY Hall Of Fame | Hall of Fame Artists | GRAMMY.com|website=grammy.com}}
Legacy
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.Fry, Jason. "[https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB111102511477881964 Rock's Oldest Joke: Yelling 'Freebird!' In a Crowded Theater]" in The Wall Street Journal. March 17, 2005. Retrieved June 9, 2014. 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7408080/bob-dylan-plays-free-bird-fan-request-video|title=Bob Dylan Actually Plays 'Free Bird' After Fan Request: Watch|website=Billboard.com|date=June 16, 2016|access-date=April 23, 2021}}{{cite web |url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bob-dylan/2016/william-randolph-hearst-greek-theatre-berkeley-ca-3bfe28d8.html |title= Bob Dylan Setlist - Jun 9 2016 at William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA, USA |date= July 2024 |website=www.setlist.fm |accessdate= 31 July 2024}}
On May 24, 2025, the Lynyrd Skynyrd YouTube channel released an official music video for Free Bird.{{Cite news |last=Lewry |first=Fraser |date=2025-05-24 |title=52 years after it was first released, Lynyrd Skynyrd have finally made a video for Free Bird |url=https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/lynyrd-skynyrd-video-free-bird |access-date=2025-05-29 |website=Louder |language=en}}{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Max - director |title=Free Bird - Music Video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQNRKX8GwPo |website=YouTube}}
==Notable cover versions==
- A medley by the dance-pop band Will to Power combined "Free Bird" with the Peter Frampton song "Baby, I Love Your Way" in 1988. Titled "Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley," the song spent one week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications)
- Dolly Parton covered "Free Bird", accompanied by Lynyrd Skynyrd, on her 49th studio album Rockstar.{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-new-music-albums-releases.html|title=36 Albums We Can't Wait to Hear This Fall; AUDIO|website=Brave Words|date=August 24, 2023|access-date=August 25, 2023}}
Personnel
= Lynyrd Skynyrd =
- Ronnie Van Zant – vocals
- Allen Collins – guitars
- Gary Rossington – rhythm and slide guitar
- Ed King – bass
- Bob Burns – drums, percussion
- Billy Powell – piano
- "Roosevelt Gook" (Producer Al Kooper) – organ, Mellotron
== Additional personnel on 1976 live version ==
- Leon Wilkeson – bass
- Steve Gaines – guitars
- Artimus Pyle – drums
Chart and sales performance
The song has sold 2,111,000 downloads in the digital era, as of 2013.{{cite news|url=http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/music-news/chart-watch-eminem-returns-1-gaga-sinks-8-154950758.html|title=Chart Watch: Eminem Returns to #1, Gaga Sinks to #8|last=Grein|first=Paul|work=Yahoo Music|date=November 27, 2013|access-date=November 27, 2013}}
=Weekly charts=
Studio version
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |
| Chart (1974–1975)
! Peak |
|---|
| scope="row"| Canada RPM Top Singles{{cite web|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.6157b&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.6157b.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.6157b|title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada |website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca |date=1975-01-25 |access-date=2019-03-08}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 58 |
| scope="row"| US Billboard Hot 100
| style="text-align:center;"| 19 |
| scope="row"| US Cashbox Top 100
| style="text-align:center;"| 25 |
Live version
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| Chart (1979–1980)
! Peak |
|---|
| scope="row"| UK Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"| 43 |
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| Chart (1982)
! Peak |
|---|
| {{single chart|Ireland2|13|song=Free Bird|rowheader=true|access-date=March 8, 2019}} |
| scope="row"| UK Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"| 21 |
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| Chart (2023)
! Peak |
|---|
| {{single chart|Billboardrocksongs|23|artist=Lynyrd Skynyrd|rowheader=true|access-date=April 29, 2025}} |
=Certifications=
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|type=single|artist=Lynyrd Skynyrd|title=Free Bird|award=Gold|relyear=1974|certyear=2024|access-date=3 December 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|type=single|artist=Lynyrd Skynyrd|title=Free Bird|award=Gold|relyear=1974|certyear=2024|id=11910|access-date=14 February 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|type=single|award=Gold|certyear=2024|artist=Lynyrd Skynyrd|title=Free Bird|accessdate=May 15, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Lynyrd Skynyrd|title=Free Bird|award=Platinum|relyear=2005|certyear=2021|id=15408-448-1|access-date=December 21, 2021}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
In popular culture
- In the 1994 film Forrest Gump, the song is featured in the scene when Jenny is out on the balcony, about to jump.{{Cite web |last=Sherlock |first=Ben |last2=Russell |first2=Tom |last3=McCormick |first3=Colin |date=2023-03-30 |title=Forrest Gump Soundtrack: Every Song & Where To Listen |url=https://screenrant.com/every-song-forrest-gump-movie/ |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=ScreenRant |language=en}}
- The 2014 film Kingsman: The Secret Service, the song's solo plays during a scene in which Harry Hart (Colin Firth) engages in a massive, extremely violent, church brawl. Director Matthew Vaughn revealed he picked "Free Bird" specifically because its guitar solo was long enough to encompass the whole scene.{{Cite web|last=Guerrasio|first=Jason|title=One of the most memorable scenes from 'Kingsman' was originally longer and more violent|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/kingsman-church-fight-scene-extended-2015-6|access-date=2021-01-15|website=Business Insider}}
- The song has been used by the United States men's national junior ice hockey team and United States men's national ice hockey team whenever they score goals.{{Cite web|url=https://pucksandpitchforks.com/jack-hughes-and-team-usa-announce-free-bird-as-their-goal-song|title=Jack Hughes and Team USA announce "Free Bird" as their goal song|date=February 13, 2025|website=Pucks and Pitchforks}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Lynyrd Skynyrd}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Number-one singles in Norway
Category:Song recordings produced by Al Kooper
Category:Songs written by Allen Collins