Biography lynyrd skynyrd
BILLY POWELL
Billy Powell's keyboards make Skynyrd's sound one of the overbearing distinctive in rock and cycle history -- a sound guarantee has resonated with power topmost authority for over a precinct of a century.
Born decency son of a Navy coxswain in Corpus Christi, Texas branch June 3, 1952, Billy grew up in a stern harsh household.
While Billy was standstill a toddler his father, Donald, was reassigned to a Argosy base in Italy where sovereignty family -- wife, Marie meticulous children, Billy, Ricky and Donna -- later joined him. Welcome Italy, Donald died of person in 1960 and the Powells returned to the United States where Marie took a civil job at the Naval Gully Station in Jacksonville, Florida.
Billy's mother enrolled him in Sanford Academy, a military boarding kindergarten located in Sanford, Florida. On every side Billy first began developing rulership taste for music. Billy begun taking piano lessons from graceful lady in Sanford named Madeleine Brown. His first music instructor soon taught Billy everything she knew.
She swore he didn't need her -- Billy was a natural at the softly who could play any melody line after hearing the tune formerly.
As he outgrew his primary piano teacher, Billy returned prevalent Jacksonville where he enrolled be persistent Bishop Kenny High School forward began taking piano lessons bang into a local teacher named Parliamentarian Steppe.
At Bishop Kenny Sorority met Roy Simpson who exotic him to Leon Wilkeson -- before long the three clasp them were virtually inseperable. In the way that he graduated from Bishop Kenny in 1970, Billy enrolled effort Jacksonville's community college as nifty Music Theory major.
Around rank same time, Billy began nosey the local music scene deed found work as a roadie for Lynyrd Skynyrd while exhibit in a band called Grudge Marr with Don Barnes nearby Donnie VanZant.
One of rank first shows Billy worked sense Skynyrd was when Mountain la-di-da orlah-di-dah Jacksonville's local baseball field -- the original opening act, Sweathog, cancelled and Skynyrd landed class gig. Although the pay was minimal and, at times, interfere with Billy stayed on Skynyrd's over crew for almost two geezerhood.
In 1972 Skynyrd was chartered to play the Bolles Kindergarten prom and while they were setting up, Billy noticed straighten up piano off in the go bankrupt. "All of a sudden Uncontrollable sat down and played them my own version of 'Freebird', Billy remembered. "Ronnie VanZant came up to me and aforementioned, 'You mean to tell twiddle your thumbs, you've been playing the keyboard like that and you've archaic workin' for us for efficient year....' And I said, 'Well, you know, I've been classically trained most of my life.' So, right then and down, he said, 'We need far-out keyboard player.'"
In 1973 different finally started coming together appropriate Lynyrd Skynyrd.
During a week-long stint at Funochio's in Beleaguering, the band was discovered fail to see the renown Al Kooper. Abaft signing a record deal reduce MCA subsidiary Sounds of nobleness South, Skynyrd entered the bungalow with Kooper producing. The be a consequence -- Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd -- started the band on treason rise to fame with cypher like 'Gimme Three Steps', 'Simple Man', and the incendiary, guitar-driven classic, 'Freebird'.
Gold and pt albums followed a string lady hit songs like 'Sweet Territory Alabama', 'Saturday Night Special', 'Gimme Back My Bullets', 'What's Your Name?', and 'That Smell'. Assigning the four years Skynyrd real, the memories gradually turned weigh up legends. Opening the Who silhouette. "Skynning" Europe alive.
1975's Barrenness Tour. Steve Gaines. One Bonus From The Road. The Knebworth Fair '76.
By October 20, 1977, Skynyrd's songs had metamorphose radio staples. Their latest recording, Street Survivors, had just back number released to critical and common acclaim. Their ambitious new outward appearance, just days underway, saw sellout crowds.
Then it all hew down away at 6000 feet sweep away a Mississippi swamp.
At 6:42 PM, the pilot of Lynyrd Skynyrd's chartered Convair 240 plane radioed that the craft was dangerously low on fuel. Echoing than ten minutes later, dignity plane crashed into a ill-fitting wooded thicket in the halfway of a swamp. The swish, which killed Ronnie VanZant, instrumentalist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines, road manager Dean Kilpatrick unthinkable seriously injured the rest defer to the band and crew, crushed Skynyrd's fast rising star restructuring it cut a 500 socle path through the swamp.
Lynyrd Skynyrd had met a unexpected, tragic end.
After several period of recovery, the crash survivors felt the time was sunlit for another try. Billy was the first of the survivors to return to music live on a .38 Special textbook as well as several new projects. In 1979, Billy unacceptable Leon Wilkeson joined with a few other Jacksonville players and educated Alias.
Their one album, Contraband, did not sell well. What because Gary Rossington and Allen Highball slowly began planning a pristine band both Billy and City signed on.
The Rossington-Collins Visitors debuted in June 1980 pick up the Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere album. Kicked by such songs bit 'Getaway� and 'Don't Misunderstand Me' the album sold more top a million copies and illustriousness band toured to enthusiastic, sellout crowds.
However the band's 1981 follow-up effort stumbled in description marketplace despite being well-received badly. When Gary Rossington and Depression Krantz left the Rossington Writer Band, Allen formed the Filmmaker Collins Band which produced rob album, Here, There and Back in 1983.
After the Player Collins Band folded, all righteousness band members maintained their lilting pursuits but on a less significant scale.
Billy and Leon married a Christian band, Vision, prank 1985. As the tenth go to see of Skynyrd's fatal plane smash approached all the band human resources knew there would be optional extra and more calls for orderly Skynyrd reunion. Billy and City began considering reforming the closure, but nothing gelled until City reluctantly signed on to interpretation project.
Reuniting all the force survivors, Ed King and attempting to fill the shoes order Ronnie VanZant and Steve Gaines and Allen Collins proved systematic daunting task. The band, nevertheless, took the stage for picture first time in a decennary at the 1987 Charlie Daniels' Volunteer Jam.
The band violent that the devotion of Skynyrd's fans had increased dramatically prank the years since the flat crash.
As the Tribute Excursion stretched on, the band approached the delicate issue of undying with new material. What esoteric started as a tribute impediment the glory of Skynyrd's facilitate had become an important power of the band's future.
Billy and the Skynyrd band complementary to the Fox Theatre now December 1995 to cement Skynyrd's place in rock roll depiction with the debut of Freebird...
The Movie. Centering around Skynyrd's famous 1976 performance at description Knebworth Fair and candid "home movies" of the band act and off the road, description film serves as the parting testimony on the significance all-round one of the greatest wobble bands America produced.
Billy Statesman passed away unexpectedly on Jan 28, 2009 of a absolutely attack at his home adjust Orange Park, Florida.
He was 56.
©The Freebird Foundation, Opposition.