Lynyrd Skynyrd, Remembering the Free Birds of Southern Rock by Gene Odum and Frank Dorman

While I'm not a huge Skynyrd fan, I did enjoy their 70's material - back when they were hippies, not the modern band of right-wing conservatives - and saw them in a fest (they were quite good) and even played some of their songs in cover bands. I picked this book up on a whim at a thrift store without realizing that Odom was actually singer Ronnie Van Zandt's best friend and bodyguard and was on the plane that took Ronnie's life, giving him a unique perspective, to say the least. He knew Ronnie as a teen in Jacksonville, Florida where he remembers a music teacher at their school, Mae Boren Axton, who co-wrote "Heartbreak Hotel" and whose son, Hoyt, later wrote "The Pusher" and "Joy To the World", which helped to inspire and propel Ronnie's writing and musical desires. Ronnie was a jock in high school, with a love for boxing and football, as well as Southern activities like fishing'n' hunting. before seeing the Rolling Stones and deciding that his love for music would be his driving force in his life.

With the usual revolving members, Ronnie and the boys who ended up forming Skynyrd had a few local bands before the LS lineup solidified, although even that evolved a bit before and even after the first record was recorded. But that debut started their rise to fame and the sophomore effort's "Sweet Home Alabama" made them stars, with the usual excesses combined with their redneck habit of starting fights with little provocation. Unfortunately, "Alabama" had lyrics that some interpreted as somewhat racist and combined with management's decision (according to Odom, anyway) to fly the confederate flag behind them at concerts (to hype the "Southern Rock" tag that the record company had started using), there were some people who were a bit turned off by the band. But even so, they still managed to become one of the biggest groups of the time.

With success, it kinda sounds like they became kind of assholes, drinking excessively, fighting for no reason and continually getting into serious car'n'motorcycle accidents with multiple broken bones and other injuries. I understand that success brings its own stresses, but it seems like they were trying to stop their progress. There was talk of trying to clean up somewhat (Odom says that he was asked to remove the liquor from backstage before the shows since they were getting wasted before going on) but then the plane accident took the control from their hands. He describes the accident via his own memories and those of bystanders and, sickeningly, recounts that people stole the victims jewelry and wallets while they lay injured and possibly dying.

Of course, that is the centerpiece of the book and afterwards he recounts the various members bands and the Skynyrd reunions that continue to this day.

Fans will dig this, I'm sure, and even casual listeners should dig this unique perspective.