In the 1960s, especially in the South, boys’ hair length was a significant issue. That was certainly the case at Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, FL. Coach and P.E. teacher Leonard Skinner’s enforcement of the school’s dress code concerning hair length led to one of the most iconic names in music, Lynyrd Skynyrd. The N.Y. Times later said of Skinner that he was “arguably the most influential high school gym teacher in American popular culture.”
Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, and original Skynyrd drummer Bob Burns sported long hair in those days and used Vaseline to try and disguise the length. Leaving the showers after P.E. revealed their actual hair length, so Skinner, enforcing the rules, had sent the boys to the principal’s office. Rossington eventually decided to quit school as a result of feeling hassled.
In Burns’ parent’s carport, the three had jammed together, playing The Rolling Stones “Time is on My Side.” Liking the way they sounded, they decided to form a band. They soon recruited guitarist Allen Collins and, bassist Larry Junstrom, later to be an Outlaws founding member,
They began playing using the name My Backyard. That soon changed to The Noble Five, then the 1%ers. Unfriendly audiences would yell that they only had 1% talent, which led to Van Zant deciding a name change was needed. Burns suggested Leonard Skinner as a poke at their former teacher. Eventually, the members decided to change the vowels to avoid legal issues, and by 1970 the band was playing as Lynyrd Skynyrd, with the classic spelling. This began the creation of an iconic brand.
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Over time, the relationship between Skinner and the band improved. For their third album, Nuthin’ Fancy, Skinner, by then retired with a real estate firm, agreed to allow a picture of his sign in the album’s liner notes. He later recalled his phone ringing at all hours with people calling the number on the sign pictured on the sleeve. Years later he introduced the band at a concert at Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum. Some of the band members played at a bar Skinner opened in Jacksonville. In a 2009 interview, Skinner told The Times-Union of Jacksonville, “They were good, talented, hard-working boys. They worked hard, lived hard, and boozed hard.” Skinner appeared in the short film “A Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd,” which was initially intended to be a promotional video, but after the crash was released as a tribute.
Skinner was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. In 2009, fans held a fundraiser for the former Coach, called “A Tribute to Coach Leonard Skinner & Southern Rock.” Skinner died in 2010. The band’s story is well known. After some personnel changes that led to the band’s classic lineup, they achieved tremendous success. In 1977, they released the album “Street Survivors.” While on tour supporting the album, they left Greenville, S.C., on a flight headed to the next show in Baton Rouge, LA. Tragically, the plane carrying the band and crew crashed in a swamp in Mississippi, killing Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, backup singer Cassie Gaines, assistant Road Manager Dean Kilpatrick, and the two pilots. Other band members and crew were severely injured.
The band reformed in 1987 and resumed touring and recording, and is still active today. The current version of the band is a Who’s Who of rock superstars, including founding member Gary Rossington, early Skynyrd member and Blackfoot founder Rickey Medlocke, drummer Michael Cartellone (Damn Yankees, John Fogerty, Ted Nugent, Peter Frampton, Tommy Shaw) and Mark “Sparky” Matejka (Charlie Daniels Band). They just concluded their worldwide Street Survivors Farewell Tour, which featured various well-known acts, paying their respects to the band by appearing in supporting roles.
