“What song is it choo want to hear?”

To write a song cited as the best of its genre would be impressive enough, but to do so on your first album tells you all you need to know about the incredible impact of vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Gary Rossington, guitarist Allen Collins, guitar and bassist Ed King, keyboards Billy Powell and drummer Bob Burns had on popular music.  Following an impressive performance witnessed by producer Al Kooper in 1972, Lynyrd Skynyrd was quickly signed to ‘Sounds of the South’ label and by the summer of 1973 they had released their debut album (“Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd”).  Featuring a guitar-tour-de-force, a vocalist who echoed his Jacksonville, Florida roots, and a roadie-come concert pianist, the album included not one, but four classic southern rock anthems: “Gimme Three Steps”, “Simple Man”, “Tuesday’s Gone”, and the iconic “Free Bird”.

In no time, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s reputation grew on the live circuit, earning a slot on The Who’s Quadrophenia tour. “Second Helping”, “Nuthin’ Fancy” and “Gimme Back My Bullets”, were released in quick succession driving the band to ever greater success, breaking into the upper reaches of the album charts. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1977 album “Street Survivors” was propelled by the extraordinary talents of Steve Gaines. Ronnie Van Zant even acknowledged Gaines as a true virtuoso, by stating the band would “all be in his shadow one day”. Sadly, Gaines’ potential was never fully realised. On the evening of October 20, 1977, tragedy struck in Gillsburg, Mississippi, when a chartered Convair CV-240 ran out of fuel and crashed, claiming the lives of Gaines, his older sister Cassie, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, Captain Walter McCreary, First Officer William John Gray, and Van Zant himself, leaving a profound loss in the music world.  “Street Survivors” went on to achieve double platinum status, becoming Lynyrd Skynyrd’s highest-charting album in the United States.

Rufus Publications is proud to announce a new coffee table book, dedicated to the glory years of the band: “Pronounced: A Photograpic History of Lynryd Skynryd from 1973 to 1977”. Compiled by leading rock Photographer Ross Halfin, a long time fan of the band, Pronounced explores the classic years of the band through the lens’ of photographers Michael Zagaris, Tom Hill, Dick Polak, Barry Plummer and many others with many of the shots scanned for the project and not seen before. The book features classic essays from celebrated music journalist Pete Makowski and written contributions from legendary Sounds editor Geoff Barton and Ross himself. The book is a true celebration of the band’s classic period.

Gary Rossington, the last remaining original member of the band and one of its main creative forces, personally signed copies of the Deluxe Collectors Edition and the Leather & Metal Edition of the book just before he passed away on March 5th 2023, creating truly collectible treasures for fans of one of rock’s greatest bands.