“Freebird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd

"Freebird" (also spelled "Free Bird") comes from Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1973 debut album, the one with the pronunciation guide for a title, and it became the band's signature song. Guitarist Allen Collins and singer Ronnie Van Zant wrote it, and Al Kooper produced it, sitting in on organ as well.

It starts slow and mournful, Van Zant's voice riding over Billy Powell's keyboards and Kooper's organ and a hymn-like bed of guitars. Then Collins and Gary Rossington take off, and the second half turns into a long, galloping, guitar-slinging stampede, with Ed King on bass and Bob Burns on drums hanging on for dear life. Guitar World has put it at number three on its list of the greatest guitar solos, twice.

MCA put it out as a single in November 1974, and it gave the band its second Top 40 hit early the next year, peaking at 19. A live version cut at Atlanta's Fox Theater for One More from the Road charted again late in 1976. It is the band's longest song and their show closer, often stretching past 14 minutes on stage, and there was a time when FM listeners phoned in for it more than for anything else.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.