Description

Billy Powell, keyboardist, died recently (1/29/2009) took music lessons as a youth, became a roadie for the band until about 1972, when he helped set up the band's equipment at a school prom. There, he sat down at a piano and began to play a version of "Free Bird." Ronnie Van Zant hired him as keyboardist.

Lynyrd Skynyrd was one of the major voices of hard-driving, bluesy Southern rock 'n' roll in the early 1970s and became a global attraction by 1977 when three band members, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, and three others died in a plane crash in Mississippi. Powell was seriously injured.

Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

Free Bird featured a keyboard introduction that helped turn the piece into a rock 'n' roll anthem and made Powell a star.

Length to be capped at 5 minutes.