Lynyrd Skynyrd : Street Survivors

Street Survivors

 is the fifth 

studio album 

by

 Southern rock band, 

Lynyrd Skynyrd

released on

 October 17, 1977 

The LP is

 the last

 Skynyrd album 

recorded by

 original members 

Ronnie Van Zant 

and

 Allen Collins,

 and is the sole

 Skynyrd
 studio recording 

by guitarist

 Steve Gaines. 

Three days after

 the album's release,

 the band's 

chartered airplane 

crashed en route

 to Baton Rouge, 

Louisiana,

 killing the pilot, 

co-pilot,

 the group's 

assistant 

road-manager

 and three 

band members

 Van Zant, 

Gaines,

 and Gaines'

 older sister,

 backup singer

 Cassie Gaines

 and severely 

injuring most 

who survived 

the crash. 

The album performed

 well on the charts,

 peaking at #5

(their first top 5 album), 

as did the singles

 "What's Your Name"

 and

 "That Smell", 

the former a

 top 20 hit 

on the singles chart.

The album was an

 instant success,

 achieving 
gold certification

 just ten days

 after its release.

 It would later 

go double platinum.

The album was
 recorded twice,

 once with

 Tom Dowd at the helm

 at Criteria
 Studios in Florida, 

and then at 

Studio One

 in Doraville, Georgia

 five months later.

 The Doraville recording

 was used for

 the initial release 

of the album.

 In March 2008, 

the album was re-issued

 with these 

alternate versions 

of most of the songs.

 Differences are minor 

on some songs, 

with the 

major difference

 being a much slower 

and 

extended 

earlier version

 of

 "That Smell." 

Also included are

 two songs 

recorded for, 

but not included 

on the original album,

 "Georgia Peaches,"

 and

 "Sweet Little Missy," 

with the latter

 being included twice

, in demo 

and final form.

 Also included is a

 version of

 "Honky Tonk Night Time Man," 

with Ronnie's 

alternate

 autobiographical 

vocal take,

 entitled

 "Jacksonville Kid," 

which is believed

 to be the last vocal

 take he ever recorded

 in a studio.

Street Survivors 

was a showcase for

 guitarist/vocalist

 Steve Gaines, 

who had joined

 the band just a

 year earlier 

on the recommendation 

of his sister Cassie. 

Publicly and privately, 

Ronnie Van Zant 

marvelled at
 the multiple talents 

of Skynyrd's newest member,

 claiming that the band would

 "all be in his shadow one day." 

Gaines' contributions 

included his

 co-lead vocal 

with Van Zant 

on the co-written

 "You Got That Right" 

and the guitar boogie

 "I Know A Little" 

which he had written

 before he joined Skynyrd. 

So confident was 

Skynyrd's leader

 of Gaines' abilities 

that the album

 (and some concerts) 

featured Gaines delivering

 his self-penned blues

 "Ain't No Good Life" -

 one of the few songs 

in the pre-crash

 Skynyrd catalog 

to feature a

 lead vocalist 

other than 

Ronnie Van Zant. 

The album also included

 the hit singles 

"What's Your Name" 

and the ominous

 "That Smell" -

 a cautionary tale 

about drug abuse

 that was clearly aimed

 at one of the

 band members

 both

 Collins and Gary Rossington 

had serious car accidents 

which slowed the

 recording of the album

On October 20, 1977,

 just three days after

 the release of 

Street Survivors, 

and five shows into

 their most successful

 headlining tour to date,

 Lynyrd Skynyrd's 

chartered 

Convair CV-300 

ran out of fuel 

near the end of their flight

 from Greenville,
 South Carolina, 

where they had
 just performed 

at the 

Greenville

 Memorial Auditorium,

 to LSU in

 Baton Rouge, 
Louisiana.

 Though the pilots attempted

 an emergency landing 

on a small airstrip,

 the plane crashed

The original cover sleeve

 for

 Street Survivors

 had featured a

 photograph of the band, 

particularly

Steve Gaines, 

engulfed in flames. 

After the plane crash

 killed several 
band members, 

this cover became 

highly controversial. 

Out of respect 

for the deceased 

and at the request of

 Teresa Gaines,

 Steve's widow

 MCA Records 

withdrew 

the original cover

 and replaced it 

with a similar image 

of the band against a 

simple black

 background, 

which was on

 the back cover 

of the original sleeve. 

Thirty years later,

 for the deluxe
 CD version

 of

 Street Survivors, 

the original

 "flames" cover 

was restored.

TRACK LIST 

CD 1

What's Your Name

That Smell

One More Time

I Know A Little

You Got That Right

I Never Dreamed

Honky Tonk Night Time Man

Ain't No Good Life

CD 2

What's Your Name 
( Original Version )

That Smell 
( Original Version )

You Got That Right
 ( Original Version )

I Never Dreamed
 ( Original Version )

Georgia Peaches

Sweet Little Missy 
( Original Version )

Sweet Little Missy 
( Demo )

Ain't No Good Life 
( Original Version )

That Smell 
( Complete Original Version )

Jacksonville Kid 
[Lynyrd Skynyrd 2000/ Collectybles]

You Got That Right
 [Live at the Selland Arena]

That Smell 
[Live at the Selland Arena]

Ain't No Good Life
 [Live at the Selland Arena]

What's Your Name
 [Live at the Selland Arena]

Gimme Three Steps
 [Live at the Selland Arena]

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