Lynyrd Skynyrd-Street Survivors (1977)

In 1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the quintessential southern rock band, recaptured the feeling and charm of southern rock with their fifth album, "Street Survivors", following the commendable but repetitive "Gimme Back My Bullets" the previous year. On this release, the band comprised of vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarists Steve Gaines, Ed Kings, Allen Collins, and Gary Rossington, bassist Leon Wilkeson, drummer Artimus Pyle, and keyboardist Billy Powell, along with backing vocalists Jojo Billingsley, Cassie Gaines, and Leslie Hawkins crafted a formidable southern rock album featuring the catchy anthem "What's Your Name", the epic "That Smell", the psychedelic southern "One More Time", the blues-rock "I Know a Little", the country-rock "I Never Dreamed", and the hypnotic blues "Ain't No Good Life". But just three days after the album's official release, the plane carrying them from Greenville, South Carolina, where they had performed that night, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, crashed near Gillsburg, Mississippi. Ronnie Van Zant, Cassie Gaines, Steve Gaines, the band's second manager Dean Kilpatrick, and the two pilots of the twin-engine Convair CV300 were killed. The rest of the band, including the numerous tour crew members, survived but suffered serious injuries. Shortly afterward, the legendary original cover, depicting the band engulfed in flames, was withdrawn and replaced with an alternative one featuring a black background. Several months later, "Street Survivors" reached number five on the Billboard charts and went double platinum, becoming one of the greatest albums in Southern rock. However, the legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd would be buried forever, even though they continued to release new albums and tour continuously to this day, but without the glory of their heyday.