If you’ve lived below the Mason-Dixon Line for any amount of time, you’ve probably experienced the Southern concert tradition of someone requesting that the band play “Free Bird.” Usually, they’re drunk. And loud.
There are very specific times when blurting this out is appropriate, namely when the band is A) Lynyrd Skynyrd, B) a Skynyrd tribute or C) a Southern rock cover artist. In these cases, there’s a reasonable expectation they know the song.
According to researchers at HowStuff Works.com, the first “Free Bird” battle cry was made at a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert in Atlanta in 1976, when the band’s popularity was at fever pitch. Given the venue, it made sense, but what started as a logical request has become a tradition that is irritating for a number of reasons.
1. Most bands don’t know “Free Bird” or aren’t skillful enough to do it justice. Gary Rossington and Allen Collins’ incendiary solo is so technically complicated that it hit the No. 3 spot on Guitar World’s list of 100 Greatest Guitar Solos. Good luck replicating that without embarrassing yourself. You might as well try to out croon Freddie Mercury.
2. It’s too long. The original recording on “(Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd)” stretches more than nine minutes. Live, Skynyrd has padded that to 14 minutes. Unless you’re in a room of diehard fans, that’s more than enough Bird to choke on.