Free Bird - wikipedia Free Bird `` Freebird '' redirects here. For other uses, see Freebird ( disambiguation ). For the Beatles song, see Free as a Bird. For the Germanic legal concept, see Vogelfrei. `` Free Bird '' 1976 UK issue Single by Lynyrd Skynyrd from the album ( Pronounced ' Lĕh - ' nérd ' Skin - ' nérd ) Released November 1974 ( 1974 - 11 ) Format 7 '' 12 '' Recorded April 3, 1973 Studio Studio One, Doraville, Georgia, U.S. Genre Southern rock hard rock Length 9 : 08 ( album version ) 4 : 41 ( single version ) Label MCA Songwriter ( s ) Allen Collins Ronnie Van Zant Producer ( s ) Al Kooper Lynyrd Skynyrd singles chronology `` Sweet Home Alabama '' ( 1974 ) `` Free Bird '' ( 1974 ) `` Saturday Night Special '' ( 1975 ) `` Sweet Home Alabama '' ( 1974 ) `` Free Bird '' ( 1974 ) `` Saturday Night Special '' ( 1975 ) Audio sample file help `` Free Bird '', or `` Freebird '', is a power ballad performed by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. The song was first featured on the band 's debut album in 1973 and has been included on subsequent albums released by the band, including the previously unreleased, unfaded - ending version of the original recording ( featured on Skynyrd 's Innyrds ). Released as a single in November 1974, `` Free Bird '' bowed at No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 23 and became the band 's second Top 40 hit in early 1975, where it peaked at No. 19. A live version of the song also reached the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1977, peaking at No. 38. `` Free Bird '' also achieved the No. 3 spot on Guitar World 's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos. It is used as a finale by Lynyrd Skynyrd during their live performances and is their longest song, often going well over 14 minutes when played live. It is considered to be Lynyrd Skynyrd 's signature song. Contents 1 Origins 2 Reception 3 Legacy 4 In popular culture 5 Chart and sales performance 6 Personnel 6.1 Lynyrd Skynyrd 6.2 Additional personnel 7 Cover versions 8 References Origins According to guitarist Gary Rossington, for two years after Allen Collins wrote the initial chords, vocalist Ronnie Van Zant insisted that there were too many for him to create a melody in the belief that the melody needed to change alongside the chords. After Collins played the unused sequence at rehearsal one day, Van Zant asked him to repeat it, then wrote out the melody and lyrics in three or four minutes. The guitar solos that finish the song were added originally to give Van Zant a chance to rest, as the band was playing several sets per night at clubs at the time. Soon afterward, the band learned piano - playing roadie Billy Powell had written an introduction to the song ; upon hearing it, they included it as the finishing touch and had him formally join as their keyboardist. Allen Collins 's girlfriend, Kathy, whom he later married, asked him, `` If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me ? '' Collins noted the question and it eventually became the opening line of `` Free Bird ''. The song is dedicated to the memory of Duane Allman by the band in their live shows. During their 1975 performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test, Ronnie dedicated the song to both Allman and Berry Oakley, commenting, `` they 're both free birds ''. Reception `` Free Bird '' is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll and at number 193 in Rolling Stone 's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2009, it was named the 26th best hard rock song of all time by VH1. The song -- half ballad, half up - tempo guitar solo -- quickly became a staple for Lynyrd Skynyrd at their live performances. Many recognize its 5 : 12 triple guitar solo section that closes it out. It often turned into an extended jam session at concerts. The band would consistently play it as the last song of every show, as it was their biggest crowd pleaser. Overall the song proved to be a huge hit for Lynyrd Skynyrd and it remains a fan favorite to this day. It is also a classic rock radio staple. Following the plane crash in 1977 in which several band members were killed, all the songs played by surviving members were performed as instrumentals beginning with the Charlie Daniels Volunteer Jam V in 1979. When `` Free Bird '' came up, a solitary microphone with a single spotlight would be at center stage while the band played the instrumental version. This tradition lasted until 1989, when an almost - rioting audience coerced Rossington to urge Johnny Van Zant to sing the song for the first time -- something he had vowed never to do on stage during the Tribute Tour. The current version has a shortened solo similar to the original studio version. Legacy It has become something of a humorous tradition for audience members at concerts to shout `` Free Bird '' as a request to hear the song, regardless of the performer or style of music. The phenomenon began earlier in the 1970s with The Allman Brothers Band 's `` Whipping Post '' and Deep Purple 's `` Smoke on the Water '' but then took off with `` Free Bird '' by 1979. On Skynyrd 's first live album, 1976 's One More from the Road, Van Zant can be heard asking the crowd, `` What song is it you wan na hear ? '' The deafening calls for `` Free Bird '' led into a 14 - minute rendition of the song. Kevin Matthews claimed to have further popularized it in the 1980s from his Chicago - area radio show. In recent tours, since the song returned to their set list, it has become common for the band to close concerts with it, with photos and film of the former band members being shown on a screen behind them, while lead singer Johnny Van Zant points his microphone to the sky as a tribute. This can be seen on the band 's 2003 Vicious Cycle Tour concert video. In popular culture An all - star band performed the song to conclude the final episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. Will Ferrell sang lead vocals and played cowbell, and was backed by Beck, ZZ Top 's Billy Gibbons, Ben Harper, and O'Brien himself on guitar, drummer Max Weinberg and the rest of the show 's house band. Some commentators found the lyrics especially resonant due to Conan 's decision to leave the show rather than allow it to be aired in a later time slot. The song was featured in several video games, films, and television series, including Guitar Hero II, Forrest Gump, House of Cards, The Devil 's Rejects, Guitar Hero : Smash Hits, Rock Band 3, That ' 70s Show, Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas, `` Californication '', Kingsman : The Secret Service and Family Guy. `` Free Bird '' was used as The Fabulous Freebirds ' theme song and video package for their induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016. Chart and sales performance The song has sold 2,111,000 downloads in the digital era. Chart ( 1974 -- 1975 ) Peak position Canada RPM Top Singles 47 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 19 Chart ( 1979 -- 1980 ) Peak position UK Singles Chart 43 Chart ( 1982 ) Peak position UK Singles Chart 21 Personnel Lynyrd Skynyrd Studio version ( 1973 ) Ronnie Van Zant -- vocals Allen Collins -- lead & acoustic guitars Gary Rossington -- rhythm & slide guitars Ed King -- bass guitar Billy Powell -- piano Bob Burns -- drums `` Roosevelt Gook '' ( Producer Al Kooper ) -- organ, mellotron Additional personnel Steve Gaines -- Addition of lead and rhythm guitars The addition of Steve Gaines returned Lynyrd Skynyrd to the formula that Ronnie Van Zant felt gave the band its first road to success with a three - headed lead guitar sound. Collins ' `` Free Bird '' solo at the end was changed so that the two guitars were complementing and challenging each other throughout that solo. Cover versions The American dance - pop group Will to Power created a medley of this song and the 1976 Peter Frampton song `` Baby, I Love Your Way '' in 1988. Titled `` Baby, I Love Your Way / Freebird Medley '', it spent one week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Molly Hatchet covered the song on their 1985 live album Double Trouble Live. It was released as a promo single. It was also covered by Wynonna Judd on the 1994 tribute album Skynyrd Frynds. The song was also covered by Bronx Casket Co. on their 2005 album Hellectric in Goth style. American jam band Phish has performed an a cappella version of the song live, most frequently throughout 1993 -- 94 and 1998. References Jump up ^ Lynyrd Skynyrd. ( Pronounced ' Lĕh - ' nérd ' Skin - ' nérd ). Songs of the South ( Universal City ), 1973. Hosted at Discogs Archived April 24, 2006, at the Wayback Machine... Retrieved June 9, 2014. Jump up ^ Lynyrd Skynyrd. `` Free Bird / Searching ''. MCA Records ( Universal City ), 1976. Hosted at Discogs Archived April 24, 2006, at the Wayback Machine... Retrieved June 9, 2014. Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 9th ed., p. 403. Billboard Books ( New York ), 2010. Retrieved June 9, 2014. Jump up ^ Lynyrd Skynyrd. `` Free Bird / Sweet Home Alabama / Double Trouble ''. Leeds Music Ltd. ( London ), 1976. Hosted at Discogs Archived April 24, 2006, at the Wayback Machine... Retrieved June 9, 2014. Jump up ^ Lynyrd Skynyrd. Official Website. `` ( pronounced leh - nerd skin - nerd ) Archived February 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. ''. Retrieved June 9, 2014. ^ Jump up to : Fry, Jason. `` Rock 's Oldest Joke : Yelling ' Freebird ! ' In a Crowded Theater '' in The Wall Street Journal. March 17, 2005. Retrieved June 9, 2014. ^ Jump up to : Whitburn, Joel ( 2004 ). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition ( Billboard Publications ) Jump up ^ `` 100 Greatest Guitar Solos : 3 ) `` Free Bird '' ( Allen Collins, Gary Rossington ) ``. Guitar World. October 14, 2008. Retrieved March 7, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Lynyrd Skynyrd Biography ''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 7, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd Songfacts ''. Songfacts.com. Retrieved March 7, 2012. Jump up ^ Paul, Alan ( March 4, 2009 ). `` Prime Cuts : Lynyrd Skynyrd ''. Guitar World. Archived from the original on May 15, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird Live Old Grey Whistle Test 1975 ''. YouTube. Jump up ^ The Old Grey Whistle Test ( DVD ). Warner Home Video. 2003. Jump up ^ `` spreadit.org music ''. Archived from the original on February 12, 2009. Retrieved February 7, 2009. Jump up ^ YouTube - `` Free Bird '' Live 2003 Jump up ^ Daniel Kreps ( January 23, 2010 ). `` Conan O'Brien Recruits Will Ferrell, Beck for Final Episode Free Bird Music News ''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 14, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Conan Says Goodbye with Will Ferrell & Freebird from TubularGoldmine ''. Funnyordie.com. January 23, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Lynyrd Skynyrd 's ' Free Bird ' a fitting end to Conan O'Brien's run ''. members.jacksonville.com. Retrieved July 14, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Kingsman : The Secret Service soundtracks ''. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 23, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Kingsman : The Secret Service ( 2015 ) ''. Soundtrack.Net. Retrieved May 23, 2015. Jump up ^ Grein, Paul ( November 27, 2013 ). `` Chart Watch : Eminem Returns to # 1, Gaga Sinks to # 8 ''. Yahoo Music. Retrieved November 27, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Molly Hatchet -- Freebird ''. discogs. Retrieved November 1, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Free Bird Every Time Played ''. Phish.net. Retrieved 3 June 2016. Lynyrd Skynyrd Gary Rossington Rickey Medlocke Johnny Van Zant Michael Cartellone Mark Matejka Peter Keys Johnny Colt Ronnie Van Zant Allen Collins Bob Burns Larry Junstrom Greg T. Walker Leon Wilkeson Billy Powell Ed King Artimus Pyle Steve Gaines Randall Hall Kurt Custer Mike Estes Owen Hale Hughie Thomasson Jeff McAllister Kenny Aronoff Ean Evans Robert Kearns Studio albums ( Pronounced ' Lĕh - ' nérd ' Skin - ' nérd ) Second Helping Nuthin ' Fancy Gimme Back My Bullets Street Survivors Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 The Last Rebel Endangered Species Twenty Edge of Forever Christmas Time Again Vicious Cycle God & Guns Last of a Dyin ' Breed Live albums One More from the Road Southern by the Grace of God Southern Knights Lyve from Steel Town Lynyrd Skynyrd Lyve : The Vicious Cycle Tour Authorized Bootleg Lynyrd Skynyrd Live / Cardiff Capitol Theater - Cardiff, Wales Nov. 04 1975 Authorized Bootleg Live In Winterland, San Francisco, CA, March 07, 1976 Live from Freedom Hall Compilations Skynyrd 's First and... Last Gold & Platinum Best of the Rest Legend Skynyrd 's Innyrds Lynyrd Skynyrd ( Box Set ) A Retrospective What 's Your Name Old Time Greats Extended Versions : The Encore Collection The Essential Lynyrd Skynyrd Skynyrd 's First : The Complete Muscle Shoals Album 20th Century Masters : The Best of Lynyrd Skynyrd Solo Flytes All Time Greatest Hits Collectybles Then and Now Lynyrd Skynyrd : The Collection Thyrty Greatest Hits Then and Now Volume Two Greatest Hits Icon Video Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour Freebird... The Movie Lyve From Steel Town Lynyrd Skynyrd Lyve : The Vicious Cycle Tour Lynyrd Skynyrd : Live from Austin, TX Live from Freedom Hall Songs `` Tuesday 's Gone '' `` Gimme Three Steps '' `` Simple Man '' `` Things Goin ' On '' `` Free Bird '' `` Mr. Banker '' `` Do n't Ask Me No Questions '' `` Sweet Home Alabama '' `` Saturday Night Special '' `` Double Trouble '' `` All I Can Do Is Write About It '' `` What 's Your Name '' `` That Smell '' `` You Got That Right '' `` Red White & Blue '' Tours Pronounced ' Lĕh - ' nérd ' Skin - ' nérd Tour Second Helping Tour Nuthin ' Fancy Tour Gimme Back My Bullets Tour One More From The Road Tour Street Survivors Tour Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 Tour The Last Rebel Tour Lynyrd Skynyrd Twenty Tour Edge of Forever Tour Vicious Cycle Tour Rebels and Bandoleros Tour Spin - off bands Rossington Collins Band The Rossington Band Allen Collins Band Artimus Pyle Band Van Zant Related articles Discography Band Members Skynyrd Frynds 1977 Convair CV - 240 crash Ronnie Van Zant Memorial Park Leonard Skinner `` All Summer Long '' Lynyrd Skynyrd singles Singles ( 1968 ) `` Michelle / Need All My Friends '' ( 1971 ) `` I 've Been Your Fool / Gotta Go '' ( 1973 ) `` Gimme Three Steps / Mr. Banker '' ( 1974 ) `` Do n't Ask Me No Questions / Take Your Time '' `` Sweet Home Alabama / Take Your Time ( demo ) '' `` Free Bird / Down South Jukin '' ( 1975 ) `` Saturday Night Special / Made in the Shade '' ( 1976 ) `` Double Trouble / Roll Gypsy Roll '' `` Gimme Back My Bullets / All I Can Do Is Write About It '' `` Gimme Three Steps ( Live ) / Travelin ' Man ( Live ) '' ( 1977 ) `` What 's Your Name / I Know A Little '' ( 1978 ) `` You Got That Right / Ai n't No Good Life '' `` Down South Jukin / Wino '' ( 1987 ) `` Truck Drivin ' Man '' ( 1988 ) `` Swamp Music '' ( 1991 ) `` Smokestack Lightning '' ( 1993 ) `` Keeping The Faith '' `` Good Lovin 's Hard To Find '' `` Born To Run '' ( 1997 ) `` Travelin ' Man '' `` Bring It On '' ( 1999 ) `` Preacher Man '' ( 2003 ) `` Red White & Blue ( Love it or Leave ) '' ( 2009 ) `` Still Unbroken '' `` Simple Life '' ( 2010 ) `` Skynyrd Nation '' `` That Ai n't My America '' Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Free_Bird&oldid=804204212 '' Categories : 1973 songs 1974 singles Lynyrd Skynyrd songs Blues rock songs Songs in memory of deceased persons Number - one singles in Norway Joey + Rory songs Rock ballads 1970s ballads Song recordings produced by Al Kooper Songs written by Allen Collins Songs written by Ronnie Van Zant MCA Records singles Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Use mdy dates from June 2015 Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from May 2010 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Čeština Dansk Español فارسی Français Italiano עברית Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Português Русский Simple English Slovenčina Suomi Svenska Українська Tiếng Việt Edit links This page was last edited on 7 October 2017, at 13 : 22. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when did the song free bird come out
Answer: 1973