Discover the story of the song > Free Bird – Lynyrd Skynyrd

The song "Free Bird" is a song of the American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was first released in 1973. The song was written by Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins. It is considered one of the most famous songs of the band and was ranked #19 of the 500 greatest songs of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.

"Free Bird" is a progressive rock song that lasts over nine minutes. It begins slowly with a lead guitar intro before moving into a faster tempo. The song is divided into three distinct parts, with a central instrumental jam section. The first part is written in C major and the second in G minor, before returning to C major for the end.

The song was written in response to criticism from fans who kept asking the band to play "Free Bird" even when they were playing other songs. Ronnie Van Zant stated that the song was "a long fucking song to say fuck you".

"Free Bird" was first performed live on October 5, 1972 at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. The band then recorded the song in the studio in January 1973. It was released as a single on May 17, 1973 and went straight into the Top 40, reaching #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song remained in the Top 40 for seven weeks. In France, it was released as a single on June 7, 1974 and reached number 30 on the charts.