Lynyrd Skynyrd has premiered a new animated video for the classic 1974 song “Sweet Home Alabama” to coincide with today’s release of Fyfty, a four-CD compilation celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Southern rockers’ 1973 debut album, (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd).
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The video, which you can check out on YouTube, features various images that reflect and evoke the band’s classic 1970s era, including motorcycles, leather jackets, American flags, vinyl LPs, vintage tattoos, and more. The clip also takes the viewer on an animated road trip along a Western highway, with the lyrics appearing on the sides of a tractor-trailer and a van.
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Fyfty features 50 Lynyrd Skynyrd tracks spanning from the band’s early recording in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, through a live version of “Gimme Three Steps” recorded in November 2022 at the final appearance of founding guitarist Gary Rossington.
Rossington, who was the last surviving original member of the group, died in March of this year at age 71.
The career-spanning compilation features plenty of early hits and fan favorites, including “Simple Man,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Gimme Back My Bullets,” “What’s Your Name,” and “You Got That Right,” and also boasts songs from the band’s later incarnations after the tragic 1977 plane crash that claimed the life of original Lynyrd Skynyrd frontman Ronnie Van Zant, as well as guitarist Steve Gaines and backing singer Cassie Gaines.
In addition, Fyfty features a variety of live cuts, including two unreleased performances—a rendition of “Free Bird” and the aforementioned 2022 version of “Gimme Three Steps.”
The Fyfty box set comes packaged with a 40-page booklet that features an introduction written by acclaimed rock journalist, screenwriter, and director Cameron Crowe, as well as liner notes, a track-by-track analysis penned by lauded rock writer Gary Graff, and a variety of unseen photos of the band from throughout its long history.
A limited-edition version of Fyfty, which includes a signed lithograph, can be purchased exclusively at uDiscoverMusic.com.
The liner notes include a comment from Rossington in which he reflected on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s enduring and wide-ranging appeal.
“We just kind of notice what’s going on around us and write songs so people relate to them,” the guitarist Rossington said. “That’s always been our style. We learned that from Ronnie; he always had a great way to take a subject and write a cool story around it so people could relate.”
Following Rossington’s death, Lynyrd Skynyrd announced that it had decided to continue on with the band’s current lineup. The group has one confirmed headlining performance on its tour schedule, on December 28 in Thackerville, Oklahoma, and it also will appear at Nashville’s New Year’s Eve celebration at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park.
