My favorite Skynyrd song and damn near makes me cry every time because I’ve lived it. Been an addict on the verge of death a few times. I know that smell. 15 months sober and counting now
45 years later it's hard to believe how good the music still sounds. A lot of music from this era sounds dated, Lynyrd Skynyrd doesn't. No questions one of the best bands ever
This song was written about Gary Rossington, who was one of the bands' guitar players (he is the one playing the solo that starts at 4:37), wrapping his car around a tree while high on Quaaludes in 1976. Ironically, Gary is one of only two original members of Lynyrd Skynyrd still alive today.
Saw them in Fayetteville Arkansas 1976. Massive confederate flag. Stone sober before the concert. Worked at the concert for the University unloading/ loading semi's. Best band performance of my life. They were the best then and now. Absolutely well rehearsed and flawless.
Ronnie wrote this to Gary Rossington, the lead guitarist, after he crashed his car into an oak tree after binging on drugs & alcohol. This song was a message to straighten up before he dies from it.
@@tomwilliams5137 That's not the way I heard Gary tell it, and Allen was in a car accident later after the song was wrote, with his then girl friend who died in the accident 😔
Gaines was hitting it out of the park, he had just joined the band and a ton of his material is on his record. He was a budding superstar and died right after this. AWFUL!
My favorite all-time Skynyrd song! Sad times for fans of the band...hitting their peak and then it changed forever. :( Still the most underrated bunch of southern boys to ever grace the stage.
This is when music was real!!! You knew how to sing play instruments the whole nine yards!!! This is pure raw talent!! No autotune no nothing!! Back when music was real and good!!!
WHAT A SONG! And, Jamel, that guitar work was artistry. If you check out the cover by LexingtonLab Band you will see the interplay between two guitars on the song. Steve Gaines played a Fender Stratocaster and Gary Rossington played a Gibson Les Paul. The interplay between the guitars with their different voices really works fantastically well in the song. "... Oooh that smell; the smell of death surrounds you." Well, I am not sure the poet could put it any plainer. What a song. From a rock-n-roll band immersed in the middle of all of the drugs and drink and wild excesses of the 1970s, a little push back, or recognition that if you keep going at that rate, you will not last too long. The lyric says "Now they call you Prince Charming: you can't speak a word when you're full of 'ludes. And you'll be alright come tomorrow, but tomorrow might not be here for you". When all is said and done, the band wrote a song that demonstrated their experiences with the excesses of the time and voiced a warning to all to recognize that continuing down that road only leads to death. A dark message but perhaps a stark truth. Great review Jamel, great tune, great message.
My Favorite band of the 70"s .Love them so much. Free Bird is one of my funeral songs. I told my children they better play it at my funeral or I will come back and haunt them. I saw them right before plane crash. BEST Band Ever!! Love ❤️ you Jamal Keep up your great reaction video. Peace ☮️ love 💗 Lynyrd Skynyrd!!
Definitely a band that makes you wonder how they would be today if the OG band members who died in the crash were still around. Especially Ronnie Van Zant.
Ronnie was trying to groom Steve Gaines to take over his role AFAIK and this band had a lot of internal problems in general. Would have definitely been interesting to see how they made it through all of it.
They would have had a lot more hits I know that I know that I know that that was a sad day that the plane went down that was very sad but I've Lynyrd Skynyrd was done after the after the crash I mean that was
I know right! I can honestly say he's brought back GREAT memories from when I was younger and jamming with my family. Needless to say, my playlist has grown lol.
True... Ronnie Van Zant was a great song writer and singer... and most all of his music was based loosely on places events and people in his life... Truck Driver was about his dad... I'm a big fan of RVZ's Skynyrd... JVZ's just ain't the same...
One of the deepest southern rock songs ever. There is no wasted space in this song about wasted space. Those guitar solos give me the chicken skin every damn time I hear them. Ronnie was gettin' serious about the problems in the band toward the end. RIP guys. Loved how it impacted you, Jamel. Strong T-shirt, brother.
Growing up we lived on a hill in a rural area, and one of the curves was close to 90% about half way up. In the winter it would get very slick, and the trick to making it to the top was to not lose to much speed on that curve, but also not hit the tree (I don't remember if it was oak or not... probably maple). My dad would sing that line EVERY TIME we would make the attempt, LOL. I habit that I found myself recreating once I was driving.
Damn that's a deep statement bro very deep and I was born in 69 so I grew up in the seventies 70s was kind of spooky yet good at the same time if that makes any sense LOL
Steve Gaines, Allen Collins and Gary Rossington on this one.....Gary, Allen and Ed King on Freebird and Sweet Home Alabama.....RIP to all the fine guitarists of Lynyrd Skynyrd.....
I remember hearing this song when I was young, and my parents partook of the herb and this song was so appropriate. My daddy had a oak tree in his way, peeled back the hood and his head. I have so many stories from my childhood( my dad stuck a needle in his arm when he was in Nam thank God he got off it) Lets just say I should write a book. Sorry, this song just brought all those memories rushing back. Lost my daddy when I was 30 and my momma 14 years later. RIP MOM& DAD. LOVE U💗✌
@@toonzboss Correct. Ronnie was giving up drinking and a lot of stuff that goes along with sudden fame. RVZ was a simple guy that loved fishing and his family. Work ethic like people would not believe. He knew what they had and knew how quickly it can be taken. He even predicted his own demise. What an eerie song, what an eerie situation.
It was really all of them. Gary's crash was just the straw that broke the camel's back. Or the slap in the face of reality,whichever. They were so out of hand on the road that original guitarist (and the man who came up with the guitar hook for "Sweet Home Alabama",their biggest hit) Ed King just up and left the group in the middle of the night while on tour.
This song is perfect. From the guitars to the lyrics to the Honkettes in the background. It's all just so perfect. Always been one of my favorite Skynyrd songs.
This song really hits home for me., I lost a couple of friends several years ago to meth. My wife & I tried to get help for them. They weren't having it. Now they are both gone.. I really do miss them. Awesome people until that zombie dust got them..
I've preached "stick to weed" for about 47 years, having lost at least 50 friends to hard drugs and...ALCOHOL! Don't drive if you're even tipsy. Surely somebody wants you alive even if you don't. Peace! Oh yeah Jamal, real rock and roll always makes you sweat! Peace brother!
Sorry for your loss. Addiction sucks. I recently found this artist named Benjamin Tod, he has a song called Using Again, and even though I personally have never been addicted, this song cut me to the core. Worth a listen IMO: ua-cam.com/video/NACMpkxm-fA/v-deo.html
This being one of my favorite bands of all time, I gotta tell you besides their top played hits, listen to songs like "Tuesday's gone", " Cry for the badman", "On the hunt" and on and on!
This is the ultimate anti-drug song in my book. Great lyrics and guitar work. Opening guitar is one of the best ever done in the history of rock n roll.
I think the Nine Inch Nails version of Hurt is a bit better in that regard. It just captures the despair and total sense of failure of an addict perfectly.
Guitar players were Gary Rossinton...Allen Collins & Steve Gaines...all three great great guitar players! Allen Collins is the one in Freenird Live in the awesome awesome guitar solo...Gary Rossinton playing the solo in the beginning making bird sounds on the guitar...Allen Collins & Ronnie Van Zant lead singer wrote Freebird...Leon Wilkeson played Bass Gutiar...Ronnie's Mules they were called...those guitars together...just couldn't get any better!
To Django Dunn and Ron Nelson- From the live album. Ronnie says that line when he introduces Steve as a new band member noting that Steve was from Oklahoma. "Watch out, I'm gonna sic an Okie on ya". I believe it's right before T for Texas, although I might be mistaken.
Theirs is a very deep rabbit hole with so much great music 🎸🎤🎶 One of my top 5 favorite bands ever ♥️♥️ Skynyrd was a guitar band and they did the 3 guitar lineup better than anyone 🎸🎸🎸
I’ve seen them so many times I can’t even count I love them so much every time I see them they’re fantastic they sound great the music is great I hope he deep dives into so many Lynyrd Skynyrd songs it would make me so happy
skynard was the first concert i ever went to. they were my childhood fav band, and still in the top 3 for me 20 years later. 3 songs that you really need to do... the ballad of curtis loew, saturday night special, and gimme back my bullets! all 3 songs are amazing and you would be so happy to listen to all 3!!!
The harmonizing feedback from the lead guitars at the end of the song is completely EPIC!!! It gets my vote for the greatest song in Rock and Roll history just for that alone...
True story: A former boss of mine is a huge Skynyrd fan. Was at their final concert in Greenville SC before the fateful plane crash back in the day. His father was a baptist preacher, didn't really approve of this kind of music. He gets up the next day after attending the concert, and pop had the newspaper open, and asks him if he heard what happened? No. "Them damn hippies you saw last night just died in a plane crash" or something close to that. Wow. He still has the ticket stub to this day.
I was doing a 9-midnight shift at a college radio station the night this happened. It was an interesting evening, to say the least. The teletypes (the internet of the day) were going crazy. I had the station to myself that night. Trying to keep up with the story and playing tunes were interesting. Lots of 12-minute cuts that night.
It's kinda funny. People think of Skynyrd being a southern conservative staple, but early Skynyrd was progressive as hell in message. They bashed segregationist Alabama governor George Wallace (Sweet Home Alabama), they made anti-gun violence songs (Saturday Night Special), bashed interventionalist government warmongering (Things Goin On), espoused environmentalism (All I Can Do Is Write About It), and call attention to drugs from a caring, people-first perspective in this song as well as Needle And The Spoon. People just see the rebel flag and think "Hurr, those conservatives", though oddly the band stopped using it after becoming more conservative.
Skynyrd was primarily 3 guitarists: Allen Collins, Gary Rossington, and either Ed King or, later, Steve Gaines. The Freebird solo at Oakland was Allen Collins. In That Smell, the shorter, "plucky" solos early on are Steve Gaines. At the point when you asked who was playing, the slightly more muted parts before you said "the guitar work" are Allen and then just before you paused to ask the slightly louder, more shrill parts were Rossington, the man the song was written about ("Prince Charming")
"Now they call you Prince Charming, Can't speak a word when you're full of 'ludes! You say, you'll be alright come tomorrow, But tomorrow might not be here for you!" Ronnie was a master poet!
Living in Jacksonville Fl, Westside, Ronnie had no tolerance for acting a fool. Ronnie and Allen wrote the song together because they were fed up with Garys antics
Yet years later it was Allen Collins that ended up getting paralyzed from driving drunk,and also ended up killing his girlfriend..Funny thing is Gary Rossington is the only original member of the band that is still living.
@@MegaSammy70 Artimus was the original drummer of this song. He's still living. Artimus played on more pre-crash Skynyrd albums than Bob Burns! People want to split hairs about who was "original". By some people's standards Leon Wilkeson and Billy Powell wouldn't be considered "original"! I think anyone in the Hall of Fame,...or who actually played with Ronnie Van Zant is pretty original!
Well it’s about drugs and they have another song called the needle in the spoon if you really want to hear a song that’s a deep cut fantastic song. They are so so so much more than just sweet home Alabama
One more Time is a dark, foreboding song that frightened some Ar Guys back when Jimmy Johnson was trying to get them to just listen to Free Bird but no, it didn't happen. ALL Of you should watch the incredible music documentary Movie, especially if you love Skynyrd, called MUSCLE SHOALS. Most Reviewers called it the best music doc ever. Interviews with Aretha Franklin, Ed King of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steve Winwood, Keith Richards, the famous Muscle Shoals Swampers and on and on!
The addition of Steve Gaines injected new life into the band and Street Survivors was the result. I didn't think they could top their earlier recordings but this album was their magnum opus.
Gsry Rosssingtin on the Les Paul. Allen Collins is about seven foot tall and usually plays a Gibson Firebird or Explorer. Steve Gaines on the Fender Stratocaster. Steve Gaines played much of the lead on That Smell. Super sweet video, thanks buddy
The mastery of this guitar work is Alan Gary and Steve all switching lead back and forth. A master performance. Winterland 1977 video shows it live. OMG
The one playing the guitar solo in this song, is the one that the song is written about. "Prince Charming" is Gary Rossington. Ronnie wrote this about shenanigans going on in the band, namely Gary Rossington, who slammed into an oak tree while messed up. There's a picture of that tree online. Gary's still alive; he's in the regrouped Lynyrd Skynyrd, and one of only 2 original members from the 1970s that's still with us.
Zelda Williams I believe the OP was just speaking on the fact that no one ever mentions Leon. His bass lines in the majority of Skynyrd songs are difficult to play but funky.
A quarantini and a new Jamel reaction video! I’m from Jacksonville and saw Skynerd live a few times. They’re excellent musicians. My classically-musically-trained mother was impressed by the band.
The tone of the guitar work on this is just out of this world. And yeah, the lyrics of this song are RAW! And DANG, I wish I had that whistle! Just an AMAZING song. Thanks for reacting!
Gary Rossington, Steve Gains, & Allen Collins were the 3 guitarists and all played lead parts. Gary Rossington crashed his Ford Torino into an oak tree along Mandarin Road in Jacksonville, Florida,[1] after excessive consumption of alcohol and other drugs breaking several bones and knocking out his front teeth. The whole band were pretty heavy partiers (alcohol & drugs) and the realization this would kill them was the inspiration for this song. That partying lifestyle has the smell of death. Pretty inciteful for Ronny Van Zant to actually write a song about while in the middle of it.
Drive-By Truckers do a great job with 3 guitars and they are big Lynyrd Skynyrd fans. Even have an album called Southern Rock Opera thats got tribute songs to Skynyrd!!
The really exceptional guitar work on That Smell was done by Steve Gaines. All 3 guitarists shine in the song(Rossington, Collins and Gaines) The lead to FreeBird was done by Allen Collins
One of the great biographical songs ever... highlighted by Gary Rosdington, and the late greats Allen Collins, and Steve Gains on guitars... Epic Skynyrd.
They are one of the best bands in the land of music,, from start to finish with every song.. and the Whole album was good from start to finish.. they are still the best in my eye's!!..
I remember I got a dog when I was about 15...named him reefer. My dad said reefer? what kind of name Is that? 😂 I told him when I was about 30..we laughed our asses off.
Southern Rock roared back in the 90s with The Black Crowes. My favorite stank-face vocal ever by the Crowes' Chris Robinson is their song "Sometimes Salvation." Do it, Jamel!
when I was growing up in the 60, 70, and 80's. These groups seemed good, but compared to today's groups these groups, songs, song writers, and live performances were the BEST EVER!!!! Brings back a lot of good memories of friends and High School . Thanks for the journey Jamel. Keep exploring and digging into the best music of all times.
As a man born in the 90s we had some great music, but growing up with my dad jamming this, I would choose this music over any music ever created. Music that you can enjoy any time you want with great lyricism and musical talent.
Skynyrd doesn't have any bad songs, but this is one of my favorites. The story is a few band members were getting too deep into drugs so they wrote this song to snap them out of it. Ironically several members of the band were killed in a plane crash shortly before this was released. Everyone got spooky vibes because of that.
Other way around. Street Survivors was released on my 15th B-day Oct, 17 1977. The plane went down in the Mississippi swamps on Oct, 20 1977. The band was cleaning up and tighter than ever. With the addition of Steve Earl Gaines they were on a rocket ship to the top. The rest is history.
Jamel, all the incredible guitar work in this song is the efforts of all 3 guitar players in the group. There has never been a combination of such great players since
One thing I've always thought made their music so timeless was they were never afraid to take a stance and stand behind it no matter how controversial it was. It's easy to respect that as much as respecting their musical and vocal skills. The song Saturday Night Special was one such song that no matter which side of the argument you're on you can't help but admit that as a performance it was a fantastic tune.
Had the privilege of seeing them once in concert and when Ronnie was out there in bare feet and would give that whistle, everyone went nuts! What a birthday that was, less than a year before the crash.
"That Smell" is a great classic, I love it. But one thing: I wish that, instead of the chorus being "The smell of death is all around you," wish it was, "The smell is all around you." You caught it; by the end of the first verse, you know what the song is about.
Buddy Miller here.....from Greenville SC. I had the pleasure to see this band play on numerous occasions. I was there at the Greenville S.C. memorial auditorium the last time this band played together. I will never ever forget the night I dragged my ass home that night around 3 a.m, and turned the T.V. on, and WLOS in Asheville N.C and had the story about the crash. I will never forget that night, or forget this Southern Rock Band. Ronnie Van Zant was so dam cool. I remember the 1st time I saw this band play, he came out barefooted, black jeans on, t-shirt with Neal Young on it, and had a 5th of Jack Daniels in his right hand. I most likely saw this band perform at least 10 times. Being in a band my self at the time, and was amateur musician, I could see from over the years, how this band improved over all artistically. With the inclusion of the late Ed King, they really stepped up there game. I miss those days so much......Have a good 2021......Be strong
Can’t wait for you to React to Ronnie’s childhood story “The Ballad of Curtis Lowe”...its a beautiful story and you’ll shake you head at the allegations that they were racist!
@@dev...5150 They quit using the rebel flag at their shows. If you still wave it, well, you're on the opposite side from Lynyrd Skynyrd on an issue of southernness, so you might want to check your everything.
The last 60 years of popular music have truly brought some phenomenal musical creations, genres, talent, etc. All of the awesome shows dedicated to music and MTV. When you stop to think about it, it is mind-boggling what humans have done in the entertainment world the past 60 years. Long live these classics.
This is such a tragically beautiful song. Three days after the album was released that had this song on it, several members of the group perished in a terrible plane crash. I remember watching a special about Lynyrd Skynyrd on VH1. I remember them talking about one of the bandsmember’s throat was cut from ear to ear but he walked from the plane crash to get help. I may be remembering that part wrong but it was a very severe wound. What is really is sad is that so many great performers and groups have dealt with such great tragedy. But on the flipside, the same people brought such happiness and joy to their fans. Life is funny like that. Great review as always!
Yeah it was an intervention. Story goes That when they were home Gary got all fked up and missed a curve and hit an oak tree so like most Skynyrd songs it was about the real life of the guys in the band. Anyone who knows anything about Skynyrd knows I speak the truth. Lol.
I love the driving bass line in this song, and the dueling lead guitarists which was Lynyrd Skynyrd's signature. I was in high school in Jax, FL when this local band made it big. At the time, we didn't know how well-known they really were, and their songs have only only grown more popular since.
I have smelled that smell for sure. Last month July 16th I celebrated being clean and sober for nine years.
Hey congratulations
Good for you man 👍
Don't let it get you not worth it!!!
My 53rd bday......Congrats 👍👍👍👍
20 years for me bro👍
Congratulations
My favorite Skynyrd song and damn near makes me cry every time because I’ve lived it. Been an addict on the verge of death a few times. I know that smell. 15 months sober and counting now
Congrats man. Hope you're still on the wagon.
R.I.P. Gary Rossington. He was an awesome guitar player as well as the last surviving member of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s original lineup.
Yes! He and Allen Collins had a great band after also!
45 years later it's hard to believe how good the music still sounds. A lot of music from this era sounds dated, Lynyrd Skynyrd doesn't. No questions one of the best bands ever
The guitar work on this whole album is a masterpiece
Steve was a blessing for the band
Certainly their most impressive studio album
Are masterpieces there are three guitarists
Most skynyrd songs are
Yes it is. Gary, Allen and Steve locked in on each other and set about pulling out of each other, some of the finest guitar work ever!
Skynyrd is one of the best bands of all-time, period.
Absolutely
This song was written about Gary Rossington, who was one of the bands' guitar players (he is the one playing the solo that starts at 4:37), wrapping his car around a tree while high on Quaaludes in 1976. Ironically, Gary is one of only two original members of Lynyrd Skynyrd still alive today.
He's also playing the intro solo
@@caperboy1169 three guitarists : Gary Rossington, allen collins and steve gaines. All 3 are soloing in this track
I believe Gary is the only surviving member.
He’s the only original member left, Artimus Pyle is not the original drummer, Bob Burns is
Michael L Rakes what does that have to do with my comment. I know this band very well
Lot of great suggestions. You might like “The Ballad of Curtis Loew.”
Yes! Curtis Lowe...
He definitely would like Curtis Lowe
Definitely
One of my favorite LS songs, definitely!
I'll 2nd this
Saw them in Fayetteville Arkansas 1976. Massive confederate flag. Stone sober before the concert. Worked at the concert for the University unloading/ loading semi's. Best band performance of my life. They were the best then and now. Absolutely well rehearsed and flawless.
My favorite Skynyrd song got to see them do this in 1977. Yea it was great.
3 guitarist playing in unison, switching back and forth, never missing a lick. Great music.
Ronnie wrote this to Gary Rossington, the lead guitarist, after he crashed his car into an oak tree after binging on drugs & alcohol. This song was a message to straighten up before he dies from it.
It wasnt Gary. It was Allen Collins, and the accident left him in a wheelchair the rest of his days.
@@tomwilliams5137 That's not the way I heard Gary tell it, and Allen was in a car accident later after the song was wrote, with his then girl friend who died in the accident 😔
@@tomwilliams5137 it was Gary
@@tomwilliams5137 This was written well before Allen's accident that left him paralyzed.
@@tomwilliams5137 Ronnie wasn't alive when that crash happened
Triple guitar threat...
Gary Rossington
Allen Collins RIP
Steve Gaines RIP
Steve gains was just getting into it. I feel like he had sooooo much left😭
Gaines was hitting it out of the park, he had just joined the band and a ton of his material is on his record. He was a budding superstar and died right after this. AWFUL!
@@sgholt right
@@sgholt very true, but had left the band before this song.
Got that right!
so much music and talent , its mindblowing
My favorite all-time Skynyrd song! Sad times for fans of the band...hitting their peak and then it changed forever. :( Still the most underrated bunch of southern boys to ever grace the stage.
This is when music was real!!! You knew how to sing play instruments the whole nine yards!!! This is pure raw talent!! No autotune no nothing!! Back when music was real and good!!!
You bet!
Allen Collins, The Best Guitar 🎸 player ever!!!
WHAT A SONG! And, Jamel, that guitar work was artistry. If you check out the cover by LexingtonLab Band you will see the interplay between two guitars on the song. Steve Gaines played a Fender Stratocaster and Gary Rossington played a Gibson Les Paul. The interplay between the guitars with their different voices really works fantastically well in the song.
"... Oooh that smell; the smell of death surrounds you." Well, I am not sure the poet could put it any plainer. What a song. From a rock-n-roll band immersed in the middle of all of the drugs and drink and wild excesses of the 1970s, a little push back, or recognition that if you keep going at that rate, you will not last too long.
The lyric says "Now they call you Prince Charming: you can't speak a word when you're full of 'ludes. And you'll be alright come tomorrow, but tomorrow might not be here for you". When all is said and done, the band wrote a song that demonstrated their experiences with the excesses of the time and voiced a warning to all to recognize that continuing down that road only leads to death. A dark message but perhaps a stark truth.
Great review Jamel, great tune, great message.
My Favorite band of the 70"s .Love them so much. Free Bird is one of my funeral songs. I told my children they better play it at my funeral or I will come back and haunt them. I saw them right before plane crash. BEST Band Ever!! Love ❤️ you Jamal Keep up your great reaction video. Peace ☮️ love 💗 Lynyrd Skynyrd!!
Definitely a band that makes you wonder how they would be today if the OG band members who died in the crash were still around. Especially Ronnie Van Zant.
They would have ruled the 80s into today so sad
Exactly, I was thinking about that the whole song.
Ronnie was trying to groom Steve Gaines to take over his role AFAIK and this band had a lot of internal problems in general. Would have definitely been interesting to see how they made it through all of it.
Especially Steve Gaines...
They would have had a lot more hits I know that I know that I know that that was a sad day that the plane went down that was very sad but I've Lynyrd Skynyrd was done after the after the crash I mean that was
Jamal is diggin southern rock. I love it....
I know right! I can honestly say he's brought back GREAT memories from when I was younger and jamming with my family. Needless to say, my playlist has grown lol.
We need some Marshall Tucker!
He’s feeling it.l.
He could sure get his point across. Such a gift for words.
True... Ronnie Van Zant was a great song writer and singer... and most all of his music was based loosely on places events and people in his life... Truck Driver was about his dad... I'm a big fan of RVZ's Skynyrd... JVZ's just ain't the same...
Oh yes!
Man i realy love the original Skynyrd. Such talent. They wrote all their own songs except for they call me the breeze
@@dev...5150 you're right. I dont get the same feeling as with the original band
Whiskey bottles...and brand new cars...Oak Tree you're in my way (One of the GREATEST lyrics EVER).
RVZ was a GENIUS. They are the Greatest American Band of All Time, imo.
One of the deepest southern rock songs ever. There is no wasted space in this song about wasted space. Those guitar solos give me the chicken skin every damn time I hear them. Ronnie was gettin' serious about the problems in the band toward the end. RIP guys. Loved how it impacted you, Jamel. Strong T-shirt, brother.
Very well said. This is probably my favorite by them and they had some really great music. They kicked ass live.
“Oak tree, you’re in my way” is one of the best rock lyrics ever.
Up there, also: I've Drank enough Whiskey to float a battleship around
Pirate B Is that what he said? I always thought it was “Oak tree ran in my way..” lol!
Dang... I need to make a song then if hitting houses or trees is in style lol
Growing up we lived on a hill in a rural area, and one of the curves was close to 90% about half way up. In the winter it would get very slick, and the trick to making it to the top was to not lose to much speed on that curve, but also not hit the tree (I don't remember if it was oak or not... probably maple). My dad would sing that line EVERY TIME we would make the attempt, LOL. I habit that I found myself recreating once I was driving.
Truth.
This song was an intervention, 70s style.
True. Read that somewhere.
My dad had this album. This song haunted me as a kid. I never touched hard drugs like heroin in my life.
@@TheValkryie hell then Ronnie van zant did his job
Yep, after one of Allen Collins’ bad car wrecks.
@@AU88 no it was Rossington who wrapped his Cadi around a tree
It's not the smell of weed as we all thought in the 70's , ITS THE SMELL OF DEATH !!!!
Only says you
Naw, it was just weed.
the lyrics say "the smell of death surrounds you"
This is totally correct it was a death
Damn that's a deep statement bro very deep and I was born in 69 so I grew up in the seventies 70s was kind of spooky yet good at the same time if that makes any sense LOL
Steve Gaines, Allen Collins and Gary Rossington on this one.....Gary, Allen and Ed King on Freebird and Sweet Home Alabama.....RIP to all the fine guitarists of Lynyrd Skynyrd.....
I remember hearing this song when I was young, and my parents partook of the herb and this song was so appropriate. My daddy had a oak tree in his way, peeled back the hood and his head. I have so many stories from my childhood( my dad stuck a needle in his arm when he was in Nam thank God he got off it) Lets just say I should write a book. Sorry, this song just brought all those memories rushing back. Lost my daddy when I was 30 and my momma 14 years later. RIP MOM& DAD. LOVE U💗✌
Sorry for your two losses. Too sad.
i believe this was Ronnie telling Gary Rossington to get his shit together after a car crash while in a altered state.
That was Ronnie telling the whole band, crew and himself that they had to change or die. That albums released, and 3 days later, plane crash!
100% True Gary was all messed up the Night he Hit the Tree.
@@don7902 And Collins' crash that paralyzed himself and killed his girlfriend was because he was drunk also.
@@toonzboss Correct. Ronnie was giving up drinking and a lot of stuff that goes along with sudden fame. RVZ was a simple guy that loved fishing and his family. Work ethic like people would not believe. He knew what they had and knew how quickly it can be taken. He even predicted his own demise. What an eerie song, what an eerie situation.
It was really all of them. Gary's crash was just the straw that broke the camel's back. Or the slap in the face of reality,whichever. They were so out of hand on the road that original guitarist (and the man who came up with the guitar hook for "Sweet Home Alabama",their biggest hit) Ed King just up and left the group in the middle of the night while on tour.
Great suggestion .... Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Call Me The Breeze". LIVE!!!
Hell yes!
Love this one.
Written by JJ Cale from Tulsa Oklahoma
YES!
@@djangodunn5968 JJ Cale also wrote
the song Cocaine made the Slowhand album a best-seller for Eric Clapton
My favorite band of all time I loves their guitars just love the guitar work. Thanks
Such a unique rock composition. . The three different guitar styles of Allen, Steve and Gary come together in pure perfection.
This song is perfect. From the guitars to the lyrics to the Honkettes in the background. It's all just so perfect.
Always been one of my favorite Skynyrd songs.
The greatest Rock & Roll band that ever crawled out of a Southern swamp :)
#legends
Omg Saturday morning this song on vinyl, we had to get up and start cleaning. Aunt Jan loved her Skynard and her house clean
Same at my house but it was Patsy Cline cranked to 11.
That's the only way to clean house!❤️
This song really hits home for me.,
I lost a couple of friends several years ago to meth.
My wife & I tried to get help for them. They weren't
having it. Now they are both gone.. I really do miss them.
Awesome people until that zombie dust got them..
I've preached "stick to weed" for about 47 years, having lost at least 50 friends to hard drugs and...ALCOHOL! Don't drive if you're even tipsy. Surely somebody wants you alive even if you don't. Peace! Oh yeah Jamal, real rock and roll always makes you sweat! Peace brother!
Sorry for your loss. That is tough. I lost some friends to alcohol and cars.
Sorry to hear that.
Ronnie warned everyone about this shit. Ronnie was "woke" before that was even a thing to be.
Sorry for your loss. Addiction sucks. I recently found this artist named Benjamin Tod, he has a song called Using Again, and even though I personally have never been addicted, this song cut me to the core. Worth a listen IMO: ua-cam.com/video/NACMpkxm-fA/v-deo.html
This being one of my favorite bands of all time, I gotta tell you besides their top played hits, listen to songs like "Tuesday's gone", " Cry for the badman", "On the hunt" and on and on!
This is the ultimate anti-drug song in my book. Great lyrics and guitar work. Opening guitar is one of the best ever done in the history of rock n roll.
Check out I Need Drugs by Necro for another great anti drug song
i agree but the needle and the spoon is another great anti drug song by skynyrd
I think the Nine Inch Nails version of Hurt is a bit better in that regard. It just captures the despair and total sense of failure of an addict perfectly.
Guitar players were Gary Rossinton...Allen Collins & Steve Gaines...all three great great guitar players! Allen Collins is the one in Freenird Live in the awesome awesome guitar solo...Gary Rossinton playing the solo in the beginning making bird sounds on the guitar...Allen Collins & Ronnie Van Zant lead singer wrote Freebird...Leon Wilkeson played Bass Gutiar...Ronnie's Mules they were called...those guitars together...just couldn't get any better!
Andrea I always thought when they said, "gonna sic an Okie on you" they were talking about Steve Gaines.
@@djangodunn5968 where do they say "gonna sic an Okie on you"?
It's not in this song, or is it?
To
Django Dunn and Ron Nelson- From the live album. Ronnie says that line when he introduces Steve as a new band member noting that Steve was from Oklahoma. "Watch out, I'm gonna sic an Okie on ya". I believe it's right before T for Texas, although I might be mistaken.
@@djangodunn5968 that's true...I think Ronnie did say that...
@@kerrysumners1333 Yes, and before Skynyrd, Ed was in Strawberry Alarm Clock. Their big hit was "Incense and Peppermints".
Theirs is a very deep rabbit hole with so much great music 🎸🎤🎶 One of my top 5 favorite bands ever ♥️♥️ Skynyrd was a guitar band and they did the 3 guitar lineup better than anyone 🎸🎸🎸
Yesss!! Thanks Jamel!! I hope you enjoyed it!! I appreciate it my brother!! 🙌✊💪🎧🔥
I’ve seen them so many times I can’t even count I love them so much every time I see them they’re fantastic they sound great the music is great I hope he deep dives into so many Lynyrd Skynyrd songs it would make me so happy
Yeah I surprised it didn’t get blocked😅
Thanks for the shout out Jamel!! I appreciate it Brother!!! 🙌💪👏✊
Nice Pete. Persistence pays off.
A lot of the STANK FACE!!! 🤣. The guitarist I believe you’re referring to is Allen Collins!!! He was out of this world!! 🎸🔥😎💯
skynard was the first concert i ever went to. they were my childhood fav band, and still in the top 3 for me 20 years later. 3 songs that you really need to do... the ballad of curtis loew, saturday night special, and gimme back my bullets! all 3 songs are amazing and you would be so happy to listen to all 3!!!
The harmonizing feedback from the lead guitars at the end of the song is completely EPIC!!! It gets my vote for the greatest song in Rock and Roll history just for that alone...
True story: A former boss of mine is a huge Skynyrd fan. Was at their final concert in Greenville SC before the fateful plane crash back in the day. His father was a baptist preacher, didn't really approve of this kind of music. He gets up the next day after attending the concert, and pop had the newspaper open, and asks him if he heard what happened? No. "Them damn hippies you saw last night just died in a plane crash" or something close to that. Wow. He still has the ticket stub to this day.
💕Just Because he's a Baptist Preacher, doesn't mean he has good taste in music, or ❤.
I was doing a 9-midnight shift at a college radio station the night this happened. It was an interesting evening, to say the least. The teletypes (the internet of the day) were going crazy. I had the station to myself that night. Trying to keep up with the story and playing tunes were interesting. Lots of 12-minute cuts that night.
The plane crash did not happen the night of the show in Greenville. It was the following evening, so it would have been 2 days later. Just to clarify.
@@mikedc3 Lot's of miles down the road since then. Thank's for the clarification.
We were there too, great concert, bad day!
I have to admit this is the first time I really listened to the lyrics - this sobriety message may have saved lives.
They wrote this song after Gary crashed into an oak tree. He was loaded. That Smell is the second anti drug song along with "the needle and the spoon"
It's kinda funny. People think of Skynyrd being a southern conservative staple, but early Skynyrd was progressive as hell in message. They bashed segregationist Alabama governor George Wallace (Sweet Home Alabama), they made anti-gun violence songs (Saturday Night Special), bashed interventionalist government warmongering (Things Goin On), espoused environmentalism (All I Can Do Is Write About It), and call attention to drugs from a caring, people-first perspective in this song as well as Needle And The Spoon.
People just see the rebel flag and think "Hurr, those conservatives", though oddly the band stopped using it after becoming more conservative.
Hell, they even took a swipe at corporatism by writing a song about MCA after being signed by them. lol
I didn't hear any sobriety in it, but I get what you mean. Lol
@@BobPapadopoulos Ya, because "progressives" are known as anti-drug! 🙄
Skynyrd was primarily 3 guitarists: Allen Collins, Gary Rossington, and either Ed King or, later, Steve Gaines.
The Freebird solo at Oakland was Allen Collins. In That Smell, the shorter, "plucky" solos early on are Steve Gaines. At the point when you asked who was playing, the slightly more muted parts before you said "the guitar work" are Allen and then just before you paused to ask the slightly louder, more shrill parts were Rossington, the man the song was written about ("Prince Charming")
Yea when he asked who was on guitar I was like "in which part?" Lol
"Now they call you Prince Charming,
Can't speak a word when you're full of 'ludes!
You say, you'll be alright come tomorrow,
But tomorrow might not be here for you!"
Ronnie was a master poet!
RIP Original Lynyrd Skynyrd lineup..what could have been.
Living in Jacksonville Fl, Westside, Ronnie had no tolerance for acting a fool. Ronnie and Allen wrote the song together because they were fed up with Garys antics
Gary's car accident (due to excessive partying) forced the band to postpone a big tour that was scheduled to start soon after. ....Ronnie was pissed!
Dang us Flori8da folks!
Yet years later it was Allen Collins that ended up getting paralyzed from driving drunk,and also ended up killing his girlfriend..Funny thing is Gary Rossington is the only original member of the band that is still living.
That smell of death lingered on and on with this band of my home town.
@@MegaSammy70 Artimus was the original drummer of this song. He's still living.
Artimus played on more pre-crash Skynyrd albums than Bob Burns! People want to split hairs about who was "original". By some people's standards Leon Wilkeson and Billy Powell wouldn't be considered "original"! I think anyone in the Hall of Fame,...or who actually played with Ronnie Van Zant is pretty original!
Well it’s about drugs and they have another song called the needle in the spoon if you really want to hear a song that’s a deep cut fantastic song. They are so so so much more than just sweet home Alabama
Probably my favorite song of theirs...
One more Time is a dark, foreboding song that frightened some Ar Guys back when Jimmy Johnson was trying to get them to just listen to Free Bird but no, it didn't happen. ALL Of you should watch the incredible music documentary Movie, especially if you love Skynyrd, called MUSCLE SHOALS. Most Reviewers called it the best music doc ever. Interviews with Aretha Franklin, Ed King of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steve Winwood, Keith Richards, the famous Muscle Shoals Swampers and on and on!
YES!!!
And even "Sweet Home Alabama" is so much more than what people think it is. Jamel ought to dig "Things Goin' On."
I'm from AL btw. Sweet Home Alabama gives a saloon theme, especially when it's the piano solo.
One of the most iconic bands ever got to see them live once they didn't disappoint
The addition of Steve Gaines injected new life into the band and Street Survivors was the result. I didn't think they could top their earlier recordings but this album was their magnum opus.
Gsry Rosssingtin on the Les Paul. Allen Collins is about seven foot tall and usually plays a Gibson Firebird or Explorer. Steve Gaines on the Fender Stratocaster. Steve Gaines played much of the lead on That Smell. Super sweet video, thanks buddy
The mastery of this guitar work is Alan Gary and Steve all switching lead back and forth. A master performance. Winterland 1977 video shows it live. OMG
The one playing the guitar solo in this song, is the one that the song is written about. "Prince Charming" is Gary Rossington. Ronnie wrote this about shenanigans going on in the band, namely Gary Rossington, who slammed into an oak tree while messed up. There's a picture of that tree online. Gary's still alive; he's in the regrouped Lynyrd Skynyrd, and one of only 2 original members from the 1970s that's still with us.
Their best song, thanks bro. Another underrated bass line from Leon Wilkerson.
Lynyrd Skynyrd ain't never underrated & that's coming from a black girl!💯😍
Rest in peace: Lynyrd Skynyrd. 😔🎸🎵🎶
Zelda Williams I believe the OP was just speaking on the fact that no one ever mentions Leon. His bass lines in the majority of Skynyrd songs are difficult to play but funky.
tom haan, YES! Definitely.
Leon was a beast on bass. Definitely never gets enough credit.
A quarantini and a new Jamel reaction video!
I’m from Jacksonville and saw Skynerd live a few times. They’re excellent musicians. My classically-musically-trained mother was impressed by the band.
The tone of the guitar work on this is just out of this world. And yeah, the lyrics of this song are RAW! And DANG, I wish I had that whistle! Just an AMAZING song. Thanks for reacting!
Gary Rossington, Steve Gains, & Allen Collins were the 3 guitarists and all played lead parts. Gary Rossington crashed his Ford Torino into an oak tree along Mandarin Road in Jacksonville, Florida,[1] after excessive consumption of alcohol and other drugs breaking several bones and knocking out his front teeth. The whole band were pretty heavy partiers (alcohol & drugs) and the realization this would kill them was the inspiration for this song. That partying lifestyle has the smell of death. Pretty inciteful for Ronny Van Zant to actually write a song about while in the middle of it.
3 lead guitarists in that band. Unheard of before, often intimated, never duplicated.
Agreed but Molly Hatchet and April Wine came as close as one could.
Sorry but hatchet was a rip off of skynard
peter green, danny kirwan, jeremy spencer
Drive-By Truckers do a great job with 3 guitars and they are big Lynyrd Skynyrd fans. Even have an album called Southern Rock Opera thats got tribute songs to Skynyrd!!
Jerry Moad J.R. I would have to disagree. Influenced yes, but Molly Hatchet was doing their thing. They had some great tunes, IMO.
"Tuesday's Gone" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
My baby's gone with the wind...
No Skynyrd experience is complete without it!
The really exceptional guitar work on That Smell was done by Steve Gaines. All 3 guitarists shine in the song(Rossington, Collins and Gaines)
The lead to FreeBird was done by Allen Collins
And Ed king until Steve Gaines joined the band
I find it kind of ironic Rossington played guitar in a song telling him to get straight.
One of the great biographical songs ever... highlighted by Gary Rosdington, and the late greats Allen Collins, and Steve Gains on guitars... Epic Skynyrd.
They are one of the best bands in the land of music,, from start to finish with every song.. and the Whole album was good from start to finish.. they are still the best in my eye's!!..
My mom came in the house singing this the first time she caught me smoking weed with 3 of my friends... still one of our favorite memories lol
LOL
Thats hilarious!!! Hahahaha
I remember I got a dog when I was about 15...named him reefer. My dad said reefer? what kind of name Is that? 😂 I told him when I was about 30..we laughed our asses off.
Moms cool huh ? 😎
keelsmac01 that’s great your dad sounds cool !😎
Skynard is my favorite band. Every song is an amazing story.
Love this song, the background vocals are awesome
Real musicians, hard core rock, hypnotizing lyrics and now I long for yesterday.
Pure Pleasure! What new music can give you pleasure like "That Smell"? 70's Rock and Roll is one reason to live in the past.
Southern Rock roared back in the 90s with The Black Crowes. My favorite stank-face vocal ever by the Crowes' Chris Robinson is their song "Sometimes Salvation." Do it, Jamel!
or Thorn In My Pride, Remedy.... Hell... The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion is one of the best albums ever made.... ever!!
Gotta do "Saturday Night Special", one of their coolest songs with a strong message.🌿💚💙
And "Gimme back my bullets".
@@redarmysoja
They do go hand in hand, don't they? And I forgot about it. :/
@@redarmysoja
We need our bullets today.
These old boys made some people think about what they be doing
My favorite band of all time. Rest in Peace Ronnie Van Zant and the rest of these amazing musicians!
when I was growing up in the 60, 70, and 80's. These groups seemed good, but compared to today's groups these groups, songs, song writers, and live performances were the BEST EVER!!!! Brings back a lot of good memories of friends and High School . Thanks for the journey Jamel. Keep exploring and digging into the best music of all times.
As a man born in the 90s we had some great music, but growing up with my dad jamming this, I would choose this music over any music ever created. Music that you can enjoy any time you want with great lyricism and musical talent.
That's what I have always loved about Lynyrd Skynyrd is they always have and still do to this day sing about Life and truth.
Gotta do Ballad of Curtis Lowe
One of the great things about southern rock is that you're never far from an epic guitar solo.
And that's Prince Charming on this one.
@@CamiMack5616 Only when he's full of ludes though.
Allen, Steve and Gary. Three epic guitar players. The three guitar army, Ronnie's mules ❤️🦅
Skynyrd doesn't have any bad songs, but this is one of my favorites. The story is a few band members were getting too deep into drugs so they wrote this song to snap them out of it. Ironically several members of the band were killed in a plane crash shortly before this was released. Everyone got spooky vibes because of that.
Other way around. Street Survivors was released on my 15th B-day Oct, 17 1977. The plane went down in the Mississippi swamps on Oct, 20 1977. The band was cleaning up and tighter than ever. With the addition of Steve Earl Gaines they were on a rocket ship to the top. The rest is history.
Jamel, all the incredible guitar work in this song is the efforts of all 3 guitar players in the group. There has never been a combination of such great players since
Stopping by to say RIP Gary. I grew up listening to your guitar and loved every minute of music you gave us…
One thing I've always thought made their music so timeless was they were never afraid to take a stance and stand behind it no matter how controversial it was. It's easy to respect that as much as respecting their musical and vocal skills. The song Saturday Night Special was one such song that no matter which side of the argument you're on you can't help but admit that as a performance it was a fantastic tune.
Absolutely. I'm pro 2a to the bone but I can't help loving how SNS rocks its ass off.
Ronnie called his 3 guitarist his mules
Wen he whistles
Its for them to do work!
Had the privilege of seeing them once in concert and when Ronnie was out there in bare feet and would give that whistle, everyone went nuts! What a birthday that was, less than a year before the crash.
"That Smell" is a great classic, I love it. But one thing: I wish that, instead of the chorus being "The smell of death is all around you," wish it was, "The smell is all around you." You caught it; by the end of the first verse, you know what the song is about.
It's " the smell of death surrounds you "
Buddy Miller here.....from Greenville SC. I had the pleasure to see this band play on numerous occasions. I was there at the Greenville S.C. memorial auditorium the last time this band played together. I will never ever forget the night I dragged my ass home that night around 3 a.m, and turned the T.V. on, and WLOS in Asheville N.C and had the story about the crash. I will never forget that night, or forget this Southern Rock Band. Ronnie Van Zant was so dam cool. I remember the 1st time I saw this band play, he came out barefooted, black jeans on, t-shirt with Neal Young on it, and had a 5th of Jack Daniels in his right hand. I most likely saw this band perform at least 10 times. Being in a band my self at the time, and was amateur musician, I could see from over the years, how this band improved over all artistically. With the inclusion of the late Ed King, they really stepped up there game. I miss those days so much......Have a good 2021......Be strong
Such a sad story. Magnificent talent had everything that anybody could want... Sad sad story and a waste of talent. Loved Lynnard Skynyrd....😢 ❤️
Can’t wait for you to React to Ronnie’s childhood story “The Ballad of Curtis Lowe”...its a beautiful story and you’ll shake you head at the allegations that they were racist!
Very true... I always refer people to this song when they say LS was racist... Proud southern boys... absolutely... racist... nah...
Curtis Loew
Awesome song!!
@@dev...5150 They quit using the rebel flag at their shows. If you still wave it, well, you're on the opposite side from Lynyrd Skynyrd on an issue of southernness, so you might want to check your everything.
@@joeday4293 You worry with what you do... Let me worry about what I do... got that son...
The last 60 years of popular music have truly brought some phenomenal musical creations, genres, talent, etc. All of the awesome shows dedicated to music and MTV. When you stop to think about it, it is mind-boggling what humans have done in the entertainment world the past 60 years. Long live these classics.
Such a strong ‘wake up” message in this song. I was glad to see you react to it!
Every guitarist in this band SMOKED. Plus they had a killer rhythm section.
And Rossington actually survived the plane crash and still plays with the version of Lynyrd Skynyrd that tours today.
This is such a tragically beautiful song. Three days after the album was released that had this song on it, several members of the group perished in a terrible plane crash. I remember watching a special about Lynyrd Skynyrd on VH1. I remember them talking about one of the bandsmember’s throat was cut from ear to ear but he walked from the plane crash to get help. I may be remembering that part wrong but it was a very severe wound. What is really is sad is that so many great performers and groups have dealt with such great tragedy. But on the flipside, the same people brought such happiness and joy to their fans. Life is funny like that. Great review as always!
This a timeless classic ✌️
BEST Southern Rock Band. GREAT reaction.
Best AMERICAN band. Change my mind.
One of those songs that pretty much nailed it....The wild 70's...I made it through..☺️
I do believe that there are three guitarist in the band that’s why the guitar sounds so good when they get the rhythm going it’s the best !
I see Skynyrd, and I give an automatic “LIKE.”
This is one of their hardest rocking song and perhaps my favorite.
Amen!
Yeah it was an intervention. Story goes That when they were home Gary got all fked up and missed a curve and hit an oak tree so like most Skynyrd songs it was about the real life of the guys in the band. Anyone who knows anything about Skynyrd knows I speak the truth. Lol.
I love the driving bass line in this song, and the dueling lead guitarists which was Lynyrd Skynyrd's signature. I was in high school in Jax, FL when this local band made it big. At the time, we didn't know how well-known they really were, and their songs have only only grown more popular since.
I heard that song on the radio a lot when I was a kid. Haven't heard it in decades till recently. Enjoyed watching you jam to it. Thanks!