Lynyrd Skynyrd God & Guns brings classic sound back, Sept. 29

By April MacIntyre Sep 25, 2009, 4:38 GMT

Classic southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd bring back the Sweet Home days with a bit of help from guest collaborator Rob Zombie, and under the direction of producer Bob Marlette.

Classic southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd bring back the Sweet Home days with a bit of help from guest collaborator Rob Zombie, and under the direction of producer Bob Marlette.

Their latest album "God & Guns" is scheduled for release on September 29 via Loud & Proud/Roadrunner Records.

Their first new material since 2003, "God & Guns" features 13 tracks embodying the band's classic sound. It was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee.

The band received a recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. Their American rock anthem, "Sweet Home Alabama" passed the 2 million mark in downloaded ringtones. Their last single, "Red White & Blue", reached #1 on the rock chart.

Last summer, the band co-headlined one of the most successful tours of the year with Kid Rock.  High-profile appearances, including the show closer at last year's VH1 Fashion Rocks helped to expose the band to a younger audience. With a catalog of over 60 albums and sales beyond 30 million, the band isn't going anywhere for a while.

The God & Guns Tour will hit the famous venue the Beacon Theatre in NYC on October 1, where they'll have a CD release party and concert.

Lynyrd Skynyrd came to be in 1964 when Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, and Gary Rossington formed "The Noble Five," which morphed to "My Backyard" when Larry Junstrom and Bob Burns joined. 

The southern rockers were influenced by invading British bands and by local southern blues and Country music.

After Billy Powell joined as a keyboardist in 1970, they changed the band name once again to "Leonard Skinnerd," which poked a stick to a Robert E. Lee High School physical education teacher, Leonard Skinner, who was dead set against long hair on boys.

According to their biography, Blood, Sweat & Tears producer Al Kooper "discovered" them when he attended one of their shows in Atlanta and was responsible for having them change the spelling of their name to "Lynyrd Skynrd" before helping them produce their ginormous MCA album which spawned the huge hit, "Free Bird."