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{{Infobox album
{{Infobox Album | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
| Name = Street Survivors
| name = Street Survivors
| Type = [[Album]]
| type = [[Album]]
| Artist = [[Lynyrd Skynyrd]]
| artist = [[Lynyrd Skynyrd]]
| Cover = StreetSurvivorsNoFlams.jpg
| cover = StreetSurvivorsFlames.jpg
| alt = a photo of the band members surrounded by flames in a burning town
| Released = [[October 17]] [[1977]]
| released = October 17, 1977
| Recorded = Criteria Studios, Miami, Florida; [[Studio One (recording studio)|Studio One]], Doraville, Georgia; Muscle Shoals Sound, Muscle Shoals, Alabama
| recorded = [[Criteria Studios]], Miami, Florida, April 1977; [[Studio One (recording studio)|Studio One]], Doraville, Georgia, July–August 1977; [[Muscle Shoals Sound Studios]], [[Muscle Shoals, Alabama]]
| Genre = [[Southern Rock]]
| Length = 34:57
| venue =
| Label = [[MCA Records]]
| studio =
| Producer = [[Tom Dowd]], Jimmy Johnson & Tim Smith (track 3)
| genre = [[Southern rock]], [[boogie rock]]
| Reviews =
| length = 35:26
| label = [[MCA Records|MCA]]
[[All Music Guide]] {{rating-5|4.5}} [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ze5ibkd96akx link]
| producer = [[Tom Dowd]]; Jimmy Johnson & Tim Smith (track 3)
| Last album = ''[[One More From the Road]]<br>(1976)''
| prev_title = [[One More from the Road]]
| This album = ''Street Survivors<br>(1977)''
| prev_year = 1976
| Next album = ''[[Skynyrd's First And... Last]]<br>(1978)''
| next_title = [[Skynyrd's First and... Last]]
|| Misc = {{Extra album cover
| next_year = 1978
| Upper caption = Original cover
| misc = {{Extra album cover
| Background = #b0c4de
| header = Alternate cover
| Cover = Streetsurvivorsorig.jpg
| type = studio
| Lower caption = The original cover of ''Street Survivors''}}
| cover = StreetSurvivorsNoFlams.jpg
| border =
| alt = the band members on a black background
| caption = Cover image used following the plane crash
}}
}}
{{Singles
| name = Street Survivors
| type = studio
| single1 = [[What's Your Name (Lynyrd Skynyrd song)|What's Your Name]]
| single1date = November 1977
| single2 = [[You Got That Right]]
| single2date = October 17, 1977
}}
}}
'''''Street Survivors''''' is the fifth studio album by the [[Southern rock]] band [[Lynyrd Skynyrd]], released on October 17, 1977. The LP is the last Skynyrd album recorded by original members [[Ronnie Van Zant]] and [[Allen Collins]], and is the sole Skynyrd studio recording by guitarist [[Steve Gaines]]. Three days after the album's release, the band's [[1977 Mississippi CV-240 crash|chartered airplane crashed]] en route to [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]], killing the pilot, co-pilot, the group's assistant road-manager and three band members (Van Zant, Gaines, and Gaines' older sister, backup singer [[Cassie Gaines]]), and severely injuring most who survived the crash.


The album was an instant success, achieving gold certification just 10 days after its release. It would later go double platinum.<ref name=RIAA/> The album performed well on the charts, peaking at #5 (the band's highest-charting album), as did the singles "What's Your Name" and "That Smell," the former a top-20 hit on the singles chart.
'''''Street Survivors''''' is a [[southern rock]] [[album]] by [[Lynyrd Skynyrd]], released in October 1977 (see [[1977 in music]]) and sold 2 million copies. Three days after the album's release, the band's chartered airplane crashed en route to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, killing the pilot and some band members, including lead singer and songwriter [[Ronnie Van Zant]] and guitarist/singer/songwriter [[Steve Gaines]], and severely injuring most who survived the crash.


==Background==
Perhaps partially as a result of the attention garnered by the tragedy, the album and the lead single "What's Your Name" did quite well on the charts. After an extensive recovery process, the surviving original band members ultimately decided to disband [[Lynyrd Skynyrd]]. In the early 1980's, two derivative bands, [[The Rossington-Collins Band]] and [[The Allen Collins Band]], rose from the figurative ashes of this rock n roll disaster to achieve moderate and minimal success, respectively.
''Street Survivors'' was recorded twice, once with [[Tom Dowd]] at the helm at [[Criteria Studios]] in Miami, Florida, and then at Studio One in [[Doraville]], Georgia, five months later with uncredited co-producers Kevin Elson and Rodney Mills. The Doraville recording was used for the initial release of the album. On March 4, 2008, a remastered version of the album, ''Street Survivors: Deluxe Edition'', was released with these alternate versions of most of the songs as well as five live tracks. Differences are minor on some songs, with the major difference being a much slower and extended earlier version of "That Smell." Also included are two songs recorded for, but not included on the original album, "Georgia Peaches" and "Sweet Little Missy," with the latter being included twice, in demo and final form. Also included is a version of "Honky Tonk Night Time Man," with Ronnie's alternate autobiographical vocal take, entitled "Jacksonville Kid," which is believed to be the last vocal take he ever recorded in a studio.


The song "One More Time" was added to the album, presumably after it was decided to drop one of the two tracks above. However, this song is the original recording from their 1971 Muscle Shoals demo; it was not re-recorded for this album. Hence it features [[Greg T. Walker|Greg Walker]], [[Rickey Medlocke]], and [[Ed King]] in place of [[Leon Wilkeson]], [[Artimus Pyle]], and [[Steve Gaines]].
The original pressing of the cover of ''Street Survivors'' had a photograph of the band standing in flames. Eerily, in the original cover, Gaines' eyes were closed and his head appears to be surrounded by flames. The cover was changed to an alternate photo with an all-black background in respect of the deceased. Today, thirty years later, the original "flames" cover is on the front of the case, while the alternate cover serves as the back of the case.

''Street Survivors'' was a showcase for guitarist/vocalist [[Steve Gaines]], who had joined the band just a year earlier on the recommendation of his sister [[Cassie Gaines|Cassie]]. Publicly and privately, Ronnie Van Zant marveled at the multiple talents of Skynyrd's newest member, claiming that the band would "all be in his shadow one day." Gaines' contributions included his co-lead vocal with Van Zant on the co-written "You Got That Right" and the guitar boogie "I Know A Little," which Gaines had written before he joined Skynyrd. So confident was Skynyrd's leader of Gaines' abilities, that the album (and some concerts) featured Gaines delivering his self-penned blues "Ain't No Good Life" - one of the few songs in the first incarnation Skynyrd catalog to feature a lead vocalist other than Van Zant. The album also included the hit single "What's Your Name" and the ominous "[[That Smell]]" - a cautionary tale about drug abuse that seemed to be aimed at fellow band members (both Collins and [[Gary Rossington]] had serious car accidents which slowed the recording of the album).

===Plane crash===
{{Main|Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash}}

On October 20, 1977, only three days after the release of ''Street Survivors'', and five shows into their most successful headlining tour to date, Lynyrd Skynyrd's chartered [[Convair CV-240 family#Variants|Convair CV-300]] ran out of fuel near the end of their flight from [[Greenville, South Carolina]], where they had just performed at the [[Greenville Memorial Auditorium]], to [[Louisiana State University|LSU]] in [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]]. Though the pilots attempted an emergency landing on a small airstrip, the plane crashed in a forest five miles (8&nbsp;km) northeast of [[Gillsburg, Mississippi]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19771020-1&lang=en |title=Accident report, N55VM (10/20/77) |publisher=[[Aviation Safety Network]] |access-date=2011-09-14}}</ref> Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, [[Cassie Gaines]], assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray, were killed on impact. The other band members (Collins, Rossington, Wilkeson, Powell, Pyle, and Hawkins), tour manager Ron Eckerman,<ref>[http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/168499 Smashwords — Turn It Up! — A book by Ron Eckerman]. Smashwords.com. Retrieved on 2012-12-15.</ref> and road crew survived, but suffered serious injuries.

Following the crash and the ensuing press, ''Street Survivors'' became the band's second platinum album and reached No.&nbsp;5 on the U.S. album chart. The single "What's Your Name?" reached No.&nbsp;13 on the single airplay charts in January 1978.

The original cover sleeve for ''Street Survivors'' had featured a photograph of the band standing on a city street with all its buildings engulfed in flames, some near the center nearly obscuring Steve Gaines's face. After the plane crash, this cover became highly controversial. Out of respect for the deceased (and at the request of Teresa Gaines, Steve's widow), MCA Records withdrew the original cover and replaced it with a similar image of the band against a simple black background, which was on the back cover of the original sleeve. An urban legend has long claimed that only those band members touched by flame in the photograph were killed in the crash, but this is not true (flame appears to touch nearly all band members).<ref name=Check-Six>{{cite web |title=The 'Lynyrd Skynyrd' Crash |url=http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/LynyrdSkynyrd-N55VM.htm |work=Check-Six.com |date=May 2007 |access-date=July 5, 2008}}</ref> The original "flames" cover was restored for the ''Deluxe Edition''.

==Critical reception==
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/r12128 |title=Street Survivors - Lynyrd Skynyrd &#124; AllMusic |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |work=allmusic.com |year=2011 |access-date=14 August 2011}}</ref>
|rev2 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|Christgau's Record Guide]]''
|rev2Score = A<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: L|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=L&bk=70|access-date=March 1, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''The Daily Vault''
| rev3Score = A<ref name=vault>{{cite web |url= http://dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=286 |title=The Daily Vault Music Reviews : Street Survivors |first=Christopher |last=Thelen |work=dailyvault.com |year=2019 |access-date=6 February 2019}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev4Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/lynyrdskynyrd/albums/album/18704847/review/18722089/street_survivors_deluxe_edition |title=Lynyrd Skynyrd: Street Survivors &#91;Deluxe Edition&#93; : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone |first=Brian |last=Hiatt |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |year=2011 |access-date=14 August 2011 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214045233/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/lynyrdskynyrd/albums/album/18704847/review/18722089/street_survivors_deluxe_edition |archive-date=February 14, 2009 }}</ref>
}}
[[Robert Christgau]] stated: "Some rock deaths are irrelevant, while others make a kind of sense because the artists involved so obviously long to transcend (or escape) their own mortality. But for Ronnie Van Zant, life and mortality were the same thing--there was no way to embrace one without at least keeping company with the other. So it makes sense that 'That Smell' is the smell of death, or that in 'You Got That Right' Van Zant boasts that he'll never be found in an old folks' home. As with too many LPs by good road bands, each side here begins with two strong cuts and then winds down. The difference is that the two strong cuts are very strong and the weak ones gain presence with each listen. I'm not just being sentimental. I know road bands never make their best album the sixth time out, and I know Van Zant had his limits. But I mourn him not least because I suspect that he had more good music left in him than Bing and Elvis put together."<ref>[https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Lynyrd+Skynyrd Robert Christgau: CG: Lynyrd Skynyrd]</ref>


==Track listing==
==Track listing==
#"What's Your Name" <small>([[Gary Rossington|Rossington]], [[Ronnie Van Zant|Van Zant]]) – 3:30</small>
#"[[That Smell]]" <small>([[Allen Collins|Collins]], [[Ronnie Van Zant|Van Zant]]) – 5:47</small>
#"One More Time" <small>([[Gary Rossington|Rossington]], [[Ronnie Van Zant|Van Zant]]) – 5:03</small>
#"I Know A Little" <small>([[Steve Gaines|Gaines]]) – 3:26</small>
#"You Got That Right" <small>([[Steve Gaines|Gaines]], [[Ronnie Van Zant|Van Zant]]) – 3:44</small>
#"I Never Dreamed" <small>([[Steve Gaines|Gaines]], [[Ronnie Van Zant|Van Zant]]) – 5:21</small>
#"Honky Tonk Night Time Man" <small>([[Merle Haggard|Haggard]]) – 3:59</small>
#"Ain't No Good Life" <small>([[Steve Gaines|Gaines]]) – 4:36</small>


{{Track listing
==Bonus tracks on expanded edition==
| headline = Side one
#"Georgia Peaches"
| title1 = [[What's Your Name (Lynyrd Skynyrd song)|What's Your Name]]
#"Sweet Little Missy"
| writer1 = [[Gary Rossington]], [[Ronnie Van Zant]]
#"You Got That Right (Alternate Version)"
| length1 = 3:30
#"I Never Dreamed (Alternate Version)"
| title2 = [[That Smell]]
#"Jacksonville Kid"
| writer2 = [[Allen Collins]], Van Zant
| length2 = 5:48
| title3 = One More Time
| writer3 = Rossington, Van Zant
| length3 = 5:03
| title4 = I Know a Little
| writer4 = [[Steve Gaines]]
| length4 = 3:26
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| title1 = [[You Got That Right]]
| writer1 = Gaines, Van Zant
| length1 = 3:44
| title2 = I Never Dreamed
| writer2 = Gaines, Van Zant
| length2 = 5:21
| title3 = Honky Tonk Night Time Man
| writer3 = [[Merle Haggard]]
| length3 = 3:59
| title4 = Ain't No Good Life
| writer4 = Gaines
| length4 = 4:36
| total_length = 35:26
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = 2001 CD reissue bonus tracks
| title9 = Georgia Peaches
| note9 = from ''[[Legend (Lynyrd Skynyrd album)|Legend]]'' (1987)
| writer9 = Gaines, Van Zant
| length9 = 3:15
| title10 = Sweet Little Missy
| note10 = from ''Legend''
| writer10 = Rossington, Van Zant
| length10 = 5:10
| title11 = You Got That Right
| note11 = alternate; previously unreleased
| writer11 = Gaines, Van Zant
| length11 = 3:26
| title12 = I Never Dreamed
| note12 = alternate; previously unreleased
| writer12 = Gaines, Van Zant
| length12 = 4:55
| title13 = Jacksonville Kid
| note13 = from ''[[Collectybles]]'' (2000)
| writer13 = Haggard, Van Zant
| length13 = 4:03
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = 2008 Deluxe Edition bonus CD
| title1 = What's Your Name
| note1 = original
| writer1 = Rossington, Van Zant
| length1 = 3:33
| title2 = That Smell
| note2 = original
| writer2 = Collins, Van Zant
| length2 = 5:29
| title3 = You Got That Right
| note3 = original
| writer3 = Gaines, Van Zant
| length3 = 3:19
| title4 = I Never Dreamed
| note4 = original
| writer4 = Gaines, Van Zant
| length4 = 5:22
| title5 = Georgia Peaches
| note5 = from ''Legend''
| writer5 = Gaines, Van Zant
| length5 = 3:14
| title6 = Sweet Little Missy
| note6 = original
| writer6 = Rossington, Van Zant
| length6 = 5:16
| title7 = Sweet Little Missy
| note7 = from ''Legend''
| writer7 = Rossington, Van Zant
| length7 = 5:11
| title8 = Ain't No Good Life
| note8 = original
| writer8 = Gaines
| length8 = 5:02
| title9 = That Smell
| note9 = complete original
| writer9 = Collins, Van Zant
| length9 = 7:30
| title10 = Jacksonville Kid
| note10 = from ''Collectybles''
| writer10 = Haggard, Van Zant
| length10 = 4:09
| title11 = You Got That Right
| note11 = [[Concert|live]]
| writer11 = Gaines, Van Zant
| length11 = 4:41
| title12 = That Smell
| note12 = live
| writer12 = Collins, Van Zant
| length12 = 6:05
| title13 = Ain't No Good Life
| note13 = live
| writer13 = Gaines
| length13 = 5:01
| title14 = What's Your Name
| note14 = live
| writer14 = Rossington, Van Zant
| length14 = 3:28
| title15 = [[Gimme Three Steps]]
| note15 = live
| writer15 = Collins, Van Zant
| length15 = 5:09
}}

All tracks were previously unreleased except where noted.

Live tracks recorded at the [[Selland Arena]] in [[Fresno, California|Fresno]], [[California]] on August 24, 1977.


==Personnel==
==Personnel==
;Lynyrd Skynyrd
*[[Ronnie Van Zant]] – lead vocals
*[[Ronnie Van Zant]] – lead vocals
*[[Steve Gaines]] – guitar, backing vocals, lead vocal on "Ain't No Good Life", co-lead vocals on "You Got That Right"
*[[Allen Collins]] – guitar
*[[Allen Collins]] – guitar
*[[Gary Rossington]] – guitar
*[[Gary Rossington]] – guitar
*[[Billy Powell]] – keyboards
*[[Leon Wilkeson]] – bass, backing vocals
*[[Artimus Pyle]] – drums
*[[Artimus Pyle]] – drums
*[[Leon Wilkeson]] – bass
*[[Billy Powell]] – keyboards
*[[Steve Gaines]] - guitar, lead vocals on "Ain't No Good Life", dual lead vocals on "You Got That Right"
*[[Ed King]] – guitar on "One More Time"
*[[Greg T. Walker]] – bass on "One More Time"
Back-up vocals on "That Smell": The Honkettes (Cassie Gaines, Jo Billingsley, Leslie Hawkins).
*[[Rickey Medlocke]] – drums and backing vocals on "One More Time"
Musicians on "One More Time": Ronnie Van Zant, vocals; Allen Collins, guitar; Gary Rossington, guitar; Ed King, guitar; Greg Walker, bass; Rick Medlock, drums & back-up vocals; Tim Smith & Leslie Hawkins, back-up vocals.

;Additional personnel
*The Honkettes ([[JoJo Billingsley]], [[Cassie Gaines]], [[Leslie Hawkins]]) – backing vocals on "That Smell" and "One More Time"
*Tim Smith – backing vocals on "One More Time"
*Barry Lee Harwood – dobro on "Honky Tonk Night Time Man"

==Charts==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Chart (1977–1978)
! Peak<br/>position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref>
| align="center"| 68
|-
{{Album chart|Canada|3|chartid=5478a|artist=Lynyrd Skynyrd |album= Street Survivors |rowheader=true|accessdate=January 12, 2024}}
|-
{{Album chart|New Zealand|38|artist=Lynyrd Skynyrd |album= Street Survivors |rowheader=true|accessdate=January 12, 2024}}
|-
{{Album chart|UK2|13|date=19771106|rowheader=true|accessdate=January 12, 2024}}
|-
{{Album chart|Billboard200|5|artist=Lynyrd Skynyrd|rowheader=true|accessdate=January 12, 2024}}
|}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=album|artist=Lynrd Skynrd|title=Street Survivors|award=Gold|relyear=1977|certyear=1978}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Lynyrd Skynyrd|title=Street Survivors|award=Platinum|number=2|type=album|relyear=1977|certyear=1987|accessdate=December 25, 2021|refname=RIAA}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|title=A Brief History of Album Covers|first=Jason|last=Draper|publisher=Flame Tree Publishing|location=London|year=2008|pages=174–175|isbn=9781847862112|oclc=227198538}}

{{Lynyrd Skynyrd}}

{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Lynyrd Skynyrd albums]]
[[Category:Lynyrd Skynyrd albums]]
[[Category:1977 albums]]
[[Category:1977 albums]]
[[Category:MCA Records albums]]
[[Category:MCA Records albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Tom Dowd]]

[[Category:Albums produced by Kevin Elson]]
[[fi:Street Survivors]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio]]

Latest revision as of 05:19, 20 July 2024

Street Survivors
a photo of the band members surrounded by flames in a burning town
Studio album by
Lynyrd Skynyrd
ReleasedOctober 17, 1977
RecordedCriteria Studios, Miami, Florida, April 1977; Studio One, Doraville, Georgia, July–August 1977; Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, Muscle Shoals, Alabama
GenreSouthern rock, boogie rock
Length35:26
LabelMCA
ProducerTom Dowd; Jimmy Johnson & Tim Smith (track 3)
Lynyrd Skynyrd chronology
One More from the Road
(1976) 		Street Survivors
(1977) 		Skynyrd's First and... Last
(1978)
Alternate cover
the band members on a black background
Cover image used following the plane crash
Singles from Street Survivors
  1. "What's Your Name"
    Released: November 1977
  2. "You Got That Right"
    Released: October 17, 1977

Street Survivors is the fifth studio album by the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on October 17, 1977. The LP is the last Skynyrd album recorded by original members Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins, and is the sole Skynyrd studio recording by guitarist Steve Gaines. Three days after the album's release, the band's chartered airplane crashed en route to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, killing the pilot, co-pilot, the group's assistant road-manager and three band members (Van Zant, Gaines, and Gaines' older sister, backup singer Cassie Gaines), and severely injuring most who survived the crash.

The album was an instant success, achieving gold certification just 10 days after its release. It would later go double platinum.[1] The album performed well on the charts, peaking at #5 (the band's highest-charting album), as did the singles "What's Your Name" and "That Smell," the former a top-20 hit on the singles chart.

Background

[edit]

Street Survivors was recorded twice, once with Tom Dowd at the helm at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, and then at Studio One in Doraville, Georgia, five months later with uncredited co-producers Kevin Elson and Rodney Mills. The Doraville recording was used for the initial release of the album. On March 4, 2008, a remastered version of the album, Street Survivors: Deluxe Edition, was released with these alternate versions of most of the songs as well as five live tracks. Differences are minor on some songs, with the major difference being a much slower and extended earlier version of "That Smell." Also included are two songs recorded for, but not included on the original album, "Georgia Peaches" and "Sweet Little Missy," with the latter being included twice, in demo and final form. Also included is a version of "Honky Tonk Night Time Man," with Ronnie's alternate autobiographical vocal take, entitled "Jacksonville Kid," which is believed to be the last vocal take he ever recorded in a studio.

The song "One More Time" was added to the album, presumably after it was decided to drop one of the two tracks above. However, this song is the original recording from their 1971 Muscle Shoals demo; it was not re-recorded for this album. Hence it features Greg Walker, Rickey Medlocke, and Ed King in place of Leon Wilkeson, Artimus Pyle, and Steve Gaines.

Street Survivors was a showcase for guitarist/vocalist Steve Gaines, who had joined the band just a year earlier on the recommendation of his sister Cassie. Publicly and privately, Ronnie Van Zant marveled at the multiple talents of Skynyrd's newest member, claiming that the band would "all be in his shadow one day." Gaines' contributions included his co-lead vocal with Van Zant on the co-written "You Got That Right" and the guitar boogie "I Know A Little," which Gaines had written before he joined Skynyrd. So confident was Skynyrd's leader of Gaines' abilities, that the album (and some concerts) featured Gaines delivering his self-penned blues "Ain't No Good Life" - one of the few songs in the first incarnation Skynyrd catalog to feature a lead vocalist other than Van Zant. The album also included the hit single "What's Your Name" and the ominous "That Smell" - a cautionary tale about drug abuse that seemed to be aimed at fellow band members (both Collins and Gary Rossington had serious car accidents which slowed the recording of the album).

Plane crash

[edit]
Main article: Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash

On October 20, 1977, only three days after the release of Street Survivors, and five shows into their most successful headlining tour to date, Lynyrd Skynyrd's chartered Convair CV-300 ran out of fuel near the end of their flight from Greenville, South Carolina, where they had just performed at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium, to LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Though the pilots attempted an emergency landing on a small airstrip, the plane crashed in a forest five miles (8 km) northeast of Gillsburg, Mississippi.[2] Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray, were killed on impact. The other band members (Collins, Rossington, Wilkeson, Powell, Pyle, and Hawkins), tour manager Ron Eckerman,[3] and road crew survived, but suffered serious injuries.

Following the crash and the ensuing press, Street Survivors became the band's second platinum album and reached No. 5 on the U.S. album chart. The single "What's Your Name?" reached No. 13 on the single airplay charts in January 1978.

The original cover sleeve for Street Survivors had featured a photograph of the band standing on a city street with all its buildings engulfed in flames, some near the center nearly obscuring Steve Gaines's face. After the plane crash, this cover became highly controversial. Out of respect for the deceased (and at the request of Teresa Gaines, Steve's widow), MCA Records withdrew the original cover and replaced it with a similar image of the band against a simple black background, which was on the back cover of the original sleeve. An urban legend has long claimed that only those band members touched by flame in the photograph were killed in the crash, but this is not true (flame appears to touch nearly all band members).[4] The original "flames" cover was restored for the Deluxe Edition.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Christgau's Record GuideA[6]
The Daily VaultA[7]
Rolling Stone[8]

Robert Christgau stated: "Some rock deaths are irrelevant, while others make a kind of sense because the artists involved so obviously long to transcend (or escape) their own mortality. But for Ronnie Van Zant, life and mortality were the same thing--there was no way to embrace one without at least keeping company with the other. So it makes sense that 'That Smell' is the smell of death, or that in 'You Got That Right' Van Zant boasts that he'll never be found in an old folks' home. As with too many LPs by good road bands, each side here begins with two strong cuts and then winds down. The difference is that the two strong cuts are very strong and the weak ones gain presence with each listen. I'm not just being sentimental. I know road bands never make their best album the sixth time out, and I know Van Zant had his limits. But I mourn him not least because I suspect that he had more good music left in him than Bing and Elvis put together."[9]

Track listing

[edit]
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."What's Your Name"Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant3:30
2."That Smell"Allen Collins, Van Zant5:48
3."One More Time"Rossington, Van Zant5:03
4."I Know a Little"Steve Gaines3:26
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."You Got That Right"Gaines, Van Zant3:44
2."I Never Dreamed"Gaines, Van Zant5:21
3."Honky Tonk Night Time Man"Merle Haggard3:59
4."Ain't No Good Life"Gaines4:36
Total length:35:26
2001 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
9."Georgia Peaches" (from Legend (1987))Gaines, Van Zant3:15
10."Sweet Little Missy" (from Legend)Rossington, Van Zant5:10
11."You Got That Right" (alternate; previously unreleased)Gaines, Van Zant3:26
12."I Never Dreamed" (alternate; previously unreleased)Gaines, Van Zant4:55
13."Jacksonville Kid" (from Collectybles (2000))Haggard, Van Zant4:03
2008 Deluxe Edition bonus CD
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."What's Your Name" (original)Rossington, Van Zant3:33
2."That Smell" (original)Collins, Van Zant5:29
3."You Got That Right" (original)Gaines, Van Zant3:19
4."I Never Dreamed" (original)Gaines, Van Zant5:22
5."Georgia Peaches" (from Legend)Gaines, Van Zant3:14
6."Sweet Little Missy" (original)Rossington, Van Zant5:16
7."Sweet Little Missy" (from Legend)Rossington, Van Zant5:11
8."Ain't No Good Life" (original)Gaines5:02
9."That Smell" (complete original)Collins, Van Zant7:30
10."Jacksonville Kid" (from Collectybles)Haggard, Van Zant4:09
11."You Got That Right" (live)Gaines, Van Zant4:41
12."That Smell" (live)Collins, Van Zant6:05
13."Ain't No Good Life" (live)Gaines5:01
14."What's Your Name" (live)Rossington, Van Zant3:28
15."Gimme Three Steps" (live)Collins, Van Zant5:09

All tracks were previously unreleased except where noted.

Live tracks recorded at the Selland Arena in Fresno, California on August 24, 1977.

Personnel

[edit]
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Additional personnel
  • The Honkettes (JoJo Billingsley, Cassie Gaines, Leslie Hawkins) – backing vocals on "That Smell" and "One More Time"
  • Tim Smith – backing vocals on "One More Time"
  • Barry Lee Harwood – dobro on "Honky Tonk Night Time Man"

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1977–1978) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[10] 68
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[11] 3
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[12] 38
UK Albums (OCC)[13] 13
US Billboard 200[14] 5

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[15] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[1] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "American album certifications – Lynyrd Skynyrd – Street Survivors". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  2. ^ "Accident report, N55VM (10/20/77)". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
  3. ^ Smashwords — Turn It Up! — A book by Ron Eckerman. Smashwords.com. Retrieved on 2012-12-15.
  4. ^ "The 'Lynyrd Skynyrd' Crash". Check-Six.com. May 2007. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
  5. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2011). "Street Survivors - Lynyrd Skynyrd | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: L". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 1, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  7. ^ Thelen, Christopher (2019). "The Daily Vault Music Reviews : Street Survivors". dailyvault.com. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  8. ^ Hiatt, Brian (2011). "Lynyrd Skynyrd: Street Survivors [Deluxe Edition] : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  9. ^ Robert Christgau: CG: Lynyrd Skynyrd
  10. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5478a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  12. ^ "Charts.nz – Lynyrd Skynyrd – Street Survivors". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  13. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  14. ^ "Lynyrd Skynyrd Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  15. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Lynrd Skynrd – Street Survivors". Music Canada.

Further reading

[edit]
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