With Lynyrd Skynyrd coming to the Ford Center on August 1st and being one of the most popular rock and roll bands of all time, we want to know - how many of you actually knew where the band’s name came from? When the band first formed in 1964, they called themselves “The Noble Five.”  The following year, the name was then changed to “My Backyard” when two additional members joined. The band once again changed their name in 1970. This time, however, it held more meaning.

The basketball coach at their high school, Forby Leonard Skinner, had more of an impact than he could have imagined. Skinner was a gym coach who at some point in the 1960s disciplined two members for letting their hair grow long. The young musicians eventually dropped out of school, but remembered all the hassles. In 1970, the band, which at the time called themselves “One Percent,” had a gig at a local club where they called out to the crowd, "Hey, we're Leonard Skinner and we're gonna play for y'all tonight". Since most of the crowd had run into Coach Skinner at one point or another the name was an instant hit and stuck. To make themselves more original, the spelling was later changed to “Lynyrd Skynyrd.”

Now, you know!

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