Maps of Music

Street Survivors (1977)

Where the lyrics of Street Survivors take you, and where it was really made.

Three days after this album came out, the band's chartered plane crashed, and the original cover was withdrawn and replaced.

Key places

First sessions at Criteria Studios (1977)

Recording site Criteria Studios — The album was first recorded with Tom Dowd at the helm at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, before the band returned to the studio later in 1977. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Second sessions at Studio One in Doraville (1977)

Recording site Studio One — The second recording took place at Studio One in Doraville, Georgia, five months after the first sessions, and this version was used for the initial release. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Portside Sound Studios in the recording credits (1977)

Recording site Muscle Shoals Sound Studio — Portside Sound Studios appears as a recording location in the source's recording links, while the source describes 'One More Time' as the original 1971 Muscle Shoals demo recording. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Street Survivors: fifth studio album by the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Released 17 October 1977 on MCA Records
• Last Skynyrd album recorded by original members Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins
• Only Skynyrd studio album featuring guitarist Steve Gaines
• Released three days before the chartered plane crash of 20 October 1977

Background

• Gaines joined the band a year earlier, on the recommendation of his sister Cassie
• Album showcases Gaines: co-lead vocal on 'You Got That Right', guitar boogie 'I Know a Little', lead vocal on 'Ain't No Good Life'
• Singles 'What's Your Name' and 'That Smell' included
• 'That Smell' is a cautionary tale about drug abuse, seemingly aimed at fellow band members
• Car accidents involving Collins and Gary Rossington slowed recording
• Plane crash killed Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot and co-pilot

Recording

• Recorded twice
• First session with Tom Dowd at Criteria Studios, Miami, Florida, beginning April 1977
• Second session at Studio One, Doraville, Georgia, five months later
• Second session co-produced by Kevin Elson and Rodney Mills, both uncredited
• Doraville recording used for the initial release
• 'One More Time' is the original recording from a 1971 Muscle Shoals demo and was not re-recorded for this album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964 as My Backyard, with Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass), and Bob Burns (drums).
• Adopted the name Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1968, partly as a mocking tribute to P.E. teacher Leonard Skinner.
• Debut album (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) released in 1973, produced by Al Kooper.

Members

• Core lineup in 1973: Van Zant, Collins, Rossington, Leon Wilkeson (bass), Billy Powell (keyboards), and Ed King (guitar).
• Burns was replaced by Artimus Pyle in 1974; King was replaced by Steve Gaines in 1976.

Career

• Popularized Southern rock with "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird".
• Career halted on October 20, 1977, when their chartered plane crashed, killing Van Zant, Gaines, and Cassie Gaines.
• Reunited in 1987 with Johnny Van Zant as lead vocalist and continued touring for decades.
• Gary Rossington, the last founding member, died in March 2023.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006; Rolling Stone ranked them No. 95 among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Robert Christgau: links 'That Smell' to the smell of death and 'You Got That Right' to Van Zant's boast about never ending up in an old folks' home
• Christgau: like many LPs by good road bands, each side opens with two strong cuts and then winds down
• Christgau: the strong cuts here are very strong, and the weaker tracks gain presence with each listen
• Christgau: the death of Van Zant gives the album extra weight, since he had more good music left in him

Reappraisal

• Christgau's notes read the album through the band's crash, treating the songs as tied to Van Zant's mortality

Records

• US Billboard 200: No. 5, the band's highest-charting album
• France: 5th on the Billboard 200, certified double platinum in the US by the RIAA
• Brazil: RIAA certifications dated 27 October 1977 (gold), 2 December 1977 (platinum), and 21 July 1987 (2x platinum)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The original cover showed the band on a city street with buildings engulfed in flames; after the crash it was withdrawn at the request of Teresa Gaines, Steve's widow.
• MCA replaced the cover with a similar image of the band against a plain black background, which had been on the back of the original sleeve.
• An urban legend says only band members touched by flame in the photo died in the crash; the source states this is not true.
• Tom Dowd produced the first session at Criteria Studios but was not credited on the 1977 release.
• The album's first cover is considered a rarity, since the withdrawn version is now scarce.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

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