The next version that has been released commercially is the version most familiar to listeners. However, Billy Powell had informally joined the band at this time, so the signature piano opening to the song is present, closely resembling the final "Pronounced" version. The version recorded at Muscle Shoals studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama also has the same structure as the Shade Tree version. This format would become familiar to some later when MCA Records put out "Free Bird" as a single and also fading out as the verses came to a close. The outro section is almost the same as the version played three years later.Īnother recording from the same year, albeit on Quinvy records, follows the same pacing, however, the song fades out as Van Zant comes to the final "Lord help me, I can't change" line. The solo section at this point was just in its infancy, so it did not have the defined 4x4x4 structure to the solo and rhythm guitars. The song still follows the same format as the 1973 studio version on the "Pronounced" record. As it was originally written and also recorded for the Shade Tree Record demos (See album "Collectybles"), Billy Powell had not yet joined the band, so the song opened with the double-tracked, arpeggiated rhythm playing the verse chord progression once before the slide guitar entered. Since the song was written in early 1970, "Free Bird" has undergone many changes in its structure/pacing. When Allen first showed the song to Ronnie Van Zant, he scoffed at it, saying it "had too many words." Later Van Zant had an idea for a melody, asked Allen to play him the song again, and "Free Bird" was born. This question became the opening line of "Free Bird". The lyrics came about when Allen Collins' steady girlfriend, who realized that the music always came first with Allen, asked him the question: "If I leave here tomorrow would you still remember me?" Allen jotted the line down for future use. Powell became a member after Ronnie Van Zant noticed his talent and invited him to join.
Roadie Billy Powell was unknown as a piano player to the band but was discovered when he played the intro piece to "Free Bird" at a high school musical. The song was written early in the group's history.
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