Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Hugh McIntyre covers music, with a focus on the global charts.

It’s been 50 years since Ronnie Van Zant first implored listeners to turn it up and sing songs about the Southland. "Sweet Home Alabama,” which would certainly be the signature song of any band that ...

Metallica paid homage to Lynyrd Skynyrd during their recent Alabama show with a cover of "Sweet Home Alabama." Metallica's tour continues in Nashville tonight (Jan. 24) at the Bridgestone Arena. See ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd has premiered a new animated video for the classic 1974 song “Sweet Home Alabama” to coincide with today’s release of Fyfty, a four-CD compilation celebrating the 50th anniversary of ...

“Sweet Home Alabama” figured into notable pre-fame moments of Taylor Hicks’ life. At a Hoover High school talent show, he played harmonica on a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Southern rock anthem with some ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s anthemic “Sweet Home Alabama” was released 50 years ago on June 24, 1974. It was the band’s highest-charting song, reaching No. 8 on the Billboard Top 100, and went on to become a ...

On an early summer’s day in 1973, while waiting for the last of his bandmates to arrive for rehearsal, Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington unfurled a speculative riff on a sunburst Les Paul.

As the guitarist recalled on the Ultimate Classic Rock Nights radio show, Van Zant was offended by a pair of Young songs that he didn't feel properly reflected the South. "We loved him," Rossington ...

Ed King, the talented guitarist whose riffs thrilled millions of fans as a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, has reportedly died. Word of his death was posted on King’s Facebook page. “It is with great sorrow ...

Ed King, the Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist who co-wrote the Southern rock anthem, “Sweet Home Alabama,” has died. The retired guitarist died Wednesday at his home in Nashville, according to his Facebook ...

The spirit of Lynyrd Skynyrd lives – in a new whiskey called Hell House, named for the “nasty little shack” where “Free Bird,” “Sweet Home Alabama” and the band’s other rock classics were forged. The ...