Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour

The Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour was a tour that was undertaken to pay tribute to the original band members who died in a plane crash in 1977. The tour began in the fall of 1987, in honor of the 10-year anniversary of the plane crash. A number of surviving members reunited for the tour. Original members Gary Rossington, Billy Powell and Leon Wilkeson were joined by Ed King (original member who had left the band in 1975), Artimus Pyle (drummer at the time of the plane crash), Randall Hall and Johnny Van Zant.

Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour

Tour by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Associated album	Lynyrd Skynyrd Live: Southern by the Grace of God
Start date	September 23, 1987
End date	September 25, 1988
No. of shows	84
Lynyrd Skynyrd concert chronology

History

Rossington, who had formed the original band with lead singer Ronnie Van Zant was initially reluctant to do the tour. He was, in the words of his wife Dale Krantz-Rossington, still "very emotional" about the preceding events and about the anniversary of the plane crash. Eventually, Rossington decided that if the tour was to be done right, and if his fallen colleagues were to be honored properly, that he should be involved.

Original guitarist and founding member, Allen Collins, was unable to play as a result of being paralyzed in a car crash in 1986. Collins served as musical director for the tour, picking setlists and making cameo appearances onstage. He chose former bandmate Randall Hall (who had played with Collins in the Allen Collins Band) to take his spot.

Ronnie Van Zant's youngest brother, Johnny, was chosen to assume the role of lead vocalist. Other candidates were considered, including Paul Rodgers (of Free and Bad Company fame). Ronnie had been a huge Paul Rodgers fan and even owned a boat named "Bad Company" at one point. Ultimately though, it was Johnny who was deemed to be the best replacement for his brother.

The first leg of the tour was enormously successful. Moved by the loyalty and reaction of the fans, the band elected to add a second leg (which ran through the summer of 1988). The Tribute Tour Band played an inspired selection of classic Skynyrd tunes and ended the show with a heart-wrenching instrumental version of Free Bird.

The Rossington Band opened for the entire tour, playing a mixture of Rossington band original material and earlier material from the Rossington/Collins Band era. Dale Krantz-Rossington sang lead vocals for the Rossington Band and backup vocals for the Skynyrd set. Between the Rossington Band set and the Skynyrd set, old videos of the original Skynyrd band were shown on the bigscreen featuring full length versions of such songs as "T for Texas", "Don't Ask Me No Questions", "Cry for the Bad Man" and "Whiskey Rock-A-Roller".

Typical setlist

• "Workin' for MCA"
• "I Ain't the One"
• "Saturday Night Special"
• "The Needle and the Spoon"
• "That Smell"
• "I Know a Little"
• "Gimme Three Steps"
• "Call Me the Breeze"
• "Swamp Music"
• "You Got That Right"
• "What's Your Name"
• "Gimme Back My Bullets"
• "Simple Man"
• "Sweet Home Alabama"
• "Free Bird"

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
Leg 1
September 23, 1987	Concord	United States	Concord Pavilion
September 24, 1987	Reno		Lawlor Events Center
September 25, 1987	Sacramento		Cal Expo Amphitheatre
September 26, 1987	Mountain View		Shoreline Amphitheatre
September 27, 1987	Irvine		Irvine Meadows
September 28, 1987	Los Angeles		Universal Amphitheatre
September 29, 1987	Wheeling		Wheeling Civic Center
September 30, 1987	St. Louis		St. Louis Arena
October 1, 1987	Cincinnati		Cincinnati Gardens
October 2, 1987	Chicago		UIC Pavilion
October 3, 1987	Detroit		Joe Louis Arena
October 4, 1987	Pittsburgh		Civic Arena
October 6, 1987	Landover		Capital Centre
October 8, 1987	Worcester		Centrum
October 9, 1987	Uniondale		Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
October 10, 1987	New Haven		Veterans Memorial Coliseum
October 11, 1987	Philadelphia		Spectrum
October 14, 1987	Atlanta		Omni Coliseum
October 15, 1987
October 16, 1987	Jacksonville		Jacksonville Coliseum
October 17, 1987	Tampa		Sun Dome
October 19, 1987	Charlotte		Charlotte Coliseum
October 20, 1987	Birmingham		Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex
October 23, 1987	Antioch		Starwood Amphitheatre
October 24, 1987	Indianapolis		Market Square Arena
October 25, 1987	Richfield		Richfield Coliseum
October 27, 1987	Norman		Lloyd Noble Center
October 29, 1987	Memphis		Mid-South Coliseum
October 30, 1987	Biloxi		Gulf Coast Coliseum
October 31, 1987	Houston		The Summit
November 1, 1987	Dallas		Reunion Arena
Leg 2
May 14, 1988	Pensacola	United States	Pensacola Civic Center
May 15, 1988	Tallahassee		Leon County Civic Center
May 17, 1988	New Orleans		UNO Lakefront Arena
May 18, 1988	Shreveport		Hirsch Memorial Coliseum
May 19, 1988	Jackson		Mississippi Coliseum
May 21, 1988	Lexington		Rupp Arena
May 22, 1988	Johnson City		Freedom Hall Civic Center
May 23, 1988	Knoxville		Knoxville Civic Coliseum
May 25, 1988	Columbia		Carolina Coliseum
May 26, 1988	Savannah		Savannah Civic Center
May 28, 1988	Orlando		Orange County Convention Center
May 29, 1988	Pembroke Pines		Hollywood Sportatorium
May 31, 1988	Chattanooga		UTC Arena
June 1, 1988	Roanoke		Roanoke Civic Center
June 2, 1988	Greensboro		Greensboro Coliseum
June 4, 1988	Charlotte		Charlotte Memorial Stadium
June 5, 1988	Atlanta		Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
June 7, 1988	Cuyahoga Falls		Blossom Music Center
June 8, 1988	Pittsburgh		Civic Arena
June 9, 1988	Clarkston		Pine Knob Music Theater
June 11, 1988	East Troy		Alpine Valley Music Theatre
June 12, 1988	Thornville		Buckeye Lake Music Center
June 15, 1988	Bloomington		Met Center
June 16, 1988	Cedar Rapids		Five Seasons Center
June 18, 1988	Peoria		Peoria Civic Center
June 19, 1988	Kansas City		Sandstone Center for the Performing Arts
June 20, 1988	Omaha		Omaha Civic Auditorium
June 23, 1988	Salt Lake City		Salt Palace
June 27, 1988	Portland		Starry Night
June 29, 1988	Tacoma		Tacoma Dome
July 1, 1988	Sacramento		Cal Expo Amphitheatre
July 2, 1988	Mountain View		Shoreline Amphitheatre
July 3, 1988	Concord		Concord Pavilion
August 8, 1988	Universal City		Universal Amphitheatre
August 16, 1988	Costa Mesa		Pacific Amphitheatre
August 17, 1988	Chandler		Compton Terrace
August 20, 1988	Morrison		Red Rocks Amphitheatre
August 21, 1988
August 23, 1988	Des Moines		Veterans Memorial Auditorium
August 24, 1988	St. Louis		Fox Theatre
August 26, 1988	Syracuse		New York State Fairgrounds
August 27, 1988	Manchester		Riverfront Park
August 29, 1988	Mansfield		Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts
September 1, 1988	Saratoga		Saratoga Performing Arts Center
September 2, 1988	Portland		Cumberland County Civic Center
September 4, 1988	Allentown		Fairground Grandstand
September 6, 1988	New York City		The Ritz (Miami Project To Cure Paralysis Benefit)
September 7, 1988	East Rutherford		Meadowlands Arena
September 8, 1988	Uniondale		Nassau Coliseum
September 10, 1988	Landover		Capital Centre
September 15, 1988	Philadelphia		Spectrum
September 16, 1988	Darien		Lakeside Amphitheater
September 18, 1988	Charleston		Charleston Civic Center
September 22, 1988	Trotwood		Hara Arena
September 23, 1988	Louisville		Louisville Gardens
September 24, 1988	Huntsville		Von Braun Civic Center
September 25, 1988	Antioch		Starwood Amphitheater

Personnel

• Johnny Van Zant – vocals
• Gary Rossington – guitars
• Ed King – guitars
• Randall Hall – guitars
• Billy Powell – keyboards
• Leon Wilkeson – bass
• Artimus Pyle – drums