Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd song)
| "Simple Man" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Lynyrd Skynyrd from the album (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) | |
| Released | 1973 |
| Recorded | April 30, 1973 at Studio One, Doraville, Georgia, U.S. |
| Genre | Southern rock/Blues |
| Length |
5:57 (album version) 6:39 (live version) |
| Label | Sounds of the South |
| Writer |
Ronnie Van Zant Gary Rossington |
| Producer | Al Kooper |
"Simple Man" is the last track on Side 1 of Lynyrd Skynyrd's debut album, (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd).
The song is one of Lynyrd Skynyrd's most popular songs. Since the song became available for digital download, it has become Lynyrd Skynyrd's third best-selling digital song after "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird". It has sold 1,333,000 copies in the US as of November 2013.[1]
Live performance popularity
Frontman Johnny Van Zant discussed this song in a track-by-track commentary to promote the band's 2010 CD/DVD Live From Freedom Hall. He said: "Well that's a great song and something that I think we all live by. I think anybody out there needs to respect their mother, and the words of their mother. It's mama talking to you in that song and I think it's probably one of my favorites if not my favorite to do live. It's just a great song and that one stays in the set and the crowd always goes crazy on that one."
Popular culture
The Lynyrd Skynyrd original of the song was made available to download on April 15, 2008 for use in the Rock Band music gaming platform, and on March 1, 2011 for PRO mode which takes advantage of the use of a real guitar / bass guitar, along with standard MIDI-compatible electronic drum kits / keyboards in addition to up to three-part harmony vocals.[2]
This song is used as the television theme song to History's Mountain Men. Mixed martial artist Matt Mitrione uses "Simple Man" as his entrance song.[3]
This song was also used in the Supernatural television series in Season 5 episode 3 titled "Free to Be You and Me".
The song was covered by alternative-metal band Deftones, appearing on two of their albums, B-Sides & Rarities (2005) and Covers (2011). The song was also covered by rock band Shinedown off the deluxe edition of their album Leave a Whisper, having an acoustic version and a rock version. The country rock band Confederate Railroad covers the song in the Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute album Skynyrd Frynds.
This song was briefly used in My Name Is Earl episode "Number One".
Personnel
- Lead guitar: Gary Rossington
- Bass: Ed King
- Organ: Al Kooper
- Keyboards: Billy Powell
- Lead vocals: Ronnie Van Zant
- Drums: Bob Burns
- Rhythm & co-lead guitar: Allen Collins
References
- ↑ Grein, Paul (2013-11-27). "Chart Watch: Eminem Returns to #1, Gaga Sinks to #8". Yahoo Music. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
- ↑ Gaddo, Kyle (2011-02-25). "Eleven Legacy Rock Band Tracks Getting PRO Upgrades On March 1st". The Gaming Vault. Retrieved 2012-11-08.
- ↑ "UFC 137: Penn vs Diaz". MMA Entrances. 2011-10-30. Retrieved 2013-09-24.