Southern By The Grace Of God: Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour 1987 CD

Live Recording

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Randall Hall (vocals, guitar); Leon Wilkeson (vocals, bass); Johnny Van Zant, Donnie Van Zant (vocals); Ed King (guitar, Yamaha DX7, synthesizer); Gary Rossington, Jeff Carlisi, Toy Caldwell (guitar); Billy Powell (piano, organ, Yamaha DX7, synthesizer); Artimus Pyle (drums); Dale Krantz Rossington, Carol Bristow (background vocals).
Additional personnel: Charlie Daniels (vocals, fiddle); Donnie Van Zandt (vocals); Steve Morse, Toy Caldwell, Jeff Carlisi (guitar).
Muscle Shoals Horn Section: Ronnie Eades, Harvey Thompson.

Recorded at Omega Audio & Productions and Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas, Starwood Ampitheatre, Nashville Tennessee in October & November, 1987.
For its first live album since the fatal 1977 plane crash, Lynyrd Skynyrd drafted a few friends to sit in as guest artists, including former Dixie Dregs guitarist Steve Morse, fiddle wizard Charlie Daniels, and former Marshall Tucker Band guitarist Toy Caldwell, who contributes some of his unique thumb-picking guitar work to the J.J. Cale tune "Call Me the Breeze." Johnny VanZant, younger brother of the late Ronnie VanZant, steps forward as lead singer, and even pulls in his other brother Donnie of .38 Special to sing along, and Artimus Pyle proves that he still has what it takes to provide the backbeat for one of the South's most enduring legends. While Southern By the Grace of God may not match the intensity of One More From the Road, it still delivers some excellent Southern jamming, pairing a few of the South's best-loved musicians with one of the world's legendary rock & roll bands. ~ Michael B. Smith
To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the tragic plane crash that took the lives of Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and Dean Killpatrick, Lynyrd Skynyrd regrouped for a very successful reunion tour in 1987. Such special guests as Steve Morse and Charlie Daniels (as well as Johnny Van Zandt filling in for his late brother, Ronnie), joined such Skynyrd veterans as Artimus Pyle, Bill Powell, Leon Wilkeson, and Gary Rossington, which is all captured on 1988's SOUTHERN BY THE GRACE OF GOD. While SOUTHERN is not on par with the original Skynyrd concert classic, ONE MORE FROM THE ROAD, it is a fun collection nonetheless--you can't go wrong with such FM radio staples as "That Smell," "What's Your Name," "Gimme Back My Bullets," "Sweet Home Alabama," and "Freebird."