What’s Your Name – Lynyrd Skynyrd | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#13), 1978
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
What’s your name? Well, if it was Leonard Skinner and you enjoyed punishing long-haired students in your gym class, then you would ultimately achieve international fame.
Those boys in high school, who played in that band called My Backyard and Noble Five around 1965? Well, they changed their name to Lynyrd Skynyrd in honor of you, and became the most successful Southern rock band.
From their first album in 1973 (pronounced leh-nerd skin-nerd), their hard driving blend of blues, rock, and country hit home with music buyers. Street Survivors followed a double disc live album that had breathed new life into LS’s career, and expectations were high.
Three days after Survivor‘s release on October 17, 1977, the band’s privately chartered plane crashed outside of Gillsburg, MS, killing lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, among others. In the aftermath, What’s Your Name became LS’s highest charting record since their first one, Sweet Home Alabama.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Tom Dowd
Lyrics Written by:
- Gary Rossington
- Ronnie Van Zant
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).