Top 10 Lynyrd Skynyrd Ballads

Photo: MCA Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Our top 10 Lynyrd Skynyrd Ballads list presents ten great ballads released by one of the most loved rock bands in classic rock history. This article will focus mainly on the output released by the band’s original lineup up until and including the Street Survivors album. However, we felt it was essential not to ignore the music that the band continued to release after the band regrouped in the wake of the tragic plane crash of 1977. These aren’t love songs, although some may qualify a bit, these are rock ballads done Lynyrd Skynyrd style and the best way to define what we mean by that is just to ask you to take as listen to these ten incredible Lynyrd Skynyrd Ballads.

# 10 – Red White & Blue

We open our top 10 Lynyrd Skynyrd Ballads list with the fabulous song entitled “Red White & Blue.” This is the first of two songs on this Lynyrd Skynyrd Ballads list that comes from the post Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines era. The band has continued on for many years since the 1970s, releasing more albums than the original group and constantly touring, keeping the music the group released in the 197os very much alive while giving fans a choice also to hear new music. Some have accepted it; some have not. We are overjoyed that the group decided to continue and keep the music of Lynyrd Skynyrd very much alive for the past forty-plus years. The song “Red White & Blue” was released on the 2003 Vicious Cycle album.

# 9 -Tomorrow’s Goodbye

Continuing with our top 10 Lynyrd Skynyrd Ballads list, we will listen to the beautiful ballad entitled “Tomorrow’s Goodbye.” This is as modern as Lynyrd Skynyrd has ever sounded, and in many ways, it’s great to showcase what happened to the band and the directions they took at times in continuing the band’s legacy. It’s in one of the lyrical lines of the song that speaks the truth about why it was important for the band to continue and how brave it was for Johnny Van Zant to step up to that microphone and sing the words “Like my brother before me all I can do is write this song.” The song was released on the album entitled Edge of Forever. The album was released in 1999.

# 8 – Coming Home

In the number eight spot on our top 10 Lynyrd Skynyrd Ballads list, we present the song “Coming Home.” The song was released a little over a year after Ronnie Van Zant and Steve and Cassie Gaines were killed in the tragic plane crash. The song was released on Skynyrd’s First and…Last album. The album was released in 1978. It’s a tune that starts slow and then builds in tempo until it reaches a sort of “Free Bird” style ending. It’s one of the best songs from the old band released after the band’s tragic accident.

# 7 – The Ballad Of Curtis Loew

In the number seven position on our top 10 Lynyrd Skynyrd Ballads list is the killer song entitled “The Ballad Of Curtis Loew.” This is the definition of a pure southern rock ballad. The sound of the early 1970s is very much present here as you can hear snippets of Elton John’s Tumbleweed Connection and the sound of The Band on this track. The song was released on the album entitled Second Helping. The album was released in 1974. This very cool tune was not often performed by the band live., It was covered many years later by the excellent jam group we know as Phish.

# 6 – Am I Losing

Landing in the number six spot on our top 10 Lynyrd Skynyrd Ballads list we present the song “Am I Losing.” This is a bit of an upbeat song for a ballad, but it still fits the requirements in our book. The song’s bridge is stunning. There is a bit of an Allman Brothers feel on this one. It just has such a great mid-tempo southern groove that is so incredibly addictive. The song asks some deep questions. “Am I Losing” was composed by Gary Rossington and Ronnie Van Zant. It was released on the album Nothing Fancy.

# 5 – Every Mother’s Son

At the halfway point on our top 10 Lynyrd Skynyrd Ballads list, we listen to the great track entitled “Every Mother’s Son.” The acoustic guitars open this one up, setting the scene for Ronnie Van Zant’s magical voice. This simmering ballad was released on the band’s Gimme Back My Bullets album. The album was released in 1976. The song was composed by Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant. The album featured the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd lineup of Ronnie Van Zant on lead vocals, Gary Rossington and Allen Collins on guitars, Leon Wilkeson on bass, Artimus Pyle on drums, and the spectacular Billy Powell on piano.

# 4 – One More Time

Sometimes, it hurts to listen to this album because it was just so good, and the band seemed to be on the verge of taking another step to who knows where. The record was just so magical. And, of course, we all know what happened when the record was released. The album is filled mainly with rockers, but the one ballad that always stood out was the slow groovin’ number “One More Time.” This one really hits home. The song was composed by Gary Rossington and Ronnie Van Zant. It was placed as the third track on the album right after “That Smell,” our favorite track on the album but a song that we didn’t consider a ballad.

# 3 – Simple Man

Moving along on our top 10 Lynyrd Skynyrd Ballads list we present the song entitled “Simple Man.” Hands down, this is a huge favorite among the millions of fans who have loved this band since the 1970s. The song speaks to so many people in a deep heartfelt way. The sound of Ronnie’s voice singing those words I’m A Simple Kind Of Man just never gets old. The song was released on the album entitled (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd). The song was composed by Gary Rossington and Ronnie Van Zant.

# 2 – Free Bird (First half)

Just of the top spot on our top 10 Lynyrd Skynyrd Ballads list we celebrate the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd song entitled “Freebird.” We weren’t really sure what to do with this one because the first half of the song is one of the most emotionally charged and stunning rock ballads ever written. Yet, the second half explodes into perhaps the most legendary southern rock jam of all time outside of “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed.” So, how could we leave “Free Bird” out? The answer is we could not. So, let’s celebrate the extraordinary first half of this song in the number two spot. And if you’re wondering which version, the live or the studio, well you, you should know the answer to that one.

# 1 – Tuesday’s Gone

We close out our top 10 Lynyrd Skynyrd Ballads list with the outstanding song entitled “Tuesday’s Gone.” Every single Lynyrd Skynyrd fan fell in love with this song the first time they heard it. The song was released on the album entitled (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd). It was Lynyrd Skynyrd’s debut album. The album was released in 1973. The band’s first record was produced by the brilliant Al Kooper who was a founding member of his own band Blood Sweat & Tears a few years earlier.