After several years as an incendiary but unsigned Florida bar band, Lynyrd Skynyrd emerged in 1973 to supersede the Allman Brothers as the most popular exponents of Southern rock. Though Lynyrd Skynyrd's use of the Confederate battle flag ensured that the Stars and Bars became a symbol of the rebellious attitude central to contemporary rock 'n' roll, the group's defiant celebration of a particular Southern white cultural identity was inextricably related to the racial politics of the South in the post-Civil Rights period. In 1977, the group disbanded after a plane crash killed two of its members. However, the Lynyrd Skynyrd mythology grew precipitously over the next decade, culminating in an emotional and rapturously received reunion of the remaining bandmates in 1987.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's nucleus of vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, drummer Bob Burns, and guitarists Gary Rossington and Allen Collins came together at a Jacksonville, Florida, high school. Though...