'Freebird' ultimately unforgettable

"Man, do not write this," said Bruce Finkelman, owner of the Empty Bottle on Western Avenue.

[charlie d]

Kevin Matthews? Please...
It was ironic to yell "Freebird" long before the late 80's

It was in heavy use at many shows in the very late 70's and early 80's in Chicago.

[Bill]

I can remember the first time I heard Freebird. It was 1973 and I was in my northside apartment, and I was probably listening to WXRT. The guitar solos blew me away. That was how rock and roll was meant to sound. I went out and bought the album the next day, most likely at Flip Side Records (I think that was the name) on Foster Avenue.

[Mark]

"If I'm in the room and someone yells that, I'm going to punch them."

Take a pill, old man.

[Punch me]

Freeeeeeeeeeeeeebiiiiiiiiiiird , Yeah!

[Jeff]

Love this article but people were yelling this way before Matthews. I remember someone yelling this at Mazzy Star and they immediately quit stop playing at the Blind Pig in Champaign. They should have just gone into a version of 'Simple Man' in response!

[Best response]

I've got your 'Free Bird' right here.... and raise the middle digit.

[Bill Hicks]

A harsh reaction to "Freebird" came from the late comedian Bill Hicks during a Chicago gig in the early 1990s. On a bootleg recording of the show, Mr. Hicks at first just sounds irked. "Please stop yelling that," he says. "It's not funny, it's not clever -- it's stupid."

The comic soon works himself into a rage, but the "Freebirds" keep coming. "Freebird," he finally says wearily, then intones: "And in the beginning there was the Word --'Freebird.' And 'Freebird' would be yelled throughout the centuries.'Freebird,' the mantra of the moron."

[CRK]

I'm 43 so I can still yell it right? Right??

[Jeeez]

Man I still love that song today....

[powerpack]

Kevin did like to say "I'm such an idiot" a lot. I miss "dial a drug" and so much more.

He did Ed Schwartz very well.

Anyway. FREEBIRD!

Only thing dumber than yelling freebird is threatening to punch someone before you see how big they are.

[Kurtis Lowe]

This song is a classic. You have to listed to it in the context of the "One more from the road" album. K. Matthews repsonsible for people yelling "Freebird"? That's a joke. No way.

[keith]

I went to The Who concert in 1973 at the International Ampitheater. The opening act was L.S.. No one knew who they were. By the end of their set the audience was on there feet. They did an encore. I never saw an opening act get a standing ovation like that and do an encore. They kicked butt.

Oh and by the way, The Who were even better.

[seriously]

Mark wrote:

"If I'm in the room and someone yells that, I'm going to punch them."
Take a pill, old man.

You do realize that this was from a man who was persoanlly involved with Skynyrd right? To see something that is, to him at least, important turned into a joke would indeed provoke that reaction. Honestly I wou;dn't blame him at all.

[M W Cooper]

Say what you will about Skynyrd and Freebird, but I loved the band when I was 13 and I love them today at 50. In 20 years, I'm betting Skynyrd and Freebird are still on the radio while most of todays music has long since faded away.

[Jimmy]

A friend of mine has a live recording of Phish singing Freebird a-capella. You hear someone yelling freebird out of the croud and about a minute later they sing the song...the whole song.

[Skinner]

Greatest song ever.

[Ferrerman]

I always thought that the hollering for Freebird began with Dick Holiday and the Bamboo Gang. It's a good jam. I lived down South long enough to appreciate how much my redneck friends enjoy it. Personally, I prefer Gimme Three Steps but Freebird is the un-official "anthem" of Tipton County outside Memphis.

[yup]

charlie d wrote:

Kevin Matthews? Please...
It was ironic to yell "Freebird" long before the late 80's
It was in heavy use at many shows in the very late 70's and early 80's in Chicago.

UH HU

[Shaun]

This article leaves out the Cameron Crowe movie Elizabethtown... I've never seen the whole thing, but I caught a part of it on TV a couple of weeks ago. Some bar band is playing "Freebird" while the hotel ballroom they're in is burning down. I may have to see the whole thing sometime, just to see what the context for this was. I don't even know if anyone actually yells out "Freebird!" or not, but the scene was hilarious.

As for actually yelling out at concerts, who cares? Yeah, it's become cliched. But once upon a time it was kind of funny, sort of like "More cowbell!" before that became a cliche too. The suriving Skynyrd people shouldn't take it so seriously... If anything, take it as a compliment. It means the song's endured, and the people yelling it out would rather hear that than what the heckled band is playing.

That said, I prefer someone yelling out "Whipping Post!" like on the Allman Brothers Band's Live at Fillmore East album. Skynryd couldn't hold a candle to the Allmans.

[Concertgoer]

Someone yelled it at the Meat Puppets show at Schuba's May 31, and Curt Kirkwood responded by saying "this isn't Freebird, but it's smeared with a chicken's semen".