It’s the hard-rocking band with the funny-spelled name.  Lynyrd Skynyrd has been a band to survive multiple tragedies and continued to tour, record, and play in spite of everything, including a straight-laced gym teacher and coach who dutifully enforced the hair-length policies at Robert E. Lee High School.  He didn’t know that one of the long-haired kids he sent to the principal’s office, Gary Rossington, would go on to become a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and be in one of the best bands of all time.  Jacksonville, Florida, teacher Leonard Skinner, inspiration of Lynyrd Skynyrd, died yesterday at age 77.

Leonard Skinner wasn’t much impressed with the style choices of Skynyrd,and he was a bit bothered by the urban legends that sprang up, saying he was harsh to them or kicked them out of school.  “It was against the school rules.  I don’t particularly like long hair on men, but again, it wasn’t my rule,” said Skinner in a 2009 interview.  A few years after the band matriculated at Robert E. Lee, Skinner heard Skynyrd for the first time and asked his son, “What the hell kind of noise are you listening to?”  Still, the band and Skinner became friends, and enriched one another’s lives.

“He made a lot of new friends,” said his daughter, Susie Moore.  “That in itself really brought a lot of wonderful people in our family’s lives, simply because they were Lynyrd Skynyrd fans, and they wanted to meet Dad.  They loved him.  They’re part of our extended family now.”  The family is planning a funeral on Friday and have invited anyone who would like to be a part of the celebration of Skinner’s life.

Tags: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gary Rossington, Leonard Skinner, Robert E. Lee High School, Jacksonville, Florida, man who inspired Lynyrd Skynyrd passes away, obituaries, Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, Forby Leonard Skinner

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