Billy Powell

Billy Powell was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, and raised in a military family; his father served in the U.S. Navy. Powell spent part of his childhood in Italy due to his father's assignment there. After his father passed away from cancer in 1960, Powell and his family returned to the United States and settled in Jacksonville, Florida. He met his lifelong friend, Leon Wilkeson, in elementary school. Powell's interest in piano began to develop, and he took lessons from a local teacher named Madalyn Brown, who believed he was a natural and did not need her guidance. For high school, his mother enrolled Billy and his brother, Ricky, at Sanford Naval Academy in Sanford, Florida. Billy later returned to Jacksonville and attended Bishop Kenny High School, graduating in 1970. He briefly enrolled at a community college, majoring in Music Theory. Around this time, he began working as a roadie for Lynyrd Skynyrd. Powell remained with the band for two years, including a support slot for Leslie West's "Mountain." In 1972, during a show at the Bolles school prom, Powell spotted a piano in the corner and played his piano-based version of "Freebird" for the band. Impressed, Ronnie Van Zant asked if Powell had been playing the piano all along, to which he replied that he had been classically trained. Skynyrd was looking for a keyboardist, and Powell was hired. In 1973, Lynyrd Skynyrd signed with MCA Records and gained national exposure with the release of their first album, *pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd*. The band's popularity increased in 1974 with their second album, *Second Helping*, which featured their highest-charting single, "Sweet Home Alabama." The band remained popular over the next three years, culminating in the 1977 release of *Street Survivors*, which was widely regarded as their strongest work to date. However, three days after the release, the band's chartered plane crashed near McComb, Mississippi. The crash killed singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, his sister and backing vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, and both pilots. The rest of the band sustained injuries ranging from mild to severe. Powell suffered severe facial lacerations, nearly losing his nose, but was otherwise relatively uninjured. He was the first to be released from the hospital and the only member able to attend the funerals of his fallen bandmates. Powell rejoined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1987 for a tribute tour and remained with the band until his death. Guitarist Gary Rossington is the only member from the classic lineup who continues to record and perform with the band today. Powell died on January 28, 2009, at the age of 56 from an apparent heart attack at his home in Orange Park, Florida.