Simple Man

Simple Man Lynyrd Skynyrd (pronounced 'leh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd) Family Friendly Information Released 1973 Genre Southern Rock Language English Source Rock Band Track Pack Vol. 2 also on iPhone OS also in Mobile version Available November 18, 2008 (Pack) (DLC) Playable in Rock Band Rock Band 2 Rock Band 3 Rock Band Blitz Lego Rock Band Rock Band iPhone Difficulty Band 0 Basic Pro Guitar 1 3 Bass 1 red Drums 1 1 Keys NoNo Part NoNo Part Vocals 2 NoNo Part Difficulty (on iPhone OS) Band 0 Guitar 1 Bass 1 Drums 1 Vocals 2

Details Male singer Guitar Solo Vocal Tambourine

Simple Man is a song by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was released as a Rock Band downloadable single and as part of Classic Rock Pack 01 on April 15, 2008. It has also appeared in Rock Band Track Pack Vol. 2 and Rock Band Mobile. A Pro Guitar upgrade for use in Rock Band 3 was released on March 1, 2011.

Shortly after Ronnie Van Zant's grandmother and Gary Rossington's mother died, they got together in Van Zant's apartment and started telling stories about them. Rossington came up with a chord progression, and Van Zant wrote the lyrics based on advice the women had given them over the years. They wrote it in about an hour.

Even though the lyrics state, "Sit beside me, my only son," Ronnie was not the only son. He had 2 younger brothers along with one older sister and one younger sister.

This appears on the soundtrack to the movie Almost Famous. (thanks, Aaron - Twin Cities, MN, for above 2)

Skynyrd producer Al Kooper didn't like the way this was coming out, so the band recorded it without him and had him add his organ part later. He didn't think they should release it, but realized he was wrong when it went over so well with their fans.

When Skynyrd toured in 1987, they dedicated this to Van Zant.

The studio and live versions of this song are tuned to different keys. The studio is in G#/Ab while the live is the key of A. (thanks, Bryant - Salina, KS)

The Heavy Metal band Shinedown recorded an acoustic version. The Deftones also covered it on their B-Sides And Rarities CD.

In popular cultureEdit

Template:In popular culture

• The intro of the song was used in The Sopranos episode "Cold Stones".

• The song is used in the 1973 film Westworld.

• The song is used in the 1974 film The Towering Inferno.

• The song is used in the 1984 film This Is Spinal Tap.

• The song is used in the 1986 film Sid and Nancy.

• The song is used in the 1987 film Spaceballs.

• The song is used in the 1989 film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

• The song is used in the 1991 film The Doors.

• The song is used in the 1992 film Wayne's World.

• The song is used in the 1994 film Airheads.

• The song is used in the 1997 film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.

• The song is used in the 1997 film The Full Monty.

• The first half of the song can be heard in the 2000 semi-autobiographical film Almost Famous.

• The song is used in the 2000 film Dude, Where's My Car?.

• The song is used in the 2006 film Barnyard.

• The song is used in the 2006 film Flushed Away.

• The song is used in the 2010 film Toy Story 3.

• The Lynyrd Skynyrd original of the song was made available to download on April 15, 2008 for use in the Rock Band music gaming platform, and on March 1, 2011 for PRO mode which takes advantage of the use of a real guitar/bass guitar, along with standard MIDI-compatible electronic drum kits/keyboards in addition to up to three-part harmony vocals.^[1]

• This song is used as the television theme song to History's Mountain Men.

• Mixed martial artist Matt Mitrione uses "Simple Man" as his entrance song.^[2]

• The song was covered by country music artist Hank Williams Jr. on the 1991 album Pure Hank and alternative metal band Deftones, appearing on two of their albums, B-Sides & Rarities (2005) and Covers (2011). The song was also covered by rock band Shinedown off the deluxe edition of their album Leave a Whisper, having an acoustic version and a rock version. Shinedown dedicated their cover to their friend, guitarist Dimebag Darrell, who was murdered on-stage in 2004. The country rock band Confederate Railroad covers the song in the Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute album Skynyrd Frynds.

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