Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964 by Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington, who met while both were students at Robert E. Lee High School. The pair had been playing together since the sixth grade. They joined forces with fellow students Larry Junstrom and Allen Collins, who also played in a band called The Noble Five. Bob Burns is the fifth member of the band that handles the drums. The first incarnation of the band was called My Backyard, which later morphed into The Noble Five and then finally Lynyrd Skynyrd. The name came from a high school gym teacher named Leonard Skinner who was known for penalizing students for having long hair. The band started playing shows around Jacksonville and quickly developed a following. The band became prominent in the Southern United States for its live performances and signature tunes "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird." They released their first single, "Need All My Friends", in 1968. The following year they released their self-titled debut album, which included the song "Free Bird", which would become one of their signature tunes. The band continued to tour and release albums throughout the early 1970s, with their popularity growing each year. They reached a new level of success with the release of their third album, "Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd", in 1973. The album included the song "Sweet Home Alabama", which would become one of their most popular songs. At the peak of their success, on October 20, 1977, the band was traveling to a concert in Greenville, South Carolina, when their plane crashed near Gillsburg, Mississippi. Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and his sister Cassie Gaines were all killed in the crash. Also killed were assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick and pilot Walter McCreary. This put an abrupt end to the band's most popular incarnation. The surviving members of the band, including Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, and Billy Powell, decided to disband. They released a final album, "Street Survivors", in October 1977. The album cover featured a photo of the band members with their arms around each other, taken just days before the plane crash. The band reformed in 1987 for a reunion tour with lead vocalist Johnny Van Zant, brother of Ronnie Van Zant. Lynyrd Skynyrd has released 24 studio albums, four live albums, two compilations, and a box set. The band has sold 28 million records in the United States.