Всемирная известность пришла к группе после второго альбома Second Helping, а точнее, с песней из него "Sweet Home Alabama".
20 октября 1977 года, через 3 дня после выхода альбома "Выжившие с улицы" (на обложке первого тиража альбома музыканты стоят на фоне языков пламени), нанятый на время американского турне самолёт разбился во время перелёта команды из Южной Каролины в Луизиану. В результате погибли трое из тогдашних уже десяти участников группы (кроме музыкантов в состав было ещё включено трио бэк-вокалисток), включая отца-основателя и главного идейного вдохновителя Ронни Ван Занта, их неизменного помощника тур-менеджера и обоих пилотов. Уцелевшие в катастрофе музыканты из-за травм не смогли продолжить полноценную деятельность, и было принято решение о роспуске.
(wiki-org.ru/wiki/Lynyrd_Skynyrd)

Charts: U.S. #20, CA #73, UK #34, Sweden #50, Netherlands #20; U.S. Gold Status.
Lynyrd Skynyrd begins to show signs of wear on their fourth album, Gimme Back My Bullets. The band had switched producers, hiring Tom Dowd, the producer who served Atlantic's roster so well during the label's heyday. Unfortunately, he wasn't perfectly suited for Skynyrd, at least at this point in their history. The group had toured regularly since the release of their debut and it showed, not just in their performance, but in the songwriting of Ronnie Van Zant, who had been so consistent through their first three albums. Not to say that he was spent -- the title track was as defiant as "All I Can Do Is Write About It" was affecting, while "Searching" was a good ballad and "Double Trouble" was a good rocker. These songs, however, were surrounded by songs that leaned to the dull side of generic (unlike those on Nuthin' Fancy) and Dowd's production didn't inject energy into the group's performances. This doesn't mean Gimme Back My Bullets is a bad record, since the group was still in fairly good shape and they had some fine songs, but coming after three dynamite albums, it was undoubtedly a disappointment -- so much so that it still sounds like a disappointment years later, even though it's one of only a handful of records by the original band.
(allmusic.com/album/gimme-back-my-bullets-mw0000196579)