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ARTICLE OF THE WEEK


Dixie's Dalrlings Live High on Hog

Atlanta Journal
July 8, 1976

by Scott Cain

People who can remember the time, not so long ago, when Lynyrd Skynyrd could be heard any night at Atlanta club are marveling at Skynyrd's rise to fame and wealth.

While spending several days in Atlanta to give a series of shows at the Fox Theatre, the Skynyrd entourage is housed at the swankest resort on Lake Lanier, and needless to say, is being chauffeured back and forth in limousines.

After Wednesday night's opening concert, the seven members of Skynyrd were guests of honor at a post-midnight supper held in one of Atlanta's ritziest restaurants. There was speculation that not a single person who had been invited to dinner failed to attend, if only because no one wanted to miss the swell surroundings.

After the feast, the members of Skynyrd were each presented a platinum record. This represents the sale in this country of a million copies of "Second Helping", the album that includes "Sweet Home Alabama", among other hits.

Spokesmen for Skynyrd say the band is only the second Deep South rock band - after the Allman Brothers - to have earned a platinum record for any album.

During the three concerts being given in Atlanta, Skynyrd's first "live" album is being recorded. Plans to film a feature-length movie during the same concerts have been put on a back burne, one spokesman said, because Skynyrd was "freaking out" over the pressure of doing shows, recordings and movies at the same time.

From Atlanta, the band is headed to Jacksonville. On Saturday, Skynyrd will headline a marathon performance to benefit the presidential campaign of Jimmy Carter.

Barring bad weather, proceeds from the concert plus matching federal funds will amount to $500,000. This will be a record sum for any presidential fund-raising event at any time, a spokesman said.