If I leave here tomorrow: Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Free Bird' gets an official music video
"Free Bird," the iconic song by Jacksonville's Lynyrd Skynyrd, has a new video — 52 years after its release.
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If I leave here tomorrow: Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Free Bird' gets an official music video
Tom SzaroletaJacksonville Florida Times-Union
"Free Bird" has been a rock anthem for more than half a century. It's been used in movies and TV shows, closed just about every Lynyrd Skynyrd concert ever played and burned out more than one cigarette lighter over the years. But it's never had an official video — until now.
A new video, which runs more than 9 minutes and uses the original music released in 1973, was released May 23. It's already been viewed more than a million and a half times on YouTube.
Max Moore, a Kentucky-based director who has made dozens of music videos, directed "Free Bird." He said he was approached last year by United Musical Enterprises, the band's record label, about creating a story to go along with the song. He and his older brother, who played "Free Bird" in a long-ago high school talent contest, wrote a treatment that won over the label executives.
"Obviously, it's a legendary song and it's been around forever," Moore said from Charleston, S.C., where he was on vacation. "It tells its own story."
He said he's not a fan of literal interpretation, so he and his brother created a story around the song. In the video, an older man flips through a scrapbook and flashes back to better times with his motorcycle and a cute waitress. The story jumps back and forth between the older man getting the motorcycle back on the road and scenes of his younger self and the waitress, riding double on the same bike. It climaxes with fireworks just as the song reaches its guitar-driven peak.
No one from Lynyrd Skynyrd appears in the video. Moore, who is a decade-and-a-half younger than the song, said he's never even met any band members.
"When I first got the job, the thought of making a music video for a 9-minute song with no performance kind of scared me," Moore said. "I like to watch videos for the performance. This felt like an opportunity to pivot and turn the other way."
The video was shot in Kentucky, using Louisville-based actors. The older man is played by Mike Seely, who is best known for portraying Hugh Hefner in the TV miniseries "Pam & Tommy." He's also a musician and a Skynyrd fan. His younger self is played by Cameron Cousins, who is not a professional actor but did know how to ride a motorcycle. The waitress is played by Cameron's real-life wife, Lindsay Cousins, and much of the video was shot in their home, which Moore said has a very '70s feel to it. He said the couple was perfect for the project because they didn't need to act, just hang out and look like they're in love.
Cameron Cousins also has a passing resemblance to Seely, but Moore said they had to put Cousins in brown contact lenses so the resemblance would be closer.
The song, which runs more than nine minutes, is from the Jacksonville band's first album, "Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd" and has closed nearly every Lynyrd Skynyrd concert since its release. It's been re-recorded by Wynonna Judd, Dolly Parton, Blues Traveler, Dread Zeppelin and the Charlie Daniels Band, and a lullaby version for babies was released in 2012. It's also been frequently used in movies and TV shows, including "Forrest Gump," "Family Guy," "My Name is Earl," "Speed Racer," "That '70s Show" and "Freaks and Geeks."
More 'Free Bird': 'If I leave here tomorrow...': Dolly Parton records 'Free Bird' duet with Ronnie Van ZantFrom 2023: Lynyrd Skynyrd founding member, guitarist Gary Rossington dies at 71
Lynyrd Skynyrd also has a new album in the works. "Celebrating 50 Years: Live at the Ryman" was recorded in Nashville in 2022 and was the band's final live performance with founding guitarist Gary Rossington. The album includes guest appearances from Marcus King, Shinedown's Brent Smith and former .38 Special singer Donnie Van Zant. The album is scheduled for a June 27 release. The band is on tour through October, with dates in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
