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{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[Lynyrd Skynyrd]]
| cover        = Lynyrdskynyrd.jpg
| alt          =
| released     = {{Start date|1973|08|13}}
| recorded     = March 27 – May 1, 1973
| venue        =
| studio       = [[Studio One (recording studio)|Studio One]], [[Doraville, Georgia]], U.S.
| genre        = {{hlist|[[Southern rock]]|[[hard rock]]|{{nowrap|[[blues rock]]}}}}
| length       = {{Duration|m=43|s=03}}
| label        = [[MCA Records|MCA]]
| producer     = [[Al Kooper]]
| prev_title   =
| prev_year    =
| next_title   = [[Second Helping]]
| next_year    = 1974
| misc         = {{Singles
| name        = (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)
| type        = studio
| single1     = [[Gimme Three Steps]]
| single1date = November 5, 1973
| single2     = [[Free Bird]]
| single2date = November 1974
}}
}}
'''''(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)''''' is the debut studio album by American [[Rock music|rock]] band [[Lynyrd Skynyrd]], released on August 13, 1973, by [[MCA Records]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.lynyrdskynyrd.com/board_posts/pronounced |title=Lynyrd Skynyrd |publisher=Lynyrd Skynyrd |access-date=March 6, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227083914/http://www.lynyrdskynyrd.com/board_posts/pronounced |archive-date=February 27, 2012 }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Citation |title=Lynyrd Skynyrd - (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/pronounced-lh-n%C3%A9rd-skin-n%C3%A9rd-mw0000190876 |access-date=2023-05-18 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Marc |date=2019-01-31 |title=(Pronounced 'Leh-'Nérd 'Skin-'Nérd) Album Cover Location |url=https://rockandrollroadmap.com/places/album-cover-locations/other-u-s/lynyrd-skynyrds-pronounced-leh-nerd-skin-nerd-album-cover-location/ |access-date=2023-05-18 |website=History Of Rock Music |language=en-US}}</ref> Recording took place in  [[Doraville, Georgia]] at [[Studio One (recording studio)|Studio One]], following a lengthy period of rehearsals. Prior to the album's conception, many of its songs were already featured in Lynyrd Skynyrd's live repertoire. To promote it, the band released "[[Gimme Three Steps]]" and "[[Free Bird]]" as singles; these, along with "[[Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd song)|Simple Man]]" and "[[Tuesday's Gone]]", are among the band's best-known songs.
''(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)'' received acclaim from [[Music journalism|music critics]], and brought the band to the forefront of the [[Southern rock]] genre in the 1970s. The album peaked at 27 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]], and received gold and double platinum certifications from the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA).<ref>{{cite web |title=Lynyrd Skynyrd Chart History (Billboard 200) |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/lynyrd-skynyrd/chart-history/tlp/ |website=Billboard 200 |access-date=June 19, 2021}}</ref><ref name=RIAA/> It has appeared on several editions of ''[[Rolling Stone]]''<nowiki/>'s "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]" list.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/lynyrd-skynyrd-pronounced-leh-nerd-skin-nerd-2-1062852/ | title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | date=December 31, 2023 }}</ref>
==Recording==
Most of the songs on the album had been in the band's live repertoire for some time. The band found a rural rehearsal space near [[Jacksonville, Florida]], which they nicknamed "Hell House" due to the long hours spent there jamming in the intense Florida heat, and it was there that they composed and ran through the songs endlessly until they were perfected. Producer [[Al Kooper]] marveled at how well prepared the band were once they entered the studio; every note was immutable and absolutely no improvisation was allowed.<ref name="kijak-documentary" />
Bassist [[Leon Wilkeson]] left the band a few months before the album's recording sessions. Ex-[[Strawberry Alarm Clock]] guitarist [[Ed King]] had been impressed with the band after an earlier incarnation of Lynyrd Skynyrd had opened for Strawberry Alarm Clock in Florida circa 1970. He told vocalist [[Ronnie Van Zant]] to keep him in mind if he ever needed a guitarist, and he was invited to replace Wilkeson as bassist. Once the recording sessions were wrapping up, Van Zant decided that King would better serve the band as a guitarist, and he visited Wilkeson and convinced him to rejoin. Wilkeson returned to the band and King moved to lead guitar, giving the band what would become their trademark "Three Guitar Army" along with [[Allen Collins]] and [[Gary Rossington]]. Wilkeson was back in the band by the time the band shot the cover photo for the album, and appears on the cover, as well as being acknowledged in the liner notes.<ref name="kijak-documentary">If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd, Passion Pictures, Directed by Stephen Kijak, 2018</ref>
[[Atlanta Rhythm Section]] drummer and friend of the band [[Robert Nix (drummer)|Robert Nix]] was requested by Van Zant and Kooper to play on the track "[[Tuesday's Gone]]".
As the band worked up "[[Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd song)|Simple Man]]" in rehearsal, Kooper expressed his feeling that the song was weak and should not be included on the album. The band felt differently on both counts and could not change Kooper's mind. Ultimately, Van Zant escorted the producer outside to his car and ordered him to remain there until the song was recorded. The band recorded the song on their own with the producer absent from the studio, and it subsequently became one of Lynyrd Skynyrd's best known tracks.<ref name="kijak-documentary" />
==Artwork==
The cover photograph was taken on Main Street in [[Jonesboro, Georgia]], and shows, from left to right, Leon Wilkeson (seated), Billy Powell (seated), Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington (seated), Bob Burns, Allen Collins and Ed King. The photo was the last in a long day of shooting for the album cover, and Rossington vomited on the sidewalk seconds after it was taken.<ref name="kijak-documentary" /> As of March 2023, all the band members pictured are now deceased.<ref>{{cite magazine |first1=Joseph |last1=Hudak |date=5 March 2023 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/gary-rossington-lynyrd-skynyrd-dead-1209960/ |title=Gary Rossington, Lynyrd Skynyrd's Last Original Member, Dead at 71 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=6 March 2023}}</ref>
== Release ==
The album was released through [[MCA Records]] on August 13, 1973.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> It was re-released in 2001 as an expanded version with bonus tracks, including the two [[B-sides]] to the original singles and three previously unreleased demos from the album sessions.<ref name="AMG" /> Sales through 2014 were an estimated two million units internationally.<ref>{{cite web |title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Lynyrd Skynyrd, 'pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/pronounced-leh-nerd-skin-nerd-lynyrd-skynyrd-19691231 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120909095655/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/pronounced-leh-nerd-skin-nerd-lynyrd-skynyrd-19691231 |archive-date=September 9, 2012 |access-date=July 14, 2014 |publisher=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref>
==Reception==
{{Album ratings
| rev1      = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="AMG">{{cite web|author=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/pronounced-leh-n%C3%A9rd-skin-n%C3%A9rd-mw0000190876 |title=(pronounced 'leh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd) - Lynyrd Skynyrd &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref>
|rev2 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|Christgau's Record Guide]]''
|rev2Score = A<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: L|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=L&bk=70|access-date=March 1, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[MusicHound]]''
| rev3Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Graff |editor1-first=Gary |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |date=1996 |publisher=Visible Ink |location=Detroit |page=427 |ol=8145585M}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev4Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |date=2004 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |page=505 |edition=4th rev. |ol=21112308M}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev5Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Larkin |editor1-first=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2007 |publisher=Omnibus |page=885 |edition=5th concise |ol=11913831M}}</ref>
}}
''(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)'' immediately put the band on the rock-and-roll map. Upon its release, rock journalist [[Robert Christgau]] acknowledged the quality of the songs and gave the album an "A" rating while referring to Lynyrd Skynyrd as a "staunchly untranscendent band".<ref name="Christgau">{{cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Lynyrd+Skynyrd |title=CG: Lynyrd Skynyrd |publisher=[[Robert Christgau]] |access-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref> Kooper, a close friend of [[Pete Townshend]], secured the band a spot opening for [[the Who]] on their American tour, and Lynyrd Skynyrd was subsequently exposed to much larger audiences than they had ever seen before.<ref name="kijak-documentary" />
''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine ranked the album number 403 on its 2012 list of the [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]], and number 381 in the 2020 edition.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/dr-john-dr-johns-gumbo-68237/ |title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time |publisher= Rolling Stone Magazine |date= May 31, 2012|access-date=August 5, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|date=September 22, 2020|title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/|access-date=November 30, 2020|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}</ref>
==Track listing==
{{Tracklist
| headline      = Side one (A)
| title1        = I Ain't the One
| writer1       = [[Gary Rossington]], [[Ronnie Van Zant]]
| length1       = 3:51
| title2        = [[Tuesday's Gone]]
| writer2       = [[Allen Collins]], Van Zant
| length2       = 7:32
| title3        = [[Gimme Three Steps]]
| writer3       = Collins, Van Zant
| length3       = 4:30
| title4        = [[Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd song)|Simple Man]]
| writer4       = Rossington, Van Zant
| length4       = 5:57
}}
{{Tracklist
| headline      = Side two (B)
| title1        = Things Goin' On
| writer1       = Rossington, Van Zant
| length1       = 4:57
| title2        = Mississippi Kid
| writer2       = [[Al Kooper]], Van Zant, [[Bob Burns (drummer)|Bob Burns]]
| length2       = 3:57
| title3        = Poison Whiskey
| writer3       = [[Ed King]], Van Zant
| length3       = 3:11
| title4        = [[Free Bird]]
| writer4       = Collins, Van Zant
| length4       = 9:08
| total_length  = 43:03
}}
* Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–8 on CD reissues.
{{Tracklist
| headline      = 2001 CD reissue bonus tracks
| title9        = [[Mr. Banker]]
| note9         = [[Demo (music)|demo]]
| writer9       = Rossington, Van Zant, King
| length9       = 5:23
| title10       = Down South Jukin{{'-}}
| note10        = demo
| writer10      = Rossington, Van Zant
| length10      = 2:57
| title11       = Tuesday's Gone
| note11        = demo
| writer11      = Collins, Van Zant
| length11      = 7:56
| title12       = Gimme Three Steps
| note12        = demo
| writer12      = Collins, Van Zant
| length12      = 5:20
| title13       = Free Bird
| note13        = demo
| writer13      = Collins, Van Zant
| length13      = 11:09
}}
==Personnel==
Personnel according to [[Discogs]] and liner notes<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/pt_BR/Lynyrd-Skynyrd-Pronounced-L%C4%95h-n%C3%A9rd-Skin-n%C3%A9rd/release/1702865 |title=Lynyrd Skynyrd – (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) |year=1975 |publisher=[[Discogs]] |access-date=July 3, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media notes |id=MAPS 7042 |title=(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) - [[Lynyrd Skynyrd]] |year=1973 |type=Liner notes |publisher=[[MCA Records]]}}</ref>
'''Lynyrd Skynyrd'''
*[[Ronnie Van Zant]]&nbsp;– lead vocals, lyrics
*[[Gary Rossington]]&nbsp;– lead guitar (tracks A2–A4, B1, B3); rhythm guitar (A1, B2, B4); slide guitar (B4)
*[[Allen Collins]]&nbsp;– lead guitar (A1, A4, B4); rhythm guitar (A2, A3, B1–B3); acoustic guitar (B4)
*[[Ed King]]&nbsp;– bass (all tracks except A2, B2); guitar fills (A2, during piano solo); lead guitar (B2)
*[[Billy Powell]]&nbsp;– keyboards
*[[Bob Burns (drummer)|Bob Burns]]&nbsp;– drums (all tracks except A2 and B2)
'''Additional personnel'''
*[[Al Kooper]] ("Roosevelt Gook")&nbsp;– bass (A2); backing vocals (A2); [[mandolin]] & bass drum (B2); organ (A4, B3, B4); [[Mellotron]] (A2, B4)
*[[Robert Nix (drummer)|Robert Nix]]&nbsp;– drums (A2)
*[[Bobbye Hall]]&nbsp;– percussion (A3, B1)
*[[Steve Katz (musician)|Steve Katz]]&nbsp;– harmonica (B2)
'''Technical'''
* Al Kooper&nbsp;– producer, engineer
* Bob "Tub" Langford&nbsp;– engineer
* [[Rodney Mills]]&nbsp;– engineer
* Thomas Hill&nbsp;– photography
* Michael Diehl&nbsp;– design
== Charts ==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Chart (1973)
! Peak<br/>position
|-
{{Album chart|Canada|93|chartid=5071b|artist=Lynyrd Skynyrd|album=(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)|rowheader=true|accessdate=January 12, 2024}}
|-
{{Album chart|Billboard200|27|artist=Lynyrd Skynyrd|rowheader=true|accessdate=January 12, 2024}}
|}
==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Lynyrd Skynyrd|title=Pronounced|award=Silver|type=album|relyear=1974|certyear=1978|id=5227-448-2|accessdate=December 24, 2021}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Lynyrd Skynyrd|title=Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd|award=Platinum|number=2|type=album|relyear=1974|certyear=1987|accessdate=December 24, 2021|refname=RIAA}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{Discogs master|type=album|70569}}
{{Lynyrd Skynyrd}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd}}
[[Category:Lynyrd Skynyrd albums]]
[[Category:1973 debut albums]]
[[Category:MCA Records albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Al Kooper]]