What's Your Name (Lynyrd Skynyrd song)

"What's Your Name"
Single by Lynyrd Skynyrd
from the album Street Survivors
B-side"I Know a Little"
ReleasedNovember 1977
Recorded1977
GenreSouthern rock
Length3:31
LabelMCA
Songwriter(s)Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant
Producer(s)Tom Dowd
Lynyrd Skynyrd singles chronology
"Free Bird (live)"
(1976) 		"What's Your Name"
(1977) 		"You Got That Right"
(1978)

"What's Your Name" is a rock song by Lynyrd Skynyrd, the opening track on their album Street Survivors. It peaked at No. 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 6 in Canada.[1][2]

Background

Lynyrd Skynyrd lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Gary Rossington wrote "What's Your Name" while in Miami with producer Tom Dowd and Booker T. & the M.G.'s guitarist Steve Cropper. The lyrics depict life on tour for a band and its entourage, and one of the verses is based on a true story of the band drinking at their hotel bar during a tour when one of their roadies got into a fight. The band got kicked out of the bar, but they went into another room and ordered champagne. However, unlike the song suggests, the incident did not happen in the city of Boise, Idaho. Instead, when Van Zant found out that the band 38 Special (led by his younger brother Donnie) was starting its first national tour in that city, the lyric was changed.[3]

Reception

Billboard praised the "strong, accessible melody" and the "excellent instrumentation."[4] Cash Box said that it "tells the standard 'rock and rollers on the road' story with a punchy lyric and a rousing beat."[5] Record World said that "it rocks with authority, powered by a driving brass section and Van Zant's ironic vocal work."[6]

Trade ad for the single in Billboard

Music video

The music video, released after the plane crash that killed several band members, depicts Ronnie's brother Johnny along with a newly reformed Lynyrd Skynyrd live in concert (presumably at the Pensacola Civic Center as the video suggests). Interspersed within are shots of the road crew setting up for the show and the musicians tuning their instruments, having makeup done, meeting with fans, autographing albums and playing baseball together.[7] At the end of the video, a hat in the style of Ronnie's trademark "High Roller" look is seen atop a microphone stand as a tribute to him.

Chart performance

Rock Band music gaming platform

The song was made available to download on November 30, 2010 for use in the Rock Band 3 music gaming platform in both Basic and Pro mode, the latter of which takes advantage of the use of a real guitar or bass guitar and MIDI-compatible electronic drum kits and keyboards in addition to three-part harmony vocals.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1978-03-18. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
  3. ^ "What's Your Name by Lynyrd Skynyrd". Songfacts.com. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
  4. ^ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. November 26, 1977. p. 96. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
  5. ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. November 26, 1977. p. 24. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  6. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. November 26, 1977. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  7. ^ "What's Your Name". YouTube. 23 December 2009. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  8. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1978-03-18. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
  9. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 523.
  10. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 3/11/78". Tropicalglen.com. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Top 200 Singles of '78 – Volume 30, No. 14, December 30 1978". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  12. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1978". Tropicalglen.com. Retrieved 8 June 2021.


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