In the case of Lynyrd Skynyrd it was one man who helped create the name of the band that has been around for decades. Tonight we have learned that Leonard Skinner the gym teacher who inadvertedly helped name the band has died.
According to the Wikipedia, in the summer of 1964, teenage friends Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, and Gary Rossington, formed the band "The Noble Five", which then changed in 1965 to "My Backyard", when Larry Junstrom and Bob Burns joined in Jacksonville, Florida.
In 1970, Van Zant sought a new name. "One Percent" and "The Noble Five" were each considered before the group settled on "Leonard Skinnerd", a mocking tribute to a physical-education teacher at Robert E. Lee High School, Leonard Skinner, who was notorious for strictly enforcing the school's policy against boys having long hair. The more distinctive spelling was adopted before they released their first album. Despite their high school acrimony, the band developed a friendlier relationship with Skinner in later years, and invited him to introduce them at a concert in the Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum.
Leonard Skinner the man who the band has always been grateful died in his sleep from Alzheimer's disease.
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