Street Survivors is the fifth studio album by Southern rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on this day in 1977. It is the last Skynyrd album recorded by original members Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins, and is the sole Skynyrd studio recording by guitarist Steve Gaines. Three days after the album's release, the band's chartered airplane crashed en route to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, killing the pilot, co-pilot, the group's assistant road-manager and three band members (Van Zant, Gaines, and Gaines' older sister, backup singer Cassie Gaines), and severely injuring most who survived the crash.
The album performed well on the charts, peaking at #5 (their first top 5 album), as did the singles "What's Your Name" (#13) and "That Smell". The album was an instant success, achieving gold certification just ten days after its release. It would later go double platinum.
The original cover sleeve for Street Survivors had featured a photograph of the band, particularly Steve Gaines, engulfed in flames. After the plane crash killed several band members, this cover became highly controversial. Out of respect for the deceased (and at the request of Teresa Gaines, Steve's widow), MCA Records withdrew the original cover and replaced it with a similar image of the band against a simple black background, which was on the back cover of the original sleeve . Thirty years later, for the deluxe CD version of the album, the original "flames" cover was restored.
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