Primary Wave secure “multi-million-dollar” deal for royalties of Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Bob Burns
Primary Wave Music, an salient global force in music publishing, announced today that it had acquired the artist royalties of Bob Burns, the late drummer and founding member of the American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. The multi-million-dollar deal includes royalties for all recordings from the band’s debut album, Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd, as well as its follow-up, Second Helping.
“Lynyrd Skynyrd’s first two albums are timeless and are celebrated to this day,” said Samantha Rhulen, SVP, business and legal affairs at Primary Wave Music. “To have Bob Burns’ contribution to this iconic music as part of our catalog is an incredible honor and the team at Primary Wave will ensure that his legacy is recognized by generations to come.”
The band’s iconic debut album arrived in 1973 and went on to sell over two million copies in the US alone. The appropriately titled Second Helping was released just a year later and debuted in the top 20 on the Billboard album chart, consolidating Lynyrd Skynyrd’s position as an immovable force in rock music at such an early juncture.
The two classic albums feature some of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s biggest hits which are included such as ‘Free Bird’, ‘Gimme Three Steps’, ‘Simple Man’ and ‘Sweet Home Alabama’, the band’s most instantly recognisable song. The single climbed to the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974 and is now certified multi-platinum.
‘Free Bird’, released on the debut album, is also considered a Lynyrd Skynyrd essential and showed the band’s scope for both rock-outs and poignant balladry. To date, Lynyrd Skynyrd have sold over 28 million albums in the US. In 2006, they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Sadly, Bob Burns passed away in a 2015 car crash aged 64.
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