Eventually, big brother Ronnie figured Donnie and the gang had paid enough dues and set them up with Skynryd's manager Peter Rudge, who also handled the Who and was tour manager for the Rolling Stones. Now that they had their name, the group spent most of 19 playing a steady grind of one-nighters, mostly in the South and the Midwest.

38 special do the talking', and shot off the lock. When police arrived after being notified by locals of the noise, the band members were unable to come out because of a padlock on the door. The band's name was thought up after an incident which found the boys practicing in a warehouse out in the middle of nowhere. The new group comprised Van Zant, Barnes, Lyons, Brookins, second drummer Jack Grondin and a returning Carlisi. Briefly, Van Zant was considering a higher-paying position for the railroad at which he worked, but was finally convinced by brother Ronnie to stick with music since it was 'in his blood'. By 1974, they decided to form 'the ultimate band' that would be their 'one last shot' at success.

Van Zant, Barnes and Lyons, while continuing their day jobs and working in other bands, began composing original songs. Brookins also left to work as a truck driver and Sweet Rooster was defunct by 1973. Carlisi left Sweet Rooster after graduating high school to study architecture at Georgia Tech and was replaced by Don Barnes in 1970. Donnie Van Zant, the younger brother of Lynyrd Skynyrd co-founder and frontman Ronnie Van Zant, began playing music during his teen years, forming a band called Standard Production in 1968, which paved the way for Sweet Rooster, Donnie's first professional group that he formed in 1969 with guitarist Jeff Carlisi and bassist Ken Lyons, soon joined by drummer Steve Brookins.

38 special 4 bears casino