Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” is infamous among guitarists for its sprawling four-minute guitar solo. Many guitarists have spent countless hours trying to master the solo, but YouTuber Will Wilde outdid them all by shredding the iconic solo on harmonica! I wouldn’t have even thought it would be possible to play the solo on harmonica, but Wilde showed that he could not only play it – he smashed it out of the park.
In a four-minute performance, Wilde nailed all the famous licks of the “Free Bird” solo in a single take. The lungs on that lad must be something fierce not to pass out with that kind of performance. The British musician caught the internet’s attention with his wild performance, which attracted 3.3 million views and became his most popular video. The Music Man readers can enjoy his glorious take on the famous Lynyrd Skynyrd solo below.
Fans were blown away after hearing Wilde crush the solo, and added comments such as “Today I learned that you can shred hard on the harmonica. Amazing playing, I will show this to my dad who is learning harmonica!” and “Dude this is a masterpiece – no way someone could manage to cover so perfectly this absurd solo. You’re a legend.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd are known by many as the greatest blues rock band of all time. Wilde’s love for the blues is not limited to the Jacksonville rockers, though, as his channel is packed full of impressive and soulful harmonica playing. A year after uploading his “Free Bird” solo, Wilde scored another viral hit with a video simply titled “Intense Slow Blues Harmonica Jam,” which features a jam that will definitely get your head nodding.
Lynyrd Skynyrd released “Free Bird” in November 1974 as the second single from their debut studio album. Guitarist Allen Collins and vocalist Ronnie Van Zant wrote the song, which clocked in at 9:08 on the album cut. Not content with just nine minutes of rock, the band would frequently stretch the tune out to as much as 12 minutes live by jamming on the closing solo at length.
“Free Bird” is Lynyrd Skynyrd’s signature song, and the group uses it to close their live performances. The long guitar solo was initially added by the band to give Van Zant a chance to rest his voice, as in the early 1970s, the group often performed multiple sets a night at their club gigs.
If you would like to hear more from this talented musician, you can subscribe to his YouTube Channel for more incredible music. For updates, you can also follow him on Facebook.