JACKSONVILLE — As the lyrics read, 'I was cutting the rug down at a place called The Jug with a girl named Linda Lou.'
The first line in 'Gimme Three Steps' sets the scene inside The Jug on Lenox Avenue. Kenneth Gray, is one of many people who have heard and passed down the story of Ronnie Van Zant's night at the bar.
“He was dancing around with someone else’s old girl, and back then it was bare knuckles, he needed three steps to get out the door, then he wrote a song about it and history is written after that,” Gray said.
Lifelong friends of Ronnie Van Zant like TJ Meyer love to hear the song. It reminds him of the times he shared with the band and their family members.
“They’re really just good down to earth people, you can sit down in here talk with them, he’ll say hey let’s go fishing, couldn’t have asked for better people,” Meyer said.
‘Gimme Three Steps’ left its mark on the jug since the single was released in 1973.
45 years later, Lynyrd Skynyrd is leaving it all on the stage in their farewell tour.
Gray believes their legendary status left a mark on their hometown.
“The biggest thing about them is that they were neighborhood people, they were easily accessible, I don’t think they ever got as big as their name is,” Gray said.