The Drive Into Hell House

Lynyrd Skynyrd rehearsed in a small cabin on an isolated 99 acre farm from 1970 - 1975 in Green Cove Springs, Florida. They nicknamed this cabin "The Hell House" because the temperature was so hot inside when they were practicing. They were still just playing clubs when they moved in there. They rehearsed Monday - Friday, from about 8:00 am - sundown, religiously. Ronnie Van Zant would pick up the entire band in his car and then drive them out there, every morning. During breaks they would play baseball in the field or go fishing in the creek out back. Sometimes Allen, Gary, and the others would walk about 30 minutes to the closest store during their lunch break. One night, early on in their tenure at Hell House, someone broke in and stole some amps. From then on the band had a rule that one member had to stay out there every night. They say it was pretty scary to stay out there alone because it was so far out in the woods and so dark. You could hear all kinds of animals in the night out there. In the daytime they had to keep an eye out for poisonous snakes and alligators. Also the farmer's cows sometimes wandered up to the cabin.The band worked hard at the Hell House. Many of their songs were written right there, in that shack. Sweet Home Alabama was one of the songs written out there. That was written by Gary, Ed, and Ronnie in about 30 minutes one day. Saturday Night Special was another song written out there. The list goes on and on.

After Skynyrd got their record deal with Al Kooper they continued to rehearse at the Hell House because they were very sentimental about it out there. The Hell House was their rehearsal studio during the writing of their first 3 albums - Pronounced Lynyrd Skynyrd, Second Helping, and Nuthin Fancy. For the photo shoot for the Nuthin Fancy album they had their pictures taken out there, at the Hell House. The front and back cover photos from that album were both taken out at the Hell House property, as well as the insert photos. A few years after Skynyrd stopped playing out at Hell House another band was renting the cabin for the same purpose and apparently the cabin burned down one night.

This Hell House property is really sacred ground and I felt it when I was there. This entire 99 acre parcel has been purchased by a developer who plans on developing out there. I thought it was important to videotape the drive in there. I thought that "All I Can Do Is Write About It" written by Allen and Ronnie, was a great song to set this video to, being the lyrics Ronnie wrote really talk about his feelings on the outdoors and nature, and development, not to mention that it's just a great Skynyrd song. The day that I went out there I imagine it looked pretty much like it did 30 years earlier when Ronnie and the boys played out there. They drove that road out there in Ronnie's station wagon every morning. I can just imagine the sight of that wagon driving out there, with Ronnie Van Zant at the wheel and seeing Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Bob Burns, Ed King, Leon Wilkeson, and Billy Powell all in that car. What a great sight that would be. 7 Southern Rock legends, my favorite band. But I'm afraid it's not gonna look like that out there for much longer. Once the development starts it will all change.

I often wondered about the Hell House and the magic created out there. I'm from NY, so it wasn't anyplace I could easily visit and there really weren't any pictures or videos of the place that I could find. So, when I went to Florida on vacation I made a point of finding that place so that I could see it. The caretaker of the property was kind enough to give me permission to have a look at it and was a Lynyrd Skynyrd fan himself. That visit out there really made my vacation, just to stand on that sacred ground for a few minutes. At the very end of my video, after the song has ended, I am standing right on the exact location of the cabin. The pvc pipes that you see in the ground are the original plumbing for the Hell House, which ran under the cabin. Many Skynyrd songs were written right there, in that very spot. Many hours of practicing were put in, right there in that very spot. I wanted to put this video up so that other Skynyrd fans, from around the world, who wondered about the Hell House, might get a glimpse of what it looks like out there and what the ride looked like that those 7 guys took out there every morning. The infamous photo of the band walking on a dirt road, with Billy Powell flipping the camera the bird, that the band used for the back cover of Nuthin Fancy was taken right on that road. We drive right over it in that video. At the end of the video when the car stops (and the song stops) you can see the power pole that powered the Hell House Cabin. The green pine tree is in front of where the front door was to the cabin. I hope you enjoy the video. I know that I enjoyed making it.