This saloon was made famous by the Lynyrd Skynyred song, Give Three Steps
On September 22, 2012, The Pastime Bar, located at the intersection of Normandy Boulevard and Lenox Avenues (5301 Lenox Avenue, Jacksonville, Florida), walking distance from the Van Zant family home at that time, will was re-dedicated and renamed The Jug. This re-naming cause the owner to have to have a new inspection. During the inspection it was found that the septic tank was cracked. This caused Joe to have to shut the doors. Many of the patrons tried to raise money to do the repairs. This place was made famous by a Lynyrd Skynyrd song and has been a staple in the community for years. It is well known for the charity poker runs it holds to help people with medical bills and other tragedy's as well as many charities. Well, Joe has pulled it together and will be having a
grand re-opening in the beginning of April. Please plan on coming out to support your local business and the community.
A little history is listed below.
This song is based on a true story. As Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington tells it, lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, who was about 18 at the time, used a fake ID to get in a bar while his younger band mates Rossington and Allen Collins waited for him in a truck. Van Zant danced with a girl named Linda, whose boyfriend, who was not too happy about it, came up to Ronnie and reached for something in his boot. Figuring he was going for a gun, Van Zant told him: "If you're going to shoot me it's going to be in the ass or the elbows... just gimme a few steps and I'll be gone." He ran to the truck, and he, Rossington, and Collins wrote this song that night.
According to the Freebird Foundation, which is run by Van Zant's widow Judy Van Zant Jenness, the events of the song took place at a bar called The Little Brown Jug, which was located on Edison Avenue in Jacksonville, Florida, where the band is from. Thus the lyrics, "I was cuttin' the rug, down a a place called The Jug," which is where Ronnie ran into an angry local man with a gun.
The pace of the chorus is fast, to signify Van Zant running away from the guy he thought was going to shoot him.
This made the cut for Skynyrd's first album. Their producer, Al Kooper, had them play all their original songs, and out of the 14 they had, picked 9 to record for the album.
This was one of the few songs Skynyrd released as a single. It was their first major-label release, and it didn't chart.
The band's name was a mocking tribute to Leonard Skinner, a physical-education teacher at Robert E. Lee High School, who was notorious for strictly enforcing the school's policy against boys having long hair. Despite their high school acrimony, the band developed a friendlier relationship with Skinner in later years, and invited him to introduce them at a concert in the Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum.
Interviewed by the Florida Times Union in January 2009, Skinner said he was just following the rules about hair length. It bothered him that the legend had grown that he was particularly tough on the band members. In fact, he didn't even remember them when they were in high school. He said, "It was against the school rules. I don't particularly like long hair on men, but again, it wasn't my rule."
Though he hasn't been shy of the attention he received because of his name, Skinner never really warmed up to the group's music. "No," he said when asked if he liked their tunes. "I don't. I don't like rock 'n' roll music."
On September 20, 2010, Skinner died at a nursing home in Jacksonville, at age 77 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease for several years.
COMMENTS:
Yes, this was a true story. My uncle was Allen Collins. Linda was her name. However, my great-grandmother used to sing at Grand Ole Opry when she was younger. Her stage name was Linda Lou, and it was a nod to her as well.
Lettie Mae Wren was her "real" name for those wondering.
- Dawn, Jacksonville, FL
My dad was the jealous boyfriend in this song. He died in 2003. The true story is the girl's name was not Linda Lu. Her name was Linda but her last name was not Lu. Linda was his girlfriend at the time. My dad was known for being a jealous person and someone was dancing with his girlfriend. He did not reach for his boot. He saw them, then went out to his car, got the gun, and came back in with it. The guy stopped dancing with Linda and ran out of the bar. My dad went outside too and left before authorities showed up. Yes it happened in Jacksonville. It happened in a small bar off of Roosevelt Blvd. Highway 17. I have no idea where Kentucky even came in to this story.
- Jason, Jacksonville, FL
