![]() ![]() While they endured many lineup changes over the years, Lynyrd Skynyrd would end up releasing nine more studio albums through 2012.įor more important days in music history, check out the Dave’s Music Database history page. Thirty-five years ago Saturday, a plane carrying the band Lynyrd Skynyrd ran out of fuel and crashed in Gillsburg, Miss. While intended as a one-time tribute, the band ended up returning to the studio in 1991 for a new album. In 1987, five of the members launched a full-scale reunion tour with Ronnie Van Zant’s brother Johnny taking over vocals. The tragedy sidelined the band for a decade. Walter Wiley McCreary and William John Gray, the pilot and co-pilot, were also killed. The group’s assistant road manager, Dean Kirkpatrick was also among the dead. They included Lynyrd Skynyrd’s singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and his sister and backup singer Cassie Gaines. ![]() Of the 26 passengers on board, six were killed. The plane crashed in a wooded area near Gillsburg, Mississippi – reportedly due to fuel shortage. They were headed from a Greenville, South Carolina show to a scheduled show in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. ![]() On October 20, 1977, the band chartered a twin-engine, propeller-driven Convair 240 out of Texas. They churned out classic-rock staples such as “Free Bird” and “Sweet Home Alabama” on their way to becoming the premiere Southern rock band. From 1973 to 1977, the group released five albums that all reached at least gold status. Ronnie died just over two years later in the plane crash that also took the life of Skynyrd guitarist Steve Gaines, backing vocalist Cassie Gaines and three other people. He was not a fan of long hair and loud music and he played a hand in getting them suspended from school. Lee High School’s physical education instructor Leonard Skinner as a means of getting even. However, Wilkeson's death left Lynyrd Skynyrd with only two long-time band members. They changed the group’s name to Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1969, naming themselves after the Robert E. After the plane crash in 1977 that killed Lynyrd Skynyrd band members, Ronnie Van Zant's widow allowed the band to still use the Lynyrd Skynyrd name as long as there were at least three original members that made up the group. Singer Ronnie Van Zant played in high school with guitarists Gary Rossington and Allen Collins. Lynyrd Skynyrd formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964 as My Backyard. Guitarist Gary Rossington, one of the last surviving founding members of the group and the only one still in the band, narrated most of the documentary, which was made by director Stephen Kijak ( Stones in Exile, We Are X).Lynyrd Skynyrd members killed in plane crash. “The one thing that I want the world to know is how bravely my band met their death,” says one of the voices. There’s footage of them playing live, remembrances of writing “Sweet Home Alabama” and an explanation of the rebel flag. ![]() “When I think of Lynyryd Skynyrd, I just think of outrageously fun times,” says one of the speakers over pictures of the guys hanging out, shirtless and drinking and feeding whiskey to a monkey. ET and PT.Ī clip from the juxtaposes the tragic plane accident with the band’s hard-partying image. It will premiere on Showtime on August 18th at 9 p.m. The film, Lynyrd Skynyrd: If I Leave Here Tomorrow, covers a lot of ground: the band’s rise from Jacksonville, Florida, the plane crash that killed vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and several crew members, their return and unflinching use of the Confederate flag. A new documentary promises to tell the full story of one of southern rock’s defining bands, warts and all. ![]()
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