1977 air crash robbed Lynyrd Skynyrd of its heart and song

IT should have been a routine flight to their next gig, but 40 years ago today rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, whose Sweet Home Alabama was a global hit, was torn apart by tragedy

Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1977. Founder Ronnie Van Zant is third from the left.

The rock group boarded their chartered Convair CV-240 jet at Greenville, South Carolina on October 20, 1977. They had performed at a stadium concert the previous day and were headed more than 1000 kilometres away, to a university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where they had a gig scheduled for the next evening.

But it was a gig Lynyrd Skynyrd wouldn’t make. Their plane was diverted due to an engine malfunction. Low on fuel, the pilot made a forced landing in a forest, colliding with trees. Six people were killed when the plane broke apart. Among them were lead vocalist and founder Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and Steve’s sister, backing singer Cassie Gaines. The crash also killed assistant road manager, Dean Kilpatrick, the pilot Walter McCreary, and co pilot William Gray.

Wreckage is strewn across the crash site of the Convair CV-240.

While some rock groups are defined by their musical triumphs, these southern rockers, well-known for hits such as Sweet Home Alabama, became more
famous for their tragedy. But the surviving members would later return to playing music.

The heart of the band was Van Zant. Born Ronald Wayne Van Zant in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1948, he grew up in poverty and as early as eight saw music as his way out. At 16, he formed a band with friends Allen Collins, Gary Rossington, Larry Junstrom, and Bob Burns (who he met during a baseball game, after knocking him out with a foul ball). They played bars and school dances in Jacksonville, going through several name changes including The Pretty Ones, The Noble Five, My Backyard and One Percent before Van Zant derived inspiration from school.

He and his friends had often been sent to the principal’s office by a PE teacher called Forby Leonard Skinner, for having long hair. To poke fun at their former nemesis they called themselves Leonard Skinnerd. The name eventually morphed into Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Leonard Skinner, of Jacksonville,Florida, who was the namesake for the famed Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.

In 1972 they were spotted by Al Kooper, songwriter, musician, founding member of Blood, Sweat & Tears, who owned the record label Sounds of the South.

Kooper produced the band’s first album titled Lynyrd Skynyrd (Pronounced Leh’-’nerd Skin-’nerd), released in 1973. Varying from hard driving to laid-back blues-rock, it quickly found a following, peaking at 27 on the Billboard charts. The song Free Bird was released as a single in 1974 becoming a hit in 1975.

As support act for The Who on the English band’s 1973 tour, Lynyrd Skynyrd developed a national following. Their second album Second Helping included Sweet Home Alabama, a love song to the southern state written in reply to Neil Young’s song Southern Man, which criticised Alabama. The lyrics included controversial references to a Birmingham governor — racist politician George Wallace — but many listeners missed the fact that the band chants “boo, boo, boo”, meaning they opposed Wallace. The song helped turn them into a headline act.

In 1975 they released a third album Nuthin’ Fancy and in 1976 their fourth Gimme Back My Bullets, featuring Cassie Gaines as one of the backing singers. She helped recruit another guitarist for the band, her brother Steve.

Drugs and alcohol contributed to two band members having car accidents in 1976, which delayed recording of a new album. In 1977 the line-up included Van Zant, Collins, Rossington, Steve Gaines, Artimus Pyle (who replaced Burns on drums) and Billy Powell. Cassie, JoJo Billingsley and Leslie Hawkings formed a trio of backing singers known as the Honkettes.

On October 17, 1977 the band released their fifth album Street Survivors. It included an ominous song That Smell, with the line “The smell of death surrounds you”.

The band had completed the fifth show of a major tour when it boarded the fatal flight. Billingsley was home ill and Hawkings chose to go to Baton Rouge by road, but the rest of the band were on board. According to the National Transportation Safety Board’s inquiry the pilots hadn’t paid attention to the fuel supply and when an engine malfunction caused “higher-than-normal fuel consumption” the plane was in dire trouble.

Van Zant, who wasn’t wearing a seat belt, was among the six who died.

The band, who returned to performing in 1987, is still playing gigs.

The accident pushed their album up the charts, but tore the heart out of the band. The surviving members reunited briefly for a charity concert in 1979. But it was not until 1987 that a full scale reunion, with Van Zant’s brother Johnny on lead vocals, saw the band return to performing and recording.

Inducted into the Rock’n’roll Hall of Fame in 2006, the band released the album The Last of A Dyin’ Breed in 2012 and are still touring

Originally published as 1977 air crash robbed Lynyrd Skynyrd of its heart and song