One of the most tragic stories in rock history has got to be the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash that took the lives of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, and both pilots of the plane, Walter McCreary and William Gray.
The Jacksonville, FL-based band was well on their way into the legendary canon of the rock n’ roll halls, having cleaned up their act of boozing and fighting, at the behest of Van Zant, and turning into an absolute juggernaut of an act, both live and in the studio. With hits such as “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Simple Man,” and “Free Bird,” which features one of the most memorable guitar solos ever, and is a tribute to fallen Allman Brothers Band founding member Duane Allman, Lynyrd Skynyrd was well on their way.
The group just had come off an epic summer tour, and had released Street Survivors a mere three days before the shocking accident. Following a concert at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium in Greenville, South Carolina, the band members boarded a chartered Convair CV-300 to head to a show down at LSU in Baton Rouge, LA the next night.
Due to a faulty engine draining fuel at an excessive rate, the plane went down over the swamp while pilots attempted an emergency landing at local airport in Gillsburg, Mississippi. Drummer Artimus Pyle, along with two crew members, were able to escape the wreckage and seek help from a local farmer and assist other the rest of the survivors.
After the accident, surviving members of the band Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson and Artimus Pyle officially disbanded. After a decade, they would reunite, along with guitarist Ed King, who had left the band two years before the crash. Taking over band leader Ronnie Van Zant’s role in the band would be, fittingly, his younger brother Johnny Van Zant. Lyrnyrd Skynyrd has gone through various formations since then, and still tours regularly to this day. However, the band would never be the same.
Let’s take a minute to remember those that didn’t make it on that tragic day back in 1977. In honor of Skynyrd and its fallen members, watch this version of “Freebird” recorded just months before the end.
[story ThisDayInMusic.com and Ultimate Classic Rock]