Ronnie

How's it going? My name's Ronnie Van Zant, I am the lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and founding member of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd. I grew up rough in West Jacksonville but I managed to survive. The band was named after our High School gym teacher Leonard Skinner who used to torment me and some of my band members about are long hair. We eventually dropped out of High School. Our first album was called Pronounced Leh-Nerd-Skin-Nerd which featured the song Free Bird, which I dedicated to my good friend Duane Allman. We had other hits such as Sweet Home Alabama which I'm shure most of you have heard. Most or my music deals with everyday things such as Gun Control, Drugs, Government, the Environment etc. We had a few road blocks along the way but we stayed true. By the mid 70's my band was rolling we were one of the top rated bands in all of America. But on October 20, 1977 our fun filled journey came to an end. A plane carring us to Baton Rouge, Louisiana crashed outside McComb, Mississippi killing me, Guitarist Steve Gaines, backup singer Cassie Gaines and our tour manager Dean Kilpatrick. Although some members survived the crash they were seriously injured. But my music still lives on today and is listened to by many. Most of all I would like to thank my fans for listening to the music with out you guys there wouldn't even be a Lynyrd Skynyrd.