4
4
0
Following a performance at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium in Greenville, South Carolina, on October 20, 1977, the band boarded a chartered Convair CV-300 bound for Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where they were scheduled to appear at LSU the following night. Due to a faulty engine, the airplane ran low on fuel and the pilots were diverted to the McComb-Pike County Airport. After running out of fuel they attempted an emergency landing before crashing in a heavily forested area five miles northeast of Gillsburg, Mississippi. Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines, along with backup singer Cassie Gaines (Steve's older sister), assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray were killed on impact; other band members (Collins, Rossington, Wilkeson, Powell, Pyle, and Hawkins), tour manager Ron Eckerman, and several road crew suffered serious injuries.
The accident came just three days after the release of Street Survivors. Following the crash and the ensuing press, Street Survivors became the band's second platinum album and reached No. 5 on the U.S. album chart. The single "What's Your Name" reached No. 13 on the single charts in 1978. The original cover sleeve for Street Survivors had featured a photograph of the band, particularly Steve Gaines, engulfed in flames. Out of respect for the deceased (and at the request of Teresa Gaines, Steve's widow), MCA Records withdrew the original cover and replaced it with a similar image of the band against a simple black background. Thirty years later, for the deluxe CD version of Street Survivors, the original "flames" cover was restored.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynyrd_Skynyrd
The accident came just three days after the release of Street Survivors. Following the crash and the ensuing press, Street Survivors became the band's second platinum album and reached No. 5 on the U.S. album chart. The single "What's Your Name" reached No. 13 on the single charts in 1978. The original cover sleeve for Street Survivors had featured a photograph of the band, particularly Steve Gaines, engulfed in flames. Out of respect for the deceased (and at the request of Teresa Gaines, Steve's widow), MCA Records withdrew the original cover and replaced it with a similar image of the band against a simple black background. Thirty years later, for the deluxe CD version of Street Survivors, the original "flames" cover was restored.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynyrd_Skynyrd
American History
Rock Music
Death
Survival
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 4
1
1
0
This accident was a tragedy. As it turns out, I went to high school about the same time as the band members. In fact, I knew and played high school basketball for the coach for whom the band is named - Lennard Skinner. Coach Skinner was an interesting character and eventually (abruptly) left the school. There is more to this story.....
(1)
(0)
1
1
0
1
1
0
This happened about the time I was heading home from Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo. .
(1)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google