Image of Ronnie Van Zant

Ronnie Van Zant

He was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. Van Zant aspired to be many things before finding his love for music. Notably, Ronnie was interested in becoming a boxer(as Muhammad Ali was one of his idols) and in playing professional baseball. Ronnie also tossed around the idea of becoming a stock car racer. He would say that he was going to be the most famous person to come out of Jacksonville since stock car racer Lee Roy Yarbrough. Van Zant formed Skynyrd late in the summer of 1964 with friends and schoolmates Allen Collins (guitar), Gary Rossington (guitar), Larry Junstrom(bass), and Bob Burns (drums). Lynyrd Skynyrd's name is a mock tribute to a gym teacher the boys had in high school, Leonard Skinner, who disapproved of male students with long hair. The band's national exposure began in 1973 with the release of their debut album, (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd), which has a string of hits and fan favorites including: "I Ain't the One", "Tuesday's Gone", "Gimme Three Steps", "Simple Man," and their signature song, "Free Bird", which he later dedicated to the late Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers Band. Van Zant died on October 8, 1977 from a plane crash that killed bandmate Steve Gains among other people part of the band. Other band members  (Collins, Rossington, Wilkeson, Powell, Pyle, and Hawkins), tour manager Ron Eckerman, and road crew suffered serious injuries.


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Born:
Jan 15, 1948 In Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Movie/TV Credits:
8
First Appeared:
In the movie Lynyrd Skynyrd: The Old Grey Whistle Test 1975-01-01
Latest Project:
Movie Lynyrd Skynyrd: Live at Knebworth '76 2021-04-09
Known For
Poster of Gone with the Wind: The Remarkable Rise and Tragic Fall of Lynyrd Skynyrd
Poster of Lynyrd Skynyrd: One More For The Fans
Poster of Lynyrd Skynyrd: Live at Winterland 1976
Poster of Lynyrd Skynyrd : Live at Winterland 1975
Filmography
Movie Lynyrd Skynyrd: Live at Knebworth '76 Self 2021-04-09
Movie If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd Himself (archive footage) 2018-03-13
Movie Lynyrd Skynyrd: One More For The Fans Self (Archive) 2015-07-31
Movie Gone with the Wind: The Remarkable Rise and Tragic Fall of Lynyrd Skynyrd Himself 2015-10-16
Movie Freebird: The Movie Himself 1996-01-01
Movie Lynyrd Skynyrd: Live at Winterland 1976 himself 1976-03-04
Movie Lynyrd Skynyrd: The Old Grey Whistle Test Himself 1975-01-01
Movie Lynyrd Skynyrd : Live at Winterland 1975 himself 1975-04-27