Lynyrd Skynyrd remained a vital part of the cultural landscape for the next 40 years, which is the reason why their retirement from the road is garnering attention. The tragedy seemed to provide a neat conclusion to Skynyrd’s story, forever tying the band – and, specifically, Ronnie Van Zant – to the New South of the 1970s, an era when the states below the Mason Dixon line attempted to refashion themselves as progressive in the wake of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.Įxcept, that’s not exactly true. Their place in history seems secure not merely because they were one of the progenitors of Southern rock – the hybrid of country, blues and hard rock that swept through the 1970s – but also because the ending to their story seemed to be written decades ago, when its leader Ronnie Van Zant perished alongside guitarist Steve Gaines, backing vocalist Cassie Gaines and assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick in a Mississippi plane crash on October 20th, 1977. She said local hospital employees worked through the night to help crash victims without knowing some of them were famous.Ĭurrie said she has always been a fan of the band’s music: “I spent a lot of time in the summers … listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd and having way, way, way too much fun.Lynyrd Skynyrd launched its farewell tour earlier this month, confident in the knowledge that they’ll be remembered as one of the great American rock & roll bands of the 20th century. Beckie Currie of Brookhaven, who was a student nurse at the time of the crash. Among those pushing for it was Republican Rep. Mississippi legislators passed a bill requiring the state to provide exit signs for the crash monument. Those killed were singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, his sister and backing vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray. Of the 26 people on the plane, 20 survived. And that was without directions leading to the remote site 8 miles (13 kilometres) west of Interstate 55 - in a place with no cellphone service for navigation. The monument has become one of the biggest tourist attractions in southwest Mississippi, since drawing 4,500 people from 13 countries, 39 states and five Canadian provinces. It’s very difficult to get to and there are no markings,” said said Bobby McDaniel, president of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Monument Project. “People were always asking where the crash site is. Three large granite markers were put up in Gillsburg in 2019, but until the exit signs were recently added, many people had to guess how to find the site in a wooded area near the Louisiana state line. 20, 1977, plane crash that killed some members of the band. The signs provide direction toward a monument commemorating the Oct. Lynyrd Skynyrd, the rock band famous for “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird,” now has highway signs pointing to the site of the Mississippi plane crash that claimed the lives of some of its members.įans gathered Sunday as the Mississippi Department of Transportation unveiled exit signs from Interstate 55 near McComb and state Highway 568 near Gillsburg, the Enterprise-Journal reported.
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