The titles of their hits are familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of Southern Rock:
And their biggest hit of all: SWEET HOME ALABAMA.
Of course, I’m referencing one of the greatest Southern Rock Bands of them all: Lynyrd Skynyrd, so named in honor (sort of) of a P.E. teacher, (real name: Leonard Skinner) at Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, Florida, the hometown of band leader Ronnie Van Zant.
Three members of the band, including Van Zant, were killed 42 years yesterday October 20) when their plane went down near Gillsburg, Mississippi, which abuts the Louisiana-Mississippi line, a few miles north of Greensburg, Louisiana. The pilot, co-pilot and sister of one of the band members were also killed.
The band was on its way from a show in Greenville, South Carolina en route to an engagement at LSU in Baton Rouge.
The crash and death of Van Zant did not generate the headlines it should because the nations was still in a state of disbelief over the death of Elvis Presley just two months earlier but its hard-core fans were stunned at the news.
Yesterday, several hundred people gathered for the unveiling of a large MONUMENT honoring members of the group.
Judy Van Zant, widow of Lynyrd Skynyrd band leader Ronnie Van Zant, reads the inscription on a monument Sunday commemorating the 42nd anniversary of the plane crash that killed six people, including Van Zant and two other members of the band. (Photos and coverage by James Minton)
Van Zant’s widow, Judy Van Zant, and other relatives of the group’s members, participated in the unveiling of the three laser-etched black granite panels that tell the story of the band, the crash and the effort by Amite County, Miss., rescuers to locate the crash site and get medical help to the crash survivors.
Several of the crash survivors attended the ceremony and a Saturday night concert by the tribute band, Nuthin’ Fancy, at Southwest Mississippi Community College in Summit, Miss.
The project was the brainchild of Bobby McDaniel and other area residents who responded to the report of the crash. McDaniel said the group raised $65,000 to design and erect the monument, which is on private property on Easley Road, off Miss. Hwy. 568. The monument is open to the public without charge.
Ironically, the band Aerosmith had been considering purchasing the same plane, a 30-year-old Convair CV-240, that Lynyrd Skynyrd was leasing for the tour to promote its fifth album, Street Survivors, released just three days before the crash, but passed on it over safety concerns. Band drummer would later say they were flying in a plane “that looked like it belonged to the Clampett family.”
The right engine sputtered throughout the flight and finally died. Before the pilot could turn back toward the McComb-Pike County Airport in nearby McComb, Mississippi, 17 miles behind them, the left engine died and all the band could hear as the plane went into a free-fall at 4,500 feet, was an eerie silence, broken only by the wind. Band members began praying silently.
Attempts at a soft landing vanished as the plane began striking pine trees at 90 miles-per-hour, ripping apart as it did so. The cockpit and tail were torn away and the rest of the cabin was buckled into an L-shape. Even though everyone was wearing seat belts, the seats themselves were ripped from the floor, hurtling everyone forward into the wall panels.
Van Zant, suffering blunt force trauma to the head, died instantly. Two passengers, both alive, found themselves ten feet above the wreckage, stuck in a tree.
Souvenir hunters converged on the crash scene, stealing anything they could: wallets, jewelry, purses, suitcases, band merchandise, airplane seats, seat belt, pillows, cash, and pieces of debris from the plane itself. Band security chief Gene Odom said, “They took my watch, my wallet, my ring and my money as I lay bleeding on the ground.”
But on Sunday, the only ones to appear were devoted fans of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
No souvenir seekers, just well-wishers holding on to fond memories.
(Thanks to James Minton for his coverage of the event.)
Louisiana Voice 
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