R.I.P. RONNIE VAN ZANT

Ronnie Van Zant was an American singer and musician who was born in Jacksonville, Florida on January 15th, 1948. He gained fame as lead vocalist of the Southern rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd. Some of the group’s most popular singles include songs like “Free Bird”, “Simple Man”, and today’s song choice (that can be listened to by clicking on the provided link).

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine included Lynyrd Skynyrd on their list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All-Time”, and in 2005, the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

On this very day, October 20th 1977, Ronald Wayne Van Zant died in a plane crash (after the vessel ran out of gas) near Gillsburg, Mississippi. He was just 29 years old at the time of his death. In memory of his passing, exactly 47 years ago today, I’ve chosen a song that CMT ranked as the #1 Southern Rock song of all-time. Released in June 1974, here’s Lynyrd Skynyrd, featuring the late, RONNIE VAN ZANT, with “SWEET HOME ALABAMA”….