Biography
During the 1970s, Van Zant performed with his first band, the Austin Nickels Band. They later changed their name to The Johnny Van Zant Band releasing their debut solo album, No More Dirty Deals , in 1980. Early members of the Johnny Van Zant Band consisted of Van Zant on lead vocals, Robbie Gay on guitar, Danny Clausman, on bass, Erik Lundgren on lead guitar, Robbie Morris, drums and Joan Hecht (previously Joan Cusimano) and Nancy Henderson on background vocals. Van Zant released three more solo albums between 1981 and 1985, before taking a break from the music business.
He became lead vocalist and chief songwriter for the reunited Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1987 and continues to record and perform with them today. He released another solo album, Brickyard Road, in 1990, which featured the popular title track, which was a #1 hit on the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for three weeks. He also records and performs with his brother, Donnie, as Van Zant since 1998. Van Zant and Lynyrd Skynyrd performed in Arizona on April 9, 2022, during Arizona Bike Week at WestWorld of Scottsdale. He stated that original member Gary Rossington was recovering and still needed prayers.
In May 2006, less than one day before he was to perform at KSAN-FM 107.7 The Bone's Bone Bash 7, Van Zant underwent emergency surgery to have his appendix removed. Treated at Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, California, after reporting pain to a doctor earlier in the day. The incident forced the band to cancel three U.S. shows. [1]
Van Zant is a fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He recorded a video, along with remaining members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, that is played at every Jaguars home game on the TIAA Bank Field video board. [2]
According to Skynyrd's website, Van Zant was again hospitalized on August 6, 2011, at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, due to complications from a previous surgery. According to the website, Van Zant had a "surgical site" infected with cellulitus which required both hospitalization and IV/Antibiotic treatment. He began displaying signs of a staph infection and other symptoms related to the infection. His subsequent illness resulted in a number of scheduled performances being cancelled. [3]
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom, and Bob Burns (drums). The band spent five years touring small venues under various names and with several lineup changes before deciding on "Lynyrd Skynyrd" in 1969. The band released its first album, (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd), in 1973. By then, they had settled on a lineup that included bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboardist Billy Powell, and guitarist Ed King. Burns left and was replaced by Artimus Pyle in 1974. King left in 1975 and was replaced by Steve Gaines in 1976. At the height of their fame in the 1970s, the band popularized the Southern rock genre with songs such as "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird". After releasing five studio albums and one live album, the band's career was abruptly halted on October 20, 1977, when their chartered airplane crashed, killing Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines; and seriously injuring the rest of the band.
38 Special, often stylized as .38 Special or spelled out as Thirty-eight Special, is an American rock band formed by singer-guitarists Donnie Van Zant and Don Barnes in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1974.
Ronald Wayne Van Zant was an American singer, best known as the original lead vocalist, primary lyricist and a founding member of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He was the older brother of Johnny Van Zant, the current Lynyrd Skynyrd lead vocalist, and Donnie Van Zant, the founder and vocalist of the rock band .38 Special.
Steven Earl Gaines was an American musician. He is best known as a guitarist and backing vocalist with rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1976 until his death in the October 1977 airplane crash that claimed other band members and crew. His older sister Cassie Gaines, a backup vocalist with the band, also died in the crash.
Larkin Allen Collins Jr. was an American guitarist, and one of the founding members of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He co-wrote many of the band's songs with frontman and original lead singer Ronnie Van Zant.
Donald Newton Van Zant is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for being a member of the band 38 Special, from its formation in 1974 until 2013. He is the middle of three sons; his older brother Ronnie was the original lead singer for Lynyrd Skynyrd who died in a 1977 plane crash in Mississippi, and his younger brother Johnny has been the lead singer for Lynyrd Skynyrd since 1987. Donnie and Johnny Van Zant also had performed together as the group Van Zant. For a time, Van Zant considered getting out of the music industry and taking a higher paying job at the railroad, but was persuaded to stay in music by his older brother Ronnie who told him, "It's in your blood". With the formation of 38 Special, it was a last attempt at success in the music industry for Donnie.
Gary Robert Rossington was an American musician best known as a founding guitarist of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, with whom he performed until his death. Rossington was also a founding member of the Rossington Collins Band, along with former bandmate Allen Collins. Rossington was the last surviving founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the only original member left in the band at the time of his death.
Leon Russell Wilkeson was an American musician. He was the bassist of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1972 until his death in 2001.
Van Zant was an American musical duo composed of brothers Donnie Van Zant and Johnny Van Zant. Both are brothers of Ronnie Van Zant, the original lead singer for the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Johnny became the lead vocalist for the reunited Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1987. Donnie was the leader and vocalist of .38 Special.
Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 is the sixth studio album by American Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was the band's first new studio album since 1977's Street Survivors and the first following a 1977 plane crash that claimed the lives of three members of the band.
Vicious Cycle is the twelfth studio album by Lynyrd Skynyrd, released in 2003. It was the first album recorded by the band following the death of original bassist Leon Wilkeson, who appears on two songs, "The Way" and "Lucky Man", and the song "Mad Hatter" is a tribute to him. The album is the first to feature bassist Ean Evans, the first mainstream album with Michael Cartellone on drums, and the last album that guitarist Hughie Thomasson played on before he died. It included the single "Red, White & Blue" which peaked at number 27 on the US Mainstream Rock charts.
The Last Rebel is the seventh studio album by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released in 1993. It is the last album to feature drummer Kurt Custer and guitarist Randall Hall.
Twenty is the ninth studio album by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released in 1997. The title of the album refers to the fact that it had been twenty years since the plane crash which killed original lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines.
Thomas Delmer "Artimus" Pyle is an American musician who played drums with the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1974 to 1977 and from 1987 to 1991. He and his bandmates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.
Southern by the Grace of God is a live album by southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, recorded during the Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour in 1987. These live concerts were a 10-year anniversary tribute by Lynyrd Skynyrd to the members of the band who had died in a 1977 plane crash. The plane crash killed frontman Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, backing vocalist Cassie Gaines and road manager Dean Kilpatrick.
Christmas Time Again is the eleventh studio album by American Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released in 2000.
God & Guns is the thirteenth studio album by the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on September 29, 2009.
Live from Freedom Hall is a live album by the "post-crash" lineup of southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on June 22, 2010, after their eleventh studio album God & Guns. The set includes a CD with 15 live tracks and a DVD of that concert. This is the first Lynyrd Skynyrd album produced by Evan Haiman. Both Ean Evans and Billy Powell died before the release of this album, and it is also their last live album with the band.
Jimmie Van Zant was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was named after his mother's current husband at the time, Jim Nightingale; When his mother married Alfred Kelsay in 1970 he was adopted soon after at the age of 12 and his surname was changed to Kelsay.
