Lynyrd Skynyrd has been making great Southern Rock for nearly 50 years, surviving the road, addiction, and personal tragedies along the way. Who could forget that dreadful night, October 20th, 1977 as the band and entourage boarded a private plane after a show in Greenville, SC, bound for their next tour stop in Baton Rouge?
The plane simply ran out of gas, crashing just five miles northeast of Gillsburg, Mississippi. The crash ended up killing Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray.
Lynyrd Skynyrd began in Jacksonville, FL in the late 60s, taking the namesake of their least favorite PE teacher Leonard Skinner, while attending high school at Robert E. Lee High. Leonard always gave them a hard time about the length of their hair. The boys in the band actually grew to appreciate their former PE teacher, remaining close to Leonard until his death in 2010. Lynyrd Skynyrd plays on, releasing their confirmed 2017 tour dates and cites below.
2/2 – Detroit, MI
2/3 – Grand Rapids, MI
2/4 – Paducah, KY
2/9 – Estero, FL
2/10 – Pompano Beach, FL
4/8 – Lake Charles, LA
4/22 – Auburn, AL
4/29 – Corbin, KY
6/10 – Winsted, MN
3/31 – Thackerville, OK
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