Collins was felled by pneumonia in 1989, and died shortly after in 1990.Īlthough the worst seemed to be behind them by the '90s-after all, it would be hard to top the past 20 years of upsetting events-the reunited Skynyrd's lineup luck did not endure. Collins, who was charged with manslaughter for the death of his girlfriend, took position as musical director of the group-and as part of his plea bargain, addressed the band's audience every night on tour from his wheelchair on the dangers of drunk driving. By 1987 it seemed solidified: The late Van Zant was replaced by brother Johnny while crash survivors Rossington, Pyle, Billy Powell, and Leon Wilkeson resumed their former duties. Three years later, an intoxicated Collins crashed his car in Jacksonville, killing his girlfriend and rendering him paralyzed from the waist down and with limited use of his upper body.Īt this point, talk of a Skynyrd-proper reconfiguration had been in the works for some time. Collins made another attempt by starting the Allen Collins band, which released one album in 1983 to lukewarm response. The tragedy effectively splintered the band by 1982 and threw the grieving Collins himself into a spiral of substance abuse. Shortly before the Rossington-Collins band was slated to go on its debut tour in 1980, Collins's wife Kathy died unexpectedly from a miscarriage-related hemorrhage. This lineup eventually was doomed for misfortune as well. The new band did not include drummer Artimus Pyle who-in another stroke of Skynyrd misfortune-had badly shattered his leg in a motorcycle accident. The remaining band members continued to make music through the '80s under various configurations, most notably the Rossington-Collins band-which was cooked up by Rossington and guitarist Allen Collins, who took special pains to distance the new outfit from a "reborn" Skynyrd tag by recruiting a female lead singer, Dale Krantz. Save one performance in 1979, "Lynyrd Skynyrd" would not emerge again for a decade. As might be expected, the album that was released just three days before the tragedy, Street Survivors, became one of their greatest hits in the wake of the spotlight on the events. He survived the incident and admitted he was under the influence at the time, prompting bandmates Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins to write "That Smell"-an ominous tune warning "Say you'll be all right come tomorrow, but tomorrow may not be here for you." (Ironically, the 60-year-old Rossington is the sole member of the original lineup still performing in the band.)Īfter the plane crash, which claimed the lives of Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines (Gaines's sister and backup singer Cassie, the band's road manager, and the plane's pilot and co-pilot also died), the remaining members of Lynyrd Skynyrd disbanded to recover from their extensive injuries. Trouble began for the hard-partying band a year before the plane crash, when guitarist Gary Rossington plowed his brand-new car into a tree along a Jacksonville, Florida road. It is undisputably the creepiest, but the flaming album cover wasn't the first prediction of deadly events for Skynyrd. Here's a cheat sheet to their unfortunate past few decades. In fact, Lynyrd Skynyrd has managed to earn the dubious distinction of "unluckiest band in history" over the years. The band's record label scrambled to replace the new album's cover, which eerily forecasted the accident by portraying the members engulfed in flames.Īlthough the crash remains now and forever the darkest centerpiece in the band's legend-as well as a breeding ground for gruesome urban legends surrounding the various members' demises-fans know quite well it's far from the first or last tragedy the definitive Southern Rockers endured. The drummer-who was one of the few able to walk-staggered out for help, and was allegedly shot at by an alarmed farmer. The toll was dire: Three band members perished the others were all severely injured. On October 20, 1977, a chartered plane carrying the band Lynyrd Skynyrd-in the midst of a headlining tour and fresh off the release of their sixth album-crashed in a Gillsburg, Mississippi swamp. It's hard to believe that it has been 35 years since one of rock's best-known tragedies occured.
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