Formed in 1964, the band that would become Lynyrd Skynyrd underwent multiple lineup changes before settling on vocalist Ronnie Van Zant; bassist Leon Wilkeson; guitarists Allen Collins, Steve Gaines, and Gary Rossington; drummer Artimus Pyle; and keyboardist Billy Powell. With hit songs like “Free Bird” and “Sweet Home Alabama”, the Jacksonville, Florida outfit brought Southern rock into the national spotlight. Sadly, an October 1977 plane crash would claim the lives of six people: Van Zant, Steve Gaines, backup vocalist Cassie Gaines (Steve’s sister), road manager Dean Kilpatrick, and two pilots, Walter McCreary and William Gray.
Occurring just three days after the release of the band’s fifth studio album, Street Survivors, the tragedy spelled the end of Lynyrd Skynyrd for a decade, until the band’s remaining members reunited for one last tour in 1987. One final tour led to several more albums and lineup changes. On this day (April 29) in 1997, the band released Twenty, named for the amount of time that had passed since that fateful crash.
Videos by American Songwriter
Johnny Van Zant Got One Last Duet With His Brother
For the 1987 reunion tour, Lynyrd Skynyrd brought aboard Johnny Van Zant, 12 years younger than his elder brother, Ronnie.
He has continued performing with the band ever since—and thanks to modern technology, fans got to hear him join forces with Ronnie on the Twenty track “Travelin’ Man”, first heard on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1976 live album One More For the Road.
What ’20’ Meant for Lynyrd Skynyrd
Recorded at the famed Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama, Twenty peaked at No. 97 on the Billboard 200. But its significance to the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd went far beyond any chart data.
In April 2025, a post on the band’s official Facebook account commemorated the album’s 27th anniversary.
“That record wasn’t just a milestone—it was a statement,” it read. “We’d been through hell and back, but the music was still in our bones. Still is. We made Twenty to honor the past and prove we weren’t done.”
And they weren’t. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s most recent release, Last of a Dying Breed, came in 2012, but the band is hitting the road this summer for a North American tour with Foreigner.
Featured image by Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Most Viewed
-
English rock and pop group The Hollies perform the song 'Sorry Suzanne' on the set of the BBC Television pop music television show Top Of The Pops at Lime Grove Studios in London on 27th March 1969. Members of the band are, from left, Tony Hicks, Bobby Elliott, Allan Clarke, Terry Sylvester and Bernie Calvert. (Photo by Ivan Keeman/Redferns) -
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Musician Bobby Osborne of the Osborne Brothers performs onstage during the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass music festival at Golden Gate Park on October 7, 2017 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images) -
Actor, singer, songwriter, musician, Kris Kristofferson wearing a white T shirtsits on a piano bench with a microphones in front of him while playing an acoustic twelve string guitar at Combine Studios in Nashville, Tennessee in 1970. (Photo by Al Clayton/Getty Images). -
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA – Alan Jackson performs at Shoreline Amphitheatre on August 4, 1994 in Mountain View, California. (Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images) -
Portrait of American musician, author, and comedian Kinky Friedman as he poses backstage during the Farm Aid benefit concert at Texas Stadium, Dallas, Texas, March 14, 1992. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images) -
Johnny Cash, who released his debut single 71 years ago today. -
American bluegrass singer and mandolin player Bill Monroe (1911 – 1996, left) backstage at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, with Kenny Baker on the fiddle, 2nd May 1975. (Photo by Sylvia Pitcher/Redferns/Getty Images)
