Lynyrd Skynyrd: The legacy of Street Survivors and the 1977 plane crash

In October 1977, the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd released their fifth studio album, ‘Street Survivors’. Shortly after the release, a tragic plane crash occurred on October 20, following the band’s final performance with its classic lineup in Greenville, South Carolina, on October 19.

The chartered Convair CV-240 was traveling from Greenville to Baton Rouge when it ran out of fuel over Mississippi. During an attempted emergency landing in an open field in Amite County, the aircraft struck a tree. The crash resulted in the deaths of six people: frontman Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, backing singer Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, and both pilots, Walter McCreary and William Gray.

While the band eventually reconstituted with new members, they did not tour again for over a decade. The album ‘Street Survivors’ remains a significant part of the band’s legacy, noted for featuring the only studio recordings made with guitarist Steve Gaines.