Steve Gaines wasn’t just a guitarist, but also a talented singer and songwriter, bringing new life to a band that largely depended on Van Zandt’s direction up to that point. With guitarist Ed King having left in 1975, the band sought to reignite their three-guitar signature sound, with Cassie Gaines recommending her brother Steve. To make matters even more devastating, 1977 found the band on the upswing once more. Complete with a three-guitar attack and musicianship that was well beyond the simple blues-based boogie of their peers, Skynyrd brought arranged solos and pop melodies to their southern fried charm, creating some of the most well-remembered classic rock of the ’70s, including ‘Sweet Home Alabama’, ‘Tuesday’s Gone’, and ‘Free Bird’. In a dense scene of bands, including acolytes like Molly Hatchet and 38 Special (featuring Van Zandt’s brother Donnie), Lynyrd Skynyrd distinguished themselves as the biggest and most proficient of the pack. The crash had brought a rising career to a sudden and tragic end. Of the 26 people on board, Skynyrd members Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines, along with backing vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, and the two pilots, died upon impact.
That’s the day when Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s plane carrying them from South Carolina to Louisiana crashed in a heavily wooded and swampy forest, five miles away from the nearest town. That’s the day when the genres biggest crossover act, one that found global success without compromising its southern roots, was fractured beyond repair.
20th October 1977, is the darkest day in Southern rock.
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