Johnny Van Zant on the Skynyrd Legacy
Posted: July 21, 2005 11:15 am
From the Journal Sentinel
Johnny Van Zant tells of following late brother's footsteps
By LARRY WIDEN
Special to the Journal Sentinel
For a guy who fronts one of the most ferocious Southern rock bands ever assembled, Johnny Van Zant is surprisingly amiable, even at 9:30 in the morning. He lets out a throaty, whiskey-voiced guffaw as he looks at his wireless bill. It's astronomical, Van Zant says, because he calls his daughters at least once a day while on tour with the band.
There's a lot of rock 'n' roll history in that voice - about 30 years to be exact.
Van Zant was only 18 years old the night his older brother Ronnie, founder and vocalist of Lynyrd Skynyrd, died in a plane crash in the Mississippi wilderness in October 1977. Guitarist Steve Gaines, singer Cassie Gaines, road manager Dean Kilpatrick and both of the plane's pilots also were killed. For the next 10 years, the surviving band members struggled with one musical project or another in an attempt to regain their careers. But without singer-songwriter Ronnie Van Zant, the magic was gone.
Then, in 1987, Lynyrd Skynyrd's musicians regrouped, with Johnny Van Zant singing in place of his brother. Van Zant appeared to be a natural choice. The physical resemblance to Ronnie was almost eerie, and, with a voice that sounded like an 18-wheeler barreling over gravel, Johnny even sounded like him.
The current incarnation of Lynyrd Skynyrd performs at Country Thunder USA on Sunday night, the final night of the five-day country music event in Twin Lakes. Johnny Van Zant spoke recently about continuing his brother's legacy.
Q.Was it hard to be out there at first, singing your brother's songs?
A. It took me two or three years to get comfortable standing in for Ronnie. I just wanted to do the best I could, but Skynyrd fans are tough, you know! (laughs) I didn't know if I was gonna get an egg or a brick thrown at me. You know, when you're up there, a lotta stuff runs through your mind, like "What are they thinking?" and "Am I good enough?" But now I'm having a great time.
Q. You weren't singing "Free Bird" in the beginning. When did you decide it was OK?
A. I never did, actually. It was (guitarist) Gary Rossington one night in Sacramento. We were backstage and Gary said, "You sing all the other songs, there's no reason not to do this one. I'm not going out there unless we do 'Free Bird.' Your brother would want you to." And we've been doin' it ever since.
Q.What was it like to have a rock star for a brother when you were growing up?
A. Well, I had two, actually (Donnie Van Zant is the lead singer for .38 Special). But they were my brothers, so I didn't think of them as anything but that.
Q.Your parents handled your career choices well.
A. My parents were real cool. They were willing to support anything we wanted to do for a living. Heck, at one point I was going to be a steeplejack 'cause I loved welding.
Q.Do you miss your dad?
A. Oh, heck yeah. I can't believe he's been gone a year already. He was a self-made man, drove a truck all his life, and he instilled his values in us.
Q. Give an example.
A. He taught me never to steal. If you want something, you gotta work for it. I remember in the fourth grade, I stole three pieces of bubblegum from the corner store. When I got home, I really got my butt tore up! From then on I never stole anything.
Q. The plane crash in 1977 changed your life.
A. That was a very sad night for me. I've never been to the site in Mississippi and don't have any desire to see it. There's days when it seems to me Ronnie just died a year or so ago.
Q.This version of Lynyrd Skynyrd exudes some spirituality.
A. It was always there, I think. It's in the lyrics of the songs. Plus, I don't think you live through plane crashes, drug addiction and alcohol abuse without realizing you're on Earth for a reason. God has a plan for each of us. I believe it's OK to question that plan sometimes, but in the end, it is what it is. There's a line in one of the new songs that goes, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans."
Johnny Van Zant tells of following late brother's footsteps
By LARRY WIDEN
Special to the Journal Sentinel
For a guy who fronts one of the most ferocious Southern rock bands ever assembled, Johnny Van Zant is surprisingly amiable, even at 9:30 in the morning. He lets out a throaty, whiskey-voiced guffaw as he looks at his wireless bill. It's astronomical, Van Zant says, because he calls his daughters at least once a day while on tour with the band.
There's a lot of rock 'n' roll history in that voice - about 30 years to be exact.
Van Zant was only 18 years old the night his older brother Ronnie, founder and vocalist of Lynyrd Skynyrd, died in a plane crash in the Mississippi wilderness in October 1977. Guitarist Steve Gaines, singer Cassie Gaines, road manager Dean Kilpatrick and both of the plane's pilots also were killed. For the next 10 years, the surviving band members struggled with one musical project or another in an attempt to regain their careers. But without singer-songwriter Ronnie Van Zant, the magic was gone.
Then, in 1987, Lynyrd Skynyrd's musicians regrouped, with Johnny Van Zant singing in place of his brother. Van Zant appeared to be a natural choice. The physical resemblance to Ronnie was almost eerie, and, with a voice that sounded like an 18-wheeler barreling over gravel, Johnny even sounded like him.
The current incarnation of Lynyrd Skynyrd performs at Country Thunder USA on Sunday night, the final night of the five-day country music event in Twin Lakes. Johnny Van Zant spoke recently about continuing his brother's legacy.
Q.Was it hard to be out there at first, singing your brother's songs?
A. It took me two or three years to get comfortable standing in for Ronnie. I just wanted to do the best I could, but Skynyrd fans are tough, you know! (laughs) I didn't know if I was gonna get an egg or a brick thrown at me. You know, when you're up there, a lotta stuff runs through your mind, like "What are they thinking?" and "Am I good enough?" But now I'm having a great time.
Q. You weren't singing "Free Bird" in the beginning. When did you decide it was OK?
A. I never did, actually. It was (guitarist) Gary Rossington one night in Sacramento. We were backstage and Gary said, "You sing all the other songs, there's no reason not to do this one. I'm not going out there unless we do 'Free Bird.' Your brother would want you to." And we've been doin' it ever since.
Q.What was it like to have a rock star for a brother when you were growing up?
A. Well, I had two, actually (Donnie Van Zant is the lead singer for .38 Special). But they were my brothers, so I didn't think of them as anything but that.
Q.Your parents handled your career choices well.
A. My parents were real cool. They were willing to support anything we wanted to do for a living. Heck, at one point I was going to be a steeplejack 'cause I loved welding.
Q.Do you miss your dad?
A. Oh, heck yeah. I can't believe he's been gone a year already. He was a self-made man, drove a truck all his life, and he instilled his values in us.
Q. Give an example.
A. He taught me never to steal. If you want something, you gotta work for it. I remember in the fourth grade, I stole three pieces of bubblegum from the corner store. When I got home, I really got my butt tore up! From then on I never stole anything.
Q. The plane crash in 1977 changed your life.
A. That was a very sad night for me. I've never been to the site in Mississippi and don't have any desire to see it. There's days when it seems to me Ronnie just died a year or so ago.
Q.This version of Lynyrd Skynyrd exudes some spirituality.
A. It was always there, I think. It's in the lyrics of the songs. Plus, I don't think you live through plane crashes, drug addiction and alcohol abuse without realizing you're on Earth for a reason. God has a plan for each of us. I believe it's OK to question that plan sometimes, but in the end, it is what it is. There's a line in one of the new songs that goes, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans."