Lynyrd Skynyrd Reflect on the Tragic 1977 Plane Crash | The Big Interview

[Music] this bulletin just in the Federal Aviation Administration reports that a plane carrying 25 persons crashed tonight in Southwest Mississippi the band was aboard a small twin engine plane on their way to Baton Rouge Louisiana when the plane lost Fuel and crashed six people lost their lives among them was the heart and soul of the band Ronnie VanZant 20 others on board somehow survived the crash including guitarist Gary rossington I don't want to raise anything as nightmares it has to be nightmares for it but you're in the plane you know he going down give us a sense of that I mean did you spend your time in prayer did you spend your time cursing the airplane well we were playing poker and just having a flight you know on a private plane there's no rules you don't have to buckle up or sit down the whole time or nothing anyway we were just flying along but the the pil the co-pilot came back and said hey guys we got trouble we're going to make a emergency landing in a field so get ready put your head between your legs and buckle up so most people did that you know now myself I was Ronnie was by me and Dean another guy that died during the crash our our road manager Dean katrick and and Allan was across from me and Cassie and Steve gains they both died and me and Allan didn't so we always ask ourselves why didn't we go and not them but the S before it crashed was you're in so much shock or or disbelief and at the same time belief and oh my God it's true and what you don't have time to think even if you had 10 minutes your mind just goes and I thought I just you know was waiting and thinking nothing you know I didn't know what to think and but it was really scary for a minute and then all of a sudden it was a real calm like well it's going to happen and then it started and we hit the tops of trees and it was real loud and started softed got so loud till it just crashed you know and I woke up uh it was like a Vietnam experience or something I wasn't there but I woke up a swamp hearing all my brothers crying or Screaming you know cuz they were hurt and it was natural or dead and so I was laying I was hurt real bad and I thought the plane door was on me some hunk of metal and I screamed out for somebody to get it off of me and finally I said Dean our road man said get this thing off of me and well Dean walked over and threw that piece of metal off of me but then later in the hospital a few weeks later uh a doctor told me that the way he came in he was so he couldn't have done that what happened to him so it was his spirit so I believe in that but there was so much I could go on for two days about he was a helper wouldn't the yeah and the he was God it was God you see him and after the crash I remember laying in the hospital for the first week or so but the first three or four days I say three because that's when Jesus you know was resurrected after three day but I could see all of their faces and the flowers people were seeing a lot of flowers they were all over the room and when I looked in there I'd see them and I believe it was their Spirit to helped me get through it but coming to me and being there right with me do you or do you not still have nightmares about it you have to talk about it people such myself going to ask you about it I hate to say this yeah a lot I do I won't even tell my wife cu but if I told you every night I don't think you'd believe me but every night I have some kind of weird dream about it but let me ask you this and you you've been so generous with your time and with with yourself and I appreciate it but you know the history I don't know of another band that has this kind of History you know the band was very successful the band then comes back in many ways as strong as as ever was with the brother taking over the lead singing role how did you make that happen you know Dan for me honestly I had quit the music business and I went to driving truck so I'm driving my truck but I still love to write songs I was doing some demo tapes and this gentleman named Joe Bolan who i' met in Nashville says I know Amed Eran he's chairman of Atlantic Records I sign LED zeppin and right Charles and everybody and uh I think he'll like your stuff I said oh okay I said well I'd send him a cassette and honestly on Friday night I get a call from this gentleman saying that Ahmed wants to come in and talk to me sign me to Atlantic Records I said oh okay yeah I'm going been in the music business I done quit this nonsense and uh I couldn't believe it was going to happen so anyway on Monday Amad eriga flies in signs me to Atlantic Records on the following Friday Gary called me and saidhe we want to go out and do a tribute Jour and respect the name of L I said my God I was driving a truck in one week I mean I got a record bill and I got Gary calling me so I walked into a room and here are the surviving members if my brother would have lived Leonard Skinner would have went on he was that type of man he would said we're going to Pi we're going to dust it off and we're going to carry this thing on whenever they asked me to be a part of this I said let's go in and try to rehearse it's been 31 years

Channel: AXS TV

Views: 42,290

Keywords: Music, AXS TV, Classic Rock, Rock Music, Concert, lynyrd skynyrd, lynyrd skynyrd simple man, lynyrd skynyrd sweet home alabama, lynyrd skynyrd that smell, lynyrd skynyrd live, lynyrd skynyrd reaction, lynyrd skynyrd plane crash movie, lynyrd skynyrd plane crash simulation, lynyrd skynyrd plane crash scene, lynyrd skynyrd plane crash interview, lynyrd skynyrd plane crash reaction

Id: YFWRSNKkUm4

Length: 6min 2sec (362 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 21 2023