Ronnie Van Zant
| Ronnie Van Zant | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ronald Wayne Van Zant |
| Born |
January 15, 1948 Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
| Died | October 20, 1977 (aged 29) Gillsburg, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Genres | Southern rock, blues rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano, drums |
| Years active | 1964–1977 |
| Associated acts | Lynyrd Skynyrd |
Ronald Wayne "Ronnie" Van Zant (January 15, 1948 – October 20, 1977) was an American lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and a founding member of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He was the older brother of current Lynyrd Skynyrd lead vocalist Johnny Van Zant, and of the founder and vocalist of 38 Special, Donnie Van Zant. He was the father of singer Tammy Van Zant, and cousin of musician Jimmie Van Zant.
He was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, to Lacy (1915–2004) and Marion (1929–2000) Van Zant. Ronnie aspired to be many things before finding his love for music. Notably, he was interested in becoming a boxer (as Muhammad Ali was one of his idols), and in playing professional baseball, even playing American Legion baseball. Ronnie also tossed around the idea of becoming a . He would say that he was going to be the most famous person to come out of Jacksonville since stock car racer Lee Roy Yarbrough.
The band went through several names before deciding on the name Lynyrd Skynyrd. Van Zant formed Skynyrd (then called My Backyard at the time, their earliest name) late in the summer of 1964 with friends and schoolmates Allen Collins (guitar), Gary Rossington (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass), and Bob Burns (drums). Lynyrd Skynyrd's name is a mock tribute to a gym teacher that three of the members (Allen Collins had gone to a different high school, Nathan B. Forrest High School) had in high school, Leonard Skinner, who disapproved of male students with long hair.
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