Van Zant

If you grew up in Church youth group in the 80's you most likely weren't listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd. The only connection you had as a teenager, was the Christian southern rock band Vision. Their first two albums came with a hype stickers that promoted Lynyrd Skynyrd members (Billy Powell and Leon Wilkenson). If you didn't grow up in a conservative church, you absolutely knew of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Songs like Free Bird and Sweet Home Alabama, were some of the most played songs of their time and still are in regular rotation nearly every place you go.
On Oct. 20, 1977, three members of the rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, were killed in a plane crash. His brother Johnny Van Zant, took over lead vocalist of Lynyrd Skynyrd after they re-unuited, and Donnie Van Zant, was the co-founder and vocalist of the rock band .38 Special. The two brothers formed Van Zant back in the 80's. But throughout their four decades of climbing the southern rock and country charts together and separately, faith has stayed just as important of a factor in the equation.