ORANGE PARK -- Nearly 23 years after Lynyrd Skynyrd rock singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines were laid to rest at Jacksonville Memory Gardens, vandals broke into a tomb and disturbed their remains yesterday morning. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. "Investigators said it's unlikely anybody could have broken it with their fist or foot. After thirteen long years of lying dormant in the vault, the recordings became a testimony to Gaines talent and short but impactful career. A lonesome railroad track runs through a rural area between Middleburg, Florida, and Doctors lake, in the Brickyard community, where Ronnie Van Zant started a family and spent his last years. 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Steve has two other albums, which are known to be very rare bootleg albums from different record companies:I Know A Little(a collection of live recordings with Crawdad) andOkie Special(a collection of live recordings with Crawdad as well asDetroit). A bit of an old soul who enjoys a good hit of nostalgia! His two brothers also became notable Southern rock musicians: Donnie Van Zant was a member of fellow Jacksonville band 38 Special, while Johnny became lead singer for the reunited Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1987. and help keep the future of the Houston Press, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our. He was an actor, known for A Way Back In (2010), Locked in! Embed from Getty Images. Burns left and was replaced by Artimus Pyle in 1974. The band had been looking for a new third guitar player to replace departed member Ed King, and gave Gaines an audition at the suggestion of his older sister Cassie. With an audience of approximately 150,000 and 200,000 people, Lynyrd Skynyrd delivered a performance that took the southern rock artiststo new heights. Vince Neils Daughter Inspired More Than Just A Song, Rudy Sarzos Tragic Detailing of Randy Rhoads Plane Crash, The 10 Best Bob Dylan Songs That Defined His Career. Later on, Steve Gaines formed a band called Manalive. This is a very lengthy, detailed post. The Van Zant family plot at Riverside Memorial Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida. Cassie and Steve Gaines were buried in Orange Park, Florida . The intruders may have been frightened off by the first deputy who arrived on the scene shortly after someone telephoned the Sheriff's Office about 3 a.m. and reported hearing unusual noises coming from the cemetery. "Ronnie knew that he was going to die," he said. His older sister Cassie Gaines, a backup vocalist with the band, likewise died in the crash. Assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, the pilot, and co-pilot Walter McCreary and William Gray also died. Where is Steve Gaines buried at? In 2000, nearly 23 years after Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines were laid to rest at Jacksonville Memory Gardens in Orange Park, vandals broke in and disturbed their remains. Both have since been moved to secret locations. Let's go, man. He was the oldest son of six children (3 sisters and 2 brothers - musicians Donnie and Johnny). Ronnie Van Zant Ronnie was the lead singer for Lynyrd Skynyrd. Van Zant's resting place was moved after his gravesite was vandalized, but nobody knew where, until Thursday. "They don't understand why, after almost 23 years, anybody would go to this extent to do something like this.". Cassie began suggesting her brother for the role, but the band had hesitations. He has now been laid to rest. Van Zant himself realized that Steve Gaines was bringing about a rebirth of the band. Gaines theology is best described as conservative and evangelical.Steve Gaines (pastor). Bandmates Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines, along with assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray, . Theres no telling what he would have developed cause he kept progressing. Following her death in the 1977 plane crash, Gaines was buried just behind her brother Steve's grave in Jacksonville Memory Gardens. The site. Don't have an account yet? They also found a bag containing Gaines' cremated ashes on the ground. She was buried near her children. Lynyrd Skynyrds Sweet Home Alabama meaning is often interpreted as being racist because of the the lyrics reference In Birmingham [where a black church was bombed killing 4 young girls] they love the governor [George Wallace ] who was a segregationist. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. However, Kevin Elson, the sound technician, had been listening intently through headphones. The subgenre outlived both the Allman Brothers, who broke up in 1976, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, who disbanded after a plane crash in 1977 that took the lives of three members, including frontman Ronnie Van Zant. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Brooks & Dunn Boot Scoot Through 21st RodeoHouston Performance, Apes of the State Is Here to Defend Folk Punk, Opening Night RodeoHouston 2023: Parker McCollum, Become a member to support the independent voice of Houston I always felt that Ronnie belonged to his fans but I never thought anyone would do something like this to his resting place.". Present-day Skynyrd band members, including Johnny Van Zant, have been spotted there, as have former members of .38 Special, Molly Hatchet, and all those other famous Jacksonville bands. Memorial bench for Ronnie Van Zant at Riverside Memorial Park. from the fact that the carbon contained in the fish caught is released as CO 2 into the atmosphere instead of remaining buried in the seabed," the researchers said. A plane that had problems the previous year. They soon formed what would become Lynyrd Skynyrd. Gaines was cremated and his ashes were buried in Orange Park, Florida in 1977, but were relocated to an undisclosed location after vandals broke into his and bandmate Ronnie Van Zant's tombs on June 29, 2000. Copyright 2012-2022, Pat Fitzhugh; all rights reserved. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. The Gaines siblings and Van Zant, along with three members of the group's road crew, were killed in October 1977 when their twin-engine airplane crashed into a Mississippi swamp. Download Image. Start typing to see results or hit ESC to close, The Alice Cooper Fact Sheet 5 Things You Need To Know. He was an actor, known for A Way Back In (2010), Locked in! A block up Woodcrest from the Van Zant house is the former Woodcrest Grocery, where Ronnie worked as a kid and also sat out front listening to older men (including Shorty Medlocke, Rickys father) play and sing the blues. In the 1970s Steve played with bands Rio Smokehouse,DetroitwithRusty Day(formerlyThe Detroit Wheels) and Crawdad (a band that Steve had started around 1974). Johnny's widow Linda has his actual remains in her keeping. Did you like this video? The band released the album on October 17, 1977, soon becoming gold certified. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Ronnie attended Lee High School in Jacksonville with fellow band members Gary Rossington and Allen Collins. ", The new burial sites, Justino said, "will not be disclosed for security reasons.". JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - For more than 10 years, people have wondered where Lynyrd Skynyrd front man Ronnie Van Zant was buried. Some very odd things have occurred with famous ashes, so being the resident morbid person on staff, I've gathered those stories to present them to you. . How did Cassie Gaines of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd die? - Yen Steve Gaines grave site at Jacksonville Memory Gardens. At the height of their fame in the 1970s, the band popularized the Southern rock genre with songs such as Sweet Home Alabama and Free Bird. Steve Gaines was born on September 14, 1949 in Miami, Oklahoma, USA. But for the year and a half he played with Lynyrd Skynyrd, they were simply untouchable. Pat Fitzhugh is best known for his extensive research and books about the history, legends, and lore of the American South, and his epic investigations of the paranormal. Whiteys Fish Camp. He also appeared in the 2006 motion picture DVD, An American Haunting, starring Sissy Spacek and Donald Sutherland. He looked at life and music in a positive way, never taking his success for granted. This was reflected in his sole studio album with the band, Street Survivors (1977). Unlike Kurt Cobain, though, her ashes are all in one place, just not alone. Craigslist posting reveals Ronnie Van Zant's burial site - WKMG The Gaines Effect shook the world when he joined the band during their legendary performance at Knebworth Festival in 1976. Excerpts and links may be used in the interests of education and fair use, and in a non-defamatory manner, provided full and clear credit is given to Pat Fitzhugh and www.patfitzhugh.com, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. For more than 10 years, people have wondered where Lynyrd Skynyrd front man Ronnie Van Zant was buried. Along with another compilation of live recordings with Detroit and Crawdad released as a CD titled Okie Special. If you can't make the recordings, you can support us by donating. The relocation was prompted by a June 29 break-in at the crypts for Van Zant and Gaines at Jacksonville Memory Gardens in Orange Park, where fans had gathered to pay tribute to the band for more than 22 years. Cassie Gaines, the bands backup vocalist, was his older sister. Three days after the release of Street Survivors and five dates into their highest selling tour, a tragedy happened. Gaines, along with Allen Collins and Gary Rossington (who later formed the Rossington Collins Band), came together for what is arguably the best guitar trio in rock music. The bands bassist, Leon Wilkeson, was one of the survivors of the plane crash. Van Zant was passionate about fishing, and he used it to relax and escape his busy life as a rock star. He died along with his sister and Van Zant in the 1977 crash and was buried in Jacksonville Memory Gardens. Its on Doctors Lake, a tributary of the St. Johns River and where Ronnie and Gary were fishing during the 1970s Pepsi Cola Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd videos opening shots. On February 15, 1979, the mother of Steve and Cassie, also named Cassie LaRue Gaines, was killed in an automobile accident near the cemetery where Steve and Cassie are buried. Ive never heard anybody, including any of us, play his picking part quite right. Gary Rossington on Gaines and the track I Know A Little.. ORANGE PARK -- Nearly 23 years after Lynyrd Skynyrd rock singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines were laid to rest at Jacksonville Memory Gardens, vandals broke into a tomb and. Their mausoleums remain as memorials for fans to visit. Two weeks later, Steve Gaines received a phone call from Ronnie Van Zant inviting him to join the band. Van Zant and the Gaines siblings were originally laid to rest in nearby plots at Jacksonville Memory Gardens in Orange Park, Florida, with Van Zant entombed in a marble mausoleum. He was 29 yeas old. "I think it's wrong, totally wrong. On October 20, 1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the bands crew were flying to a tour date in Baton Rouge when the plane ran out of fuel and crashed in the Southern Mississippi woods. His first band, The Ravens (a local High School rock band that Steve's friends formed), made its first recording at the famousSun RecordsStudio inMemphis, Tennessee. Not a train wreck, but a train. Vandals Smash Open Tombs Containing Lynyrd Skynyrd Members The Jaxson His first band recorded its debut at Sun Recording Studio in Memphis, and later bands included RIO Smokehouse and Rusty Day.