![]() Several of the players in Lynyrd Skynyrd had now married and the time was getting close to when the band either had to make it or the members would not be able to support their growing families. They met in 1969 when Gary introduced Ronnie to Judy at a One Percent gig at the Comic Book Club in Jacksonville. Ronnie married Judy Seymour in Waycross, Georgia on November 18, 1972. Skynyrd returned to the daily grind of one-nighters on the Southern bar circuit. Demonstrating his own strength and determination that Skynyrd would succeed on its own terms, Ronnie vetoed the deal - he wouldn't put his band in the shadow of the Allman Brothers. Although the demos did not attract a lot of attention from most of the record companies, the band was offered a contract with Capricorn Records. Allen's mother recalled that she would return home shortly after nine at night and whenever the band practiced at her house, Ronnie would be the first out the door to greet her with a kiss on the cheek.Īfter several years of practicing and name changes, Skynyrd, like any decent group of fledgling rock stars, started gigging the notorious one-nighters which led to management with Alan Walden and a chance to record a demo album with Jimmy Johnson in 1970. One of the band's favorite places to practice was in Allen's living room while his mother worked evenings at the local Woolworth's. Practicing anywhere and anytime their parents and neighbors would tolerate the noise, the band, first called My Backyard, then the Noble Five, gelled with the addition of bass player Larry Junstrom. ![]() ![]() After deciding the three of them would try and make some music and tracking down an amplifier - reluctantly supplied by Allen Collins - they witnessed the genesis of Lynyrd Skynyrd. The others knew they couldn't beat Ronnie in a fight, so Ronnie became the singer for Us.Ī short time after landing his first gig, Ronnie met Gary Rossington and Bob Burns. ![]() He went to the audition and promptly announced that he was the new singer for the band. In early 1964, Ronnie heard that a group of students he knew at Lakeshore Junior High were putting together a band and needed a singer. Ronnie's musical interest first centered around playing his father's guitars and piano, but found that being the frontman suited his nature best. When the band would return home to Florida after touring for weeks on end, Gary and Ronnie would head out fishing as soon as they woke the next day. In the earliest days he and his friends would wander down to nearby Cedar Creek with simple poles and croaker sacks later fishing provided him the necessary rest and relaxation he needed to escape from the mounting pressures of success with Lynyrd Skynyrd. Gary was good too, but he gave it all up when he got to like the Rolling Stones."Īnother early passion of Ronnie's was to remain with him throughout his life. You've got to have a good arm to play outfield. I had the highest batting average in the league one year and a good arm. He hoped that sports would rescue him from Shanty Town and recalled in 1975, "I went as far as playing American Legion ball. These games introduced Ronnie with his first love - baseball. Growing up on Mull Street, Ronnie was the undisputed king among the boys who would gather to play baseball or football - games that usually degenerated into raucous free-for-alls because of a missed catch or disputed strike. Today, nearly twenty years after the death of that VanZant son, his words ring on with increasing power, authority and adoration.īorn just over five pounds in Jacksonville's St Vincent's Hospital, Ronnie grew up in one of the toughest households in one of the toughest areas of Jacksonville, Florida's Westside "Shanty Town." This toughness permeated his entire being, almost from day one. VanZant is the former Miss Marion Hicks." ( Florida Times Union - January 23, 1948) At the time, little did anyone realize those few, sparse words would herald the arrival of a man destined to change the outlook of an entire generation of music. Lacy VanZant announce the birth of a son on Thursday, January 15. The Official Lynyrd Skynyrd History Website - Ronnie VanZantįor many people, Ronnie VanZant was Lynyrd Skynyrd.
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