Ronnie Van Zant
On October 20, 1977, a plane carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, ran out of fuel outside Gillsburg, Mississippi. The passengers had been informed about potential problems with the Convair CV-240 and were told to brace for a crash. Van Zant died on impact from head injuries suffered after the aircraft struck a tree. Bandmates Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines, along with assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray, were also killed. The rest of the band was seriously injured. Van Zant was 29 years old.
The Ronettes
Ronnie left Phil on June 12, 1972. The couple's divorce was finalized two years later in 1974. As she made an attempt to restore her career, she decided to reform the Ronettes. Nedra had no interest in returning to the group, and Estelle mentally could no longer handle the burden of performing due to her struggle with mental illness. Ronnie then replaced them with Chip Fields (mother of "The Facts of Life" and "Living Single" star Kim Fields) and Denise Edwards. Ronnie, Chip, and Denise recorded some songs for Buddah Records in the mid-1970s, one of which was a cover of "I Wish I Never Saw the Sun Shine", a song Ronnie had first done in 1965, though Phil Spector had refused to release it. The stint at Buddah Records was not successful, though the group made several tours in the 1970s. By the end of the decade, Ronnie had abandoned the idea of continuing the Ronettes and began her solo career.