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.
Ronnie Weiser
In Milan, Ronny discovered American rock'n'roll and rockabilly watching an Elvis Presley film, "Loving You". Upon immigrating to the United States in the 1960s, he published a rockabilly fanzine called Rollin' Rock, which evolved into full-fledged record label Rollin' Rock. In 1970, Rollin' Rock started reissuing 1950s recordings, and eventually recorded and released new recordings by 1950s artists such as Ray Campi, Mac Curtis, Gene Vincent, Alvis Wayne, Charlie Feathers, Johnny Carroll, Bill Haley's Comets, Narvel Felts and contemporary rockabilly artists such as The Blasters during the 1970s and 1980s.