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 Aldrich
Ronald Frank "Ronnie" Aldrich (15 February 1916 - 30 September 1993) was a British easy listening and jazz pianist, arranger, conductor, and composer. The only son of a store manager, he was three years old when he started playing the piano. He was educated at the Harvey Grammar School, Folkestone, and taught violin at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Before the Second World War, Aldrich went to India to play jazz and first gained fame in the 1940s as leader of the Squadronaires, up until their disbanding in 1964.