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 Bond
He was born in Andover, Hampshire, England. Bond was the original drummer with the 1960s band The Troggs, whose hits included "Wild Thing", (UK no. 2; US no. 1); "With a Girl Like You", (UK no. 1; US no. 29) and "I Can't Control Myself", (UK no. 2; US top 50), all in 1966, and "Love Is All Around" (UK no. 5; US no. 7) in 1967 (1968 in the US). The Troggs also had several smaller hits, including "Any Way That You Want Me", a UK no. 8 in January 1967, and "Night of the Long Grass" and "Give It to Me", both UK top 20 hits during 1967.