Biography of Johnny Van Zant

The youngest of the three musical Van Zant brothers (older sibling Ronnie was a founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, while other brother Donnie was a longtime member of .38 Special), Johnny Van Zant was 12 when he began playing drums, but soon realized he preferred singing. He began playing in clubs at 15 and was writing songs a year later, signing his first record deal at 19. After less than positive label experiences following the release of 1980's No More Dirty Deals, 1981's Round Two and 1982's The Last of the Wild Ones, Van Zant took time away from the stage to drive a truck in the early '80s, a period when blues-based southern rock seemed to be on the wane. Finally, in the mid-'80s, he began performing again, and following 1985's Van-Zant, in 1987 he signed by Atlantic. At the same time, the idea for the Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute tour came up, and Johnny was tapped to replace Ronnie (who died in a 1977 plane crash), delaying production of the album until after the tour was over. Although Van Zant remained with the resurrected Skynyrd, his long-delayed solo album appeared in 1990; dubbed Brickyard Road, its title track was a powerful ballad recounting the events of the last day he saw Ronnie alive. ~ Richard Skelly