Johnny Van Zant

Johnny Van Zant is the younger brother of Ronnie (and of course Donnie) Van Zant. The three brothers shared very similar voices, but it was Ronnie who sung for legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd. Ronnie died in a airplane crash in 1977 and became a myth. Simple man, That smell, Free bird among others defined what southern rock was about. After that it was obvious his brothers would always walk in his shadow, not because they lacked the talent, but because things are what they are. Ronnie and his band 38 Special soon strayed from their southern rock origins into a radio friendly AOR sound and enjoyed some success during the 80's. Johnny, a more gifted singer than Donnie in my oppinion, took a path somewhere in between. His first official recording was ''The Johnny Van Zant band- No more dirty deals'' (1980). A fantastic mix of classic southern rock and late 70's AOR that puts no shame to it's creators. Much better than any original Skynyrd member after the tragic accident, Jonnie and his band delivered kicking southern rock with a focus on melody. 1981 saw the release of ''Round two'' and the style was very much the same. The involvement of Journey members and production team resulted in a couple of softer songs, but the band rocked on the rest, so it’s not a sellout at all. Maybe some fewer female backing vocals would have served better. A worthy follow up nonetheless. In 1982 Johnnie’s band released ‘’The last of the wild ones’’. I didn’t enjoy that one as much as the previous, but here we have the absolute AOR anthem Can’t live without your love, which makes up. From that point on Johnnie did release a couple of more albums which have flown under my radar. Next thing I know is Lynyrd Skynyrd are back, Johnnie is fronting them and the guys are releasing new material which I love. One may have his own opinion about whether there should be a Lynyrd Skynyrd after Ronnie’s and Steve’s death, but what I think cannot be argued is the fact that Lynyrd Skynyrd have released great albums since the reunion, toured to the pleasure of their countless fans, kept the spirit of southern rock alive and honored their legacy. Born to run (The last rebel-1993) Travelin’ man (Live 2008) Edge of forever (Edge of forever- 1999) Red, white and blue (Vicious cycle-2003) God & Guns (God & Guns-2009) One day at a time (Last of a dying breed-2012)