LYNYRD SKYNYRD Ronnie Van Zant – A Musical Genius

Ronnie Van Zant – A musical Genius

When reminiscing on the 70′s rock music scene, the band Lynyrd Skynyrd will never be forgotten. With staple hits like “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird”, Lynyrd Skynyrd can be considered one of the greatest American bands of all time. Despite Skynyrd’s success, if it weren’t for their lead singer, Ronnie Van Zant, there would be no band. Not only a musical genius who played an essential part in the band’s performance, both in the studio and on stage, Van Zant was also an extremely charismatic individual, with a great sense of humor. I chose to write my term paper on Van Zant, because, as a musician, I find myself constantly inspired by his amazing songwriting skills, as well as his band, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s guitar arrangements, and I look up to him because of his charisma. I’m going to use both the “musical genius” and the “self-actualizing person” concepts we covered in class, to describe the success of Ronnie Van Zant, the lead singer of the 70′s band Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Born into a working class family in January of 1948, Van Zant was raised in a rather tough area of Jacksonville, Florida. As a Teenager, he aspired to be a professional baseball player, but hearing the Rolling Stones live in concert made him change his mind, and want to form a band. He did just that; in 1964, Van Zant persuaded four of his friends, who happened to be musicians, to form Lynyrd Skynyrd. Little did they know, that nine years later, they would release their debut album, under the MCA label, titled “Pronounced”. It was a hit; songs like “Simple Man” and “Free Bird” are still played on the radio today, and “Pronounced” is still considered, to this day, an extraordinary album by rock music fans and guitarists alike. Interestingly enough, Van Zant wrote, or helped write every single song on the album.

Lynyrd Skynyrd, lead by Van Zant, basking in the success of their first album, released their second, and best selling album “Second Helping” in 1974; its biggest hit being “Sweet Home Alabama”, an insanely popular song to this day. The band continued to record in the studio, and tour, gaining a reputation as one of the tightest and most organized rock bands to ever step on stage. Some would say that they even sounded better live than they did in the studio; Van Zant made sure his band mates were always on top of their game, despite various substance abuse problems that plagued members of the band. Just days after the release of their album “Street Survivors”, which Van Zant considered his bands greatest achievement, on October 20th, 1977, the bands plane ran out of fuel on the way to Louisiana, and crash landed in a forest, killing Ronnie Van Zant, 29 years old, and two other band members.

Much of Van Zant’s success in his short lived life can be linked to his amazing musical abilities, and some consider him a musical genius. Former band members always comment on his ability to write songs in a matter of minutes, when the band was practicing. Van Zant would close his eyes, listen to what the band had come up with, and then leave to go fishing. By the next morning, he would have memorized the lyrics to a new song (amazingly, he never wrote anything down, as he claimed if he couldn’t remember it, it wasn’t worth remembering anyway). Another truly inspiring thing about Ronnie Van Zant were the lyrics he came up with; listen to a Lynyrd Skynyrd album once and you’ll know exactly what he’s all about. Lines like “Be a simple kind of man, be something you love and understand” say so much, in so little.

As well as his amazing songwriting skills, Van Zant had a marvelous voice. Unlike many other rock and roll bands of the time, fronted by angry, screaming vocalists, Van Zant stayed true to his country roots with his soothing, melodic voice. He was the visionary in the band. To some, various guitar riffs and bass parts would seem confusing, but Van Zant could always put them together. His ability to turn various bits of music into rock music masterpieces is what inspires many to classify him as a musical genius, and without a doubt the main reason Lynyrd Skynyrd became such a popular band.

In addition to being musically inclined, Ronnie Van Zant was also an extremely charismatic individual that accepted himself, nature, and others, and had a strong ethical awareness. It is for this reason that I chose to use the “self-actualizing person” concept to describe him. Raised by working class parents in a rough neighborhood, Van Zant was the definition of the working man, before his fame. His life experiences made him a very interesting person to talk to; he dripped charisma, and, despite his upbringing, and where he was from, Van Zant always chose his words wisely when he spoke. Old interviews reveal his stunning and intricate vocabulary, as well as his amazing social presence. Friends that knew him while he was alive always claim he never let his money, or fame go to his head. “Ronnie would give you the shirt off his back without thinking twice, if you needed it” says Gene Odom, close friend, and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s security manager.

Van Zant was also extremely accepting of himself, nature, and the people around him. The songs he wrote dispel any doubt that Van Zant was lacking integrity. Being a country boy at heart, Van Zant also had a strong connection with nature. Fishing, for him, was a way to relax, and where he looked for inspiration in his music, and himself. Despite his straight up, laid back social presence, Van Zant also had great acceptance and appreciation for anybody. “The Ballad of Curtis Loew”, a song about an old black bluesman that nobody cared about (except Van Zant, of course), shows the admiration and acceptance he had for even those people society has cast aside. His down to earth nature is almost surely why Skynyrd became so popular; Van Zant wrote lyrics that showed listeners what kind of a person he was. Watch a video of him performing live with the band, and you’ll see how much devotion Van Zant put into every song, and how genuine he is about his lyrics.

Ronnie Van Zant, to me, is an inspiration. His musical abilities were phenomenal, but his social presence and charisma, to me, are even more important. Without a doubt, the way Van Zant could arrange music can definitely be considered a key factor to his (and his band’s) short lived success, but, his personality and ethical nature were definitely more important in his success.

©2008, S. Ohayon
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