This October marks 40 years since the devastating plane crash that silenced the classic line-up of the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. In late 1977, singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steven Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray died in a violent wreck in a swampy marsh in Mississippi. Now, surviving crash victim Artimus Pyle’s proposed movie about the tragedy has hit a major roadblock.
Pyle was one of 20 survivors of the October 20, 1977, crash, which occurred just three days after the release of the legendary Southern rock band's fifth album, "Street Survivors." The album spawned the hit “What's Your Name," and, even more eerily, the death-themed single, "That Smell.”
Pyle’s plan is cut short
Last year, Pyle announced that he planned to make a movie about the band’s early days and horrific halt, to be produced by Cleopatra Films.
The movie, titled "Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash" has current Skynyrd members Johnny Van Zant, Gary Rossington and the estates of Ronnie Van Zant, Gaines, and late guitarist Allen Collins saying that the movie violates a 1988 consent order governing the use of the band's name. According to Rolling Stone, Lynyrd Skynyrd has filed a lawsuit against the band’s former drummer.
While the band went on a lengthy hiatus after the touring plane crashed in 1977, surviving band members reunited in 1987 for a tribute tour which later prompted the consent order. A lawyer for the film company feels that Pyle's right to tell the band’s story from his point of view is “guaranteed by the First Amendment."
The band’s good times and bad times
Artimus Pyle previously told Deadline that he planned to show his late bandmates as “real, funny people” who loved music and loved their success.
Pyle acknowledged that the plane crash would be featured prominently in the film, saying the story is “incredibly personal and passionate” to him. The former drummer revealed that he wanted to share Skynyrd’s laughs and tears with fans.
Artimus Pyle and Gary Rossington are the last two living Lynyrd Skynyrd band members who walked away from the crash 40 years ago.
Neither of them are involved with the current incarnation of the band due to disputes with management and their late bandmate’s heirs.
A trial for Lynyrd Skynyrd’s lawsuit against Artimus Pyle is set for July 11 in New York.
