Ronnie Van Zant is a musician who made headlines after reports of his jet crashing were announced. The famed singer was on a trip when their plane crashed in Mississippi, resulting in his death, alongside his pilot and co-pilot.
Melody Van Zant was only a year and a month old when her father died, but despite many decades passing by, fans of the late singer are interested in his daughter’s affairs. Did she follow in her father’s footsteps? If you want to know the answer and many details about the lady, continue reading the post!
Melody Van Zant Bio
Melody van Zant was born in 1976 by Judy Seymour and Ronald Wayne Van Zant. Melody’s parents met in 1969 at The Comic Book Club through a friend, and they started dating. The couple walked down the aisle in 1972, and they became husband and wife.
Melody’s parents were married until 1977 when her father died in a plane crash. She was one year old, and she never knew her father very well. To preserve her father’s memories, Melody’s mother established Freebird Love, a music venue in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. The location had mementos from Lynyrd Skynyrd, the band her father was singing with, and she was also a co-owner with her mother. The foundation lasted until 2001, when it was dissolved.
Who was Ronald Wayne Van Zant?
Ronald Van Zant is remembered through his daughters Melody van Zant and Tammy van. Ronald was a musician associated with Lynyrd Skynyrd, and he was the main vocalist, principal lyricist and founding member of the band.
When Ronnie Van Zant was a child, he played American Legion baseball and aspired to play professional baseball. Ronnie was married twice, and he had two daughters from different wives. He was first married to Nadine Inscoe in 1967 while he was working at his brother-in-law’s spare parts shop.
Ronnie welcomed his daughter, Tammy, in 1968, but he divorced Nadine in 1969. Tammy grew up as a distant swimmer and musician like her father. Ronnie married Judy in 1972 after they met in a club. They stayed married and had their daughter Melody in 1976.
After Melody’s father died in 1977 alongside his crew members, Judy remained single until she met Jim Jenness, who married her in 2001. It is not known if Judy later got other children.
Ronnie Van Zant’s Death
Ronnie Van Zant died in 1977 in a plane crash. The singer died at age 29, and from his friends’ memoirs, the singer always said that he would never reach 30. Moreover, he referred to himself as the Mississippi Kid, although he was never born in the area. The only connection that Ronnie had to Mississippi was that his plane crashed in the place.
Van Zant’s younger brother took over as the lead vocalist of the band after it reunited in 1987. The late singer was initially buried in Orange Park, Florida, but his remains were moved after vandals broke into his tomb and that of his bandmate. The family relocated to a new site, and he was buried under a massive concrete burial vault.