Lynyrd Skynyrd Monument
Magnolia, Mississippi | 176 miles
Lynyrd Skynyrd, the legendary Southern rock band known for hit songs such as “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird,” suffered a great tragedy on October 20, 1977, when their charter plane crashed in Magnolia, MS, taking the lives of three band members, their assistant road manager, and the aircraft’s pilot and first officer. Twenty others survived the crash, caused by a lack of fuel. After a 10-year hiatus, the band reformed in 1987, with Johnny Van Zant as the lead singer, replacing his brother Ronnie, who perished in the crash. The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, and maintains an active tour schedule to this day.
In 2019, 42 years after the tragedy, a seven-ton granite monument was unveiled at the crash site.
Originally published in 2025.
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