Find Out What Ronnie Van Zant Said Was The CRAZIEST Thing That Happened To Him On Stage

Dayton Most Metro

Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s lead singer Ronnie Van Zant never liked talking to the press, but in 1976 he sat down for a candid interview with respected disc jockey, Jim Ladd. 

At the time, Ladd served as the host to the popular radio program called Innerview. He invited Van Zant to appear on the show, and despite his hesitations about the press, he agreed. As he revealed to Ladd, the reason he never liked talking to the press is because they only seemed to care about his personal life, and nothing else.

But unlike other reporters, Ladd didn’t dive into Van Zant’s personal life. Instead, he asked him how the “bad boy” image he portrayed, which was then emphasized in the press, had an effect on the band. 

It’s definitely become a problem, because each week, two or three times a week, somebody will try to start something with me,” Van Zant revealed.

After that, Van Zant told Ladd a story of one of the craziest things that ever happened to him on stage. Although the story was kind of scary, Van Zant was able to find the humor in the situation, and chuckled as he told it to Ladd:

“Just the other night, right in the middle of one song…some person in the audience threw a whole package of firecrackers that was lit. And I play barefoot on stage, always have, and it landed about an inch from my toe, right in between Gary and I…it was kinda funny, but broke your concentration.” 

We have to agree with Van Zant, that would definitely break our concentration as well! That must have been a scary experience, but we’re glad that Van Zant was able to get a good laugh out of it.

You can tune in to the clip below to listen to more of Van Zant’s interview with Ladd, in which he talks further about his reputation, the band, and how they crafted their hit song, “Sweet Home Alabama.”

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd & Second Helping Live’ is available now on DVD, Blu-ray and digital formats – it’s the perfect gift for the Lynyrd Skynyrd fan in your life. Buy it here on Amazon!

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