Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that can help answer the question.
Query: How old was Ronnie Van Zant?
On October 20, 1977, a plane carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, ran out of fuel outside Gillsburg, Mississippi. The passengers had been informed about potential problems with the Convair CV-240 and were told to brace for a crash. Van Zant died on impact from head injuries suffered after the aircraft struck a tree. Bandmates Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines, along with assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray, were also killed. The rest of the band was seriously injured. Van Zant was 29 years old.
Ronnie Spector (born Veronica Yvette Bennett; August 10, 1943) is an American rock and roll singer known as "The Bad Girl of Rock & Roll". Spector was the lead singer of the rock/pop vocal girl group the Ronettes, who had a string of hits during the early to mid–1960s such as "Be My Baby", "Baby, I Love You", and "The Best Part of Breakin' Up". Subsequently, Spector launched her solo career and has since released five studio albums ("Siren" in 1980, "Unfinished Business" in 1987, "Something's Gonna Happen" in 2003, "Last of the Rock Stars" in 2006, and "English Heart" in 2016) and one extended play ("She Talks to Rainbows" in 1999).
However, according to Ronnie Spector, the group's lead singer, producer Phil Spector had already begun to somewhat lose enthusiasm for the Ronettes in early 1964. The group had recorded the Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich song "Chapel of Love" in early 1964, but Spector refused to release it. "It doesn't sound like a hit," he told the group, so The Dixie Cups recorded their version of the song, which peaked at number one on the Billboard top 100, a position never held by the Ronettes.
Born on April 2, 1952, in Newport, Rhode Island, but raised in Jacksonville, Florida, Wilkeson became a major Beatles fan just as he was becoming a teenager and began learning to play bass guitar in order to emulate his favorite Beatle, Paul McCartney. Wilkeson dropped out of his school band in order to focus on learning the bass at the age of 14 and shortly afterward was approached by a fellow student who told him that her brother was searching for a bassist for his band. Her brother turned out to be Ronnie Van Zant, and soon after, Wilkeson signed on with Van Zant's group, the Collegiates. However, due to plummeting school grades, Wilkeson had to drop out of the group. Soon Wilkeson found himself in another local group, the King James Version. He began to study the "lead bass style" of bassists such as Cream's Jack Bruce, Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, Jefferson Airplane's Jack Casady, The Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh and the Allman Brothers' Berry Oakley. By the early 1970s, Wilkeson was becoming one of Jacksonville's top bassists. When Lynyrd Skynyrd's bassist Greg T. Walker left the band, Wilkeson was brought in as his replacement.
After the success of "Walking in the Rain", the Ronettes' popularity had clearly begun to wane. In February 1965, Philles Records released the group's next single, "Born to Be Together", which only reached number 52 on the "Billboard" 100. Over the course of the next year, the Ronettes recorded a song catalog which, once completed, Phil Spector refused to release. Many attribute this to his insecurities and growing love for Ronnie. As the popularity of the group rose, their relationship grew deeper, and soon they were living together. Spector allegedly did not want the Ronettes to become too popular, in fear they would one day outshine him, perhaps explaining why he did not release recordings the Ronettes were contractually obligated to make. This allowed for the Motown group the Supremes to eclipse them to become the most popular female group of the time.
Phil Spector decided to keep lead singer Ronnie Bennett in California to record "Baby, I Love You" while the other two Ronettes, Estelle Bennett and Nedra Talley, went out on the tour with Dick Clark. Ronnie's cousin, Elaine, took her place on the tour while Ronnie recorded the song at Gold Star Studios in California. Since the other Ronettes were unavailable for recording, Spector used Darlene Love and Cher to complete the backing vocals. The song also featured Leon Russell on piano. "Baby, I Love You" peaked at number 11 in the UK during January 1964, at a time when the Ronettes were touring the UK as the support act to the Rolling Stones.
Following their successful partnership on "All Things Must Pass" in 1970, Harrison and co-producer Phil Spector turned their attention to resurrecting the career of Spector's wife Ronnie, formerly lead singer of the Ronettes. Since the break-up of the Ronettes in 1967, Ronnie Spector's only musical release had been "You Came, You Saw, You Conquered", a 1969 single on A&M Records. Her signing to the Beatles' Apple record label was a condition of Phil Spector's deal with the company, one that Harrison and Lennon, as avowed fans of the Ronettes, were happy to honour. The plan was to produce a comeback album, with Harrison providing many of the songs, and issue it on Apple Records. In his book "Phil Spector: Out of His Head", Williams quotes music publisher Paul Case as having said during this period: "Phil wants a hit record with Ronnie again more than anything in the world. I think he'd give up all his worldly possessions for that."
The Ronettes recorded many songs for producer Phil Spector that were not released until after the group disbanded in 1967. Today, some of their originally unreleased songs are just as critically applauded as their biggest hits. Below is an accurate chart of the unreleased songs the Ronettes recorded for Philles Records that did not see a release. These songs were first issued on later compilation albums, mentioned respectively. Four of the songs below—"The Twist", "Mashed Potato Time", "Hot Pastrami" and "The Wah Watusi"—were released, and credited to, popular Philles contracted singing group The Crystals, on their 1963 Philles LP, "The Crystals Sing The Greatest Hits".
Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote their song "Sweet Home Alabama" in response to "Southern Man" and "Alabama" from Young's 1972 album "Harvest". Young has said that he is a fan of both "Sweet Home Alabama" and Ronnie Van Zant, the lead vocalist for Lynyrd Skynyrd. "They play like they mean it," Young said in 1976. "I'm proud to have my name in a song like theirs." Young has also been known to play "Sweet Home Alabama" in concert occasionally. To demonstrate this camaraderie, Van Zant frequently wore a Neil Young "Tonight's the Night" T-shirt while performing "Sweet Home Alabama". Crazy Horse bassist Billy Talbot can often be seen reciprocating by wearing a Jack Daniel's-styled Lynyrd Skynyrd T-shirt (including at the "Live Rust" concert).
In September 1995 Southern received the Gotham Award for lifetime achievement by the Independent Film Producers Association at the age of 71. The "Easy Rider" controversy reared its head again shortly before Southern's death, when Dennis Hopper alleged during an interview on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" that Rip Torn had been replaced because he had pulled a knife on Hopper during their argument in New York in 1968. Torn sued Hopper over the remark, and Southern agreed to testify on Torn's behalf. The case brought to light several of Southern's drafts of the "Easy Rider" screenplay, which effectively ended the dispute over his contributions.
"(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up" was subsequently recorded by the Ronettes. According to Ronnie, Spector was especially enthusiastic about the song. "When Phil loved a song as much as he loved '(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up,'" she later wrote, "he could work on it for days without ever getting tired." Released in April 1964, the song did not fare as well as the group's previous two singles, though it did manage to briefly break into the "Billboard" Top 40. In June 1964, the group's following single, "Do I Love You?", was released, also breaking into the Top 40, beating their previous single by five positions. The song is most notable for its powerful instrumental opening, accompanied by finger snapping and hand clapping.
In 1995, shortly before his death, Southern hired a new agent and began making arrangements for the republication of "Candy" and "The Magic Christian" by Grove. His final project was the text for a 1996 coffee table book about Virgin Records. He appeared at the Yale Summer Writing Program mid-year, and in October he made his last media appearance when he was interviewed for a documentary on cult Scottish novelist Alexander Trocchi.
She surpassed the age of Venere Pizzinato in August 2014 and Dina Manfredini (who died in the United States) in August 2015, to become the oldest Italian person ever. On 13 May 2016, upon the death of American woman Susannah Mushatt Jones, Morano became the world's oldest living person and also the last living person verified to have been born before 1900. On 29 July 2016, she was presented with a certificate from "Guinness World Records" recognizing her as the oldest person alive. Festivities celebrating her 117th birthday on 29 November 2016 were broadcast live in Italy.
The oldest living vice president is Walter Mondale, born on January 5, 1928 (age ). He also has the distinction of having the longest post-vice presidency in U.S. history, currently at . The youngest living vice president is the incumbent, Mike Pence, born on June 7, 1959 (aged ). The shortest-lived vice president was Daniel D. Tompkins, who died at the age of , only 99 days after leaving office. The longest-lived was John Nance Garner, who died on November 7, 1967 at the age of .
The most famous of the 'Marlboro Men' lived a long life after fading from the public limelight. Darrell Winfield, a resident of Riverton, Wyoming, was the longest living Marlboro Man to appear on billboards and in advertisements. Leo Burnett Ad Agency discovered him in 1968 while he was working on the Quarter Circle 5 Ranch in Wyoming. Winfield's chiseled rugged good looks made him the macho face of Marlboro cigarettes on television, in newspapers, magazines and on billboards, from the 1968 to 1989. Winfield was survived by his wife, a son, five daughters, and grandchildren.
Zanzibar Blue was a jazz club located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Known for its live jazz each night and for Sunday brunch, it branded itself as "Philadelphia's Premier Jazz Club". Owned by brothers Robert and Benjamin Jr. Bynum, the club was located in Center City, Philadelphia below the Bellevue on the Avenue of the Arts. Zanzibar Blue opened in 1990 on 11th Street, between Spruce and Pine Streets and later moved to the Bellevue in 1996. The club closed on April 29, 2007, Robert Bynum stating "we didn't think it was in our best interests to renew [the lease]. We'd rather own [our] building than lease." WJJZ, Philadelphia's smooth jazz radio station broadcast Sunday brunches from Zanzibar Blue, and performers such as Lou Rawls, Chick Corea and Chuck Mangione have played there.
In March 1990, all six members of New Edition reunite by making an appearance for "Video Soul" with Sherry Carter. There is clearly awkwardness and tension during the interview, with barbed comments flying all around, particularly between Ralph and Mike (still not yet over inviting Johnny to the group without consulting Ralph), as well as Bobby and everyone else. The show also airs each of the separate acts' music videos: BBD's "Poison", Ralph Tresvant's "Sensitivity", and Johnny Gill's "My, My, My." When the host asked the most anticipated question, "Would the group ever reunite for a new album?," Ralph suggested there was a possibility to record a reunion album in the coming future.
Founded on 8 January 1912 by John Langalibalele Dube in Bloemfontein as the South African Native National Congress (SANNC), its primary mission was to give voting rights to black and mixed-race Africans and, from the 1940s, to end apartheid. The ANC originally attempted to use nonviolent protests to end apartheid, however, the Sharpeville massacre resulted in the deaths of 69 black Africans and contributed to deteriorating relations with the South African government. On 8 April 1960, the administration of Charles Robberts Swart, banned the ANC and forced the party to leave South Africa. After the ban, the ANC formed the Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) to fight against apartheid utilizing guerrilla warfare and sabotage. On 3 February 1990, State President F. W. de Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC and released Nelson Mandela on 11 February 1990. On 17 March 1992, the apartheid referendum was passed by the voters removing apartheid and allowing the ANC to run in the 1994 election. Since the 1994 election the ANC has performed better than 60% in all general elections, including the most recent 2014 election.
Zuni is home to a general store, a gas station, a small engine repair shop and two churches and is served by its own Post Office. The name is properly pronounced "ZOO nigh" (as opposed to, "e.g.", "ZOO knee" as in the case of the Native American tribe). Articles written about Zuni on the internet say that Zuni was also home to hotels, a bank and other businesses in the mid-20th century. Though technically within the nearby town of Ivor, Zuni is the closest community to Virginia's only naturist facility, known as White Tail Resort.
Whang was born in Seoul and relocated to Busan in the fifth grade of elementary school. In 1985, at age fifteen, she moved to the United States with her family. During her sophomore year in high school, she received an acoustic guitar as a birthday gift and started playing and writing music in her diary. She graduated from Rush–Henrietta Senior High School, and began college at the Pratt Institute in art studies. She and a male college friend formed the duo Sun & Fish and started busking on the streets of New York City. She then left college, without graduating, for an "extended tramp around the world to find herself and her voice", visiting Japan, Vietnam, France and Thailand.
Charles Walton, born 12 May 1870, was a 74-year-old agricultural worker who had lived in Lower Quinton all his life. He was a widower who shared a small cottage, 15 Lower Quinton, with his thirty-three-year-old niece, Edith Isabel Walton, whom he had adopted thirty years previously upon the death of her mother. Walton was described as something of a loner who had earned a reputation as a trainer of horses in his youth. It is said that he did not socialise with his neighbours but that he was far from being disliked.
Several members of his family have memorialized Ronnie in their music. His brothers Johnny and Donnie co-wrote the title track of John's 1990 album "Brickyard Road" with family friend and album producer Robert White Johnson. In the reformed Lynyrd Skynyrd's music video for the posthumously-released track "What's Your Name" closes with a white hat similar to Ronnie's sitting atop a microphone. Ronnie's daughter Tammy, who was only 10 years old when he died, dedicated the album title track, "Freebird Child" as well as the music video to her father in 2009. Jimmie Van Zant recorded the tribute track "Ronnie's Song" on the album "Southern Comfort" (2000).
Van Zant married Nadine Inscoe on January 2, 1967. Around this time, Van Zant also worked at his brother-in-law's auto parts store, Morris Auto Parts in Jacksonville. It was said that Van Zant was a virtual catalog of automotive parts, he had a near photographic memory for them. The couple had a daughter named Tammy, before divorcing in 1969; Tammy would become a musician. He married Judy Seymour in 1972 after meeting her at The Comic Book Club through Gary Rossington in 1969. (The club closed in 1975 and is now a parking garage.) They remained married up until his death in 1977. They had one daughter, Melody, born in 1976. Judy Van Zant-Jenness founded the Freebird Live in 1999, a music venue located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. It features Lynyrd Skynyrd memorabilia and is co-owned by Melody Van Zant. She married Jim Jenness and founded and ran The Freebird Foundation until its dissolution in 2001.
Ronald Wayne Van Zant (January 15, 1948 – October 20, 1977) was an American lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and founding member of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He was the older brother of two other rock vocalists: current Lynyrd Skynyrd lead vocalist Johnny Van Zant, and Donnie Van Zant, the founder and vocalist of 38 Special. He was the father of Tammy Van Zant and Melody Van Zant.
He was born in Jacksonville, Florida, the son of E. C. Van Zant who was the cousin of musicians Donnie, Johnny, and Ronnie Van Zant. He took the surname Kelsay from his mother, later adopting his father's name, Van Zant. He began playing guitar and piano as a child, mentored by his cousin Ronnie Van Zant, but largely gave up music until the 1977 plane crash in which Ronnie, the founder and lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd, was killed. Jimmie Van Zant then took up a career playing Southern rock music, and performed at festivals and Harley Davidson shows before recording the albums "The Jimmie Van Zant Band" (1996) and "Southern Comfort" (2000). He toured widely with his band, performing over 200 shows each year, and released a third album, "Feels Like Freedom", in 2012.