Cassie LaRue Gaines (January 9, 1948 – October 20, 1977) was an American singer, best known for her work with

Southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar specula ...

band Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Biography

Gaines was invited by JoJo Billingsley and

Ronnie Van Zant Ronald Wayne Van Zant (January 15, 1948 – October 20, 1977) was an American singer, best known as the original lead vocalist, primary lyricist and a founding member of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He is the older brother of current ...

to join Lynyrd Skynyrd as a backup singer. She had never heard of the band at the time, so Billingsley lent her a copy of the band's first two albums: '' (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)'' and '' Second Helping''. In late 1975, Gaines, Billingsley, and Leslie Hawkins formed

The Honkettes Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bas ...

, a female

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

vocal trio for Skynyrd. When Lynyrd Skynyrd was in need of a guitar player to replace recently departed

Ed King Edward Calhoun King (September 14, 1949 – August 22, 2018) was an American musician. He was a guitarist for the psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock and guitarist and bassist for the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1972 to 1975 ...

, Cassie recommended her younger brother, Steve, who joined the band soon after.

Plane crash

On October 20, 1977, a

Convair CV-240 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inro ...

carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina to

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties ...

crashed "Crashed" is the third U.S. rock Single (music), single, (the fifth overall), from the band Daughtry (band), Daughtry's debut album. It was released only to U.S. rock stations on September 5, 2007. Upon its release the song got adds at those stat ...

outside of

Gillsburg, Mississippi Gillsburg, also spelled as Gillsburgh, is an unincorporated community in Amite County, Mississippi, United States. The community is part of the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Gillsburg was the location of the October 2 ...

. The crash killed

, Steve and Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, as well as pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray. Though Cassie Gaines initially refused to board the flight, she was — against her better judgment — convinced to do so by other passengers. Her hesitation was due to a small fire on one of the engines the previous day. She intended to travel in the tour trucks but boarded the flight due to Van Zant's persuasion. Gaines survived the initial accident but bled to death while rescuers attempted to reach the accident site and remove victims for medical treatment. According to controversial claims by survivor

Billy Powell William Norris Powell (June 3, 1952 – January 28, 2009) was an American musician and keyboardist of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1972 until his death in 2009. Biography Early life Powell was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. He grew u ...

, Gaines bled to death after the accident in Powell's arms due to deep lacerations.

Burial

Cassie and Steve Gaines were buried in Orange Park, Florida. On February 15, 1979, the mother of Steve and Cassie, also named Cassie LaRue Gaines, was killed in an automobile accident near the cemetery where Steve and Cassie are buried. She was buried near her children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaines, Cassie 1948 births 1977 deaths 20th-century American singers Accidental deaths in Mississippi American rock singers Burials in Florida Lynyrd Skynyrd members People from Seneca, Missouri Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1977 20th-century American women singers Musicians killed in aviation accidents or incidents