Donald Newton Van Zant (born June 11, 1952) is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for being a member of the band

38 Special 38 Special may refer to: * .38 Special, a revolver cartridge * 38 Special (band) 38 Special (also stylized as .38 Special or spelled out as Thirty-Eight Special) is an American rock band that was formed by Donnie Van Zant and Don Barnes in 1 ...

, from its formation in 1974 until 2013. He is the middle of three sons; his older brother Ronnie was the original lead singer for

Lynyrd Skynyrd 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 ( ...

who died in a 1977 plane crash in Mississippi, and his younger brother

Johnny Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varia ...

has been the lead singer for Lynyrd Skynyrd since 1987. Donnie and Johnny Van Zant also perform together as the group Van Zant. According to a posting in March 2013 on the 38 Special website, "Donnie Van Zant has not been able to join the band's performances for the past six months. In accordance with his doctor's strict orders and due to health issues related to inner-ear nerve damage, he will not be able to join 38 Special onstage in the foreseeable future. Donnie will continue to write and record with the band." However, it was announced later in 2013 that he had officially left 38 Special, and was retiring.

References

External links

38 Special Website

The Van Zants – Brothers Johnny & Donnie
1952 births 38 Special (band) members American rock singers Living people Musicians from Jacksonville, Florida Van Zant (band) members Singers from Florida American people of Dutch descent 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers {{US-rock-singer-stub