Steve Gaines
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Steven Earl Gaines (September 14, 1949 – October 20, 1977) was an American musician. He is best known as a guitarist and backing vocalist with rock band
Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, 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 Ju ...
from 1976 until his death in the October 1977 airplane crash that claimed other band members and crew. His older sister
Cassie Gaines Cassie LaRue Gaines (January 9, 1948 – October 20, 1977) was an American singer, best known for her work with Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Biography Gaines was invited by JoJo Billingsley and Ronnie Van Zant to join Lynyrd Skynyrd as a ...
, a backup vocalist with the band, also died in the crash.


Life and career

Gaines was born in
Miami, Oklahoma Miami ( ) is a city in and county seat of Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States, founded in 1891. Lead and zinc mining were established by 1918, causing the area's economy to boom. This area was part of Indian Territory. Miami is the capital of ...
. When he was 15 years old, he saw
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
performing live in Kansas City. After being driven home from the concert, he pestered his father to buy him his first guitar. His band, Manalive, recorded at the famous Sun Records Studio in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
. In the 1970s, Steve played with bands ILMO Smokehouse from Quincy, Illinois,
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
with
Rusty Day Russell Edward "Rusty Day" Davidson (December 29, 1945 – June 3, 1982) was a lead vocalist, best known for his work with Cactus (American band), Cactus, the Amboy Dukes, and Steve Gaines. Career with the Amboy Dukes Day joined the Amboy Dukes ...
(an offshoot of
The Detroit Wheels The Detroit Wheels were an American rock band, formed in Detroit in 1964. They served as Mitch Ryder's backup band from 1964 to 1967. The band had a number of top twenty hits in the mid-1960s before lead singer Ryder was enticed away by Bob C ...
) and Crawdad (a band that Steve had started around 1974). In 1975, he recorded several songs with Crawdad at Capricorn studios in
Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...
which were released by MCA in 1988 as '' One in the Sun'' (when the present day Lynyrd Skynyrd band began touring) and is listed as his only official solo album. Steve has two other albums, which are known to be very rare CDs from Steve's widow Teresa: ''I Know a Little'' (a collection of live recordings with Crawdad as well as Manalive) and ''Okie Special'' (a collection of live recordings with Crawdad as well as Detroit). Only 100 copies of each of the two CDs have been made. In December 1975, Steve's older sister,
Cassie Cassie is a feminine given name and a short form of various other given names mostly used in English-speaking countries. It is more rarely a surname. People and fictional characters named Cassie include: People with the name Given name or nickna ...
, became a member of
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 speculat ...
band Lynyrd Skynyrd's female backup singers,
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 ...
. The band had been seeking a replacement for
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 ...
, one of three lead guitarists in its lineup, since his departure in mid-1975. Cassie recommended Steve, and after initial reluctance the band allowed him to join them onstage for a song during a show at Municipal Auditorium in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
on May 11, 1976,
Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmi ...
' "T-For Texas, (Blue Yodel #1)". Although the band couldn't hear Steve's playing onstage, soundman Kevin Elson was listening through headphones and told them that Steve was outstanding. They jammed with him informally a couple of times more, then invited him into the band just in time for the recording of Skynyrd's live album ''
One More from the Road ''One More from the Road'' (styled as ''One More For From The Road'') is a live album by Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, capturing three shows recorded in July 1976 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. Since 1974 Lynyrd Skynyrd had supporte ...
''. The first of three shows recorded for the album was Gaines' third gig with the band. Ed King and Steve Gaines were both born on September 14, 1949. Gaines' guitar-picking and songwriting skills were a major revelation to the band, as demonstrated on his one studio album, 1977's '' Street Survivors''. Publicly and privately,
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 ...
marveled at the vocal and instrumental skill of Skynyrd's newest member, claiming that the band would "all be in his shadow one day". Steve's contributions included his co-lead vocal with Ronnie on the co-written "
You Got That Right "You Got That Right" is a song written by Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines, who also trade off vocals on the song. It was recorded by the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd for their last studio album before the plane crash that killed both Van Z ...
" (a solid hit single released after the plane crash) and the rousing guitar boogie "I Know a Little" which he had written before he joined Skynyrd. So confident was Skynyrd's leader of Steve's abilities that the album (and some concerts) featured Steve delivering his self-penned bluesy "Ain't No Good Life" – one of the few songs in the pre-crash Skynyrd catalog to feature a lead vocalist other than Van Zant. On October 20, 1977, three days after ''Street Survivors'' was released (and five dates into the band's most successful ticket sales tour yet), a plane carrying both musicians and crew between shows from
Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...
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 i ...
,
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 plane landed in a swampy area and crashed into trees, claiming Gaines, Van Zant, Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray. Gaines was cremated and his ashes were buried in
Orange Park, Florida Orange Park is a town in Clay County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Jacksonville, in neighboring Duval County. The population was 8,412 at the 2010 census. The name "Orange Park" is additionally applied to a wider area of northern ...
in 1977, but were relocated to an undisclosed location after vandals broke into his and bandmate Ronnie Van Zant's tombs on June 29, 2000. Their
mausoleums A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consi ...
remain as memorials for fans to visit. 10 years later, the new location of their interment was accidentally revealed by a
Craigslist Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, Gig worker, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums. Craig Newmark ...
ad. A family selling two plots they decided not to retain, ran a Craigslist ad and stated the plots were in the Jacksonville Memory Gardens Cemetery in Orange Park, Florida, adjacent to Ronnie Van Zant's tomb. Gaines is the subject of the 2001 song "Cassie's Brother" by rock band
Drive-By Truckers Drive-By Truckers are an American rock band based in Athens, Georgia. Two of five current members (Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley) are originally from The Shoals region of northern Alabama and met as roommates at the University of North Alabama ...
. Less than two years after the plane crash, Cassie LaRue Gaines, mother of Cassie and Steve, was killed in an automobile accident near the cemetery where her children were buried. She was buried near them.


Discography

;Lynyrd Skynyrd *''
One More from the Road ''One More from the Road'' (styled as ''One More For From The Road'') is a live album by Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, capturing three shows recorded in July 1976 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. Since 1974 Lynyrd Skynyrd had supporte ...
'' (1976) *'' Street Survivors'' (1977) ;Solo *'' One in the Sun'' (1988)


References


External links

*
Official Lynyrd Skynyrd Homepage

Official Lynyrd Skynyrd History site

US NTSB Report on Plane Crash
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaines, Steve 1949 births 1977 deaths People from Miami, Oklahoma Accidental deaths in Mississippi American rock guitarists American male guitarists Lead guitarists Burials in Florida Lynyrd Skynyrd members Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1977 Guitarists from Oklahoma 20th-century American musicians People from Seneca, Missouri The Detroit Wheels members 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Musicians killed in aviation accidents or incidents Blues rock musicians