Uncut 1977 documentary: 'Need All My Friends'

WJXT's Tom Wills traveled to Mississippi after the crash of Lynyrd Skynyrd's plane and deaths of three band members and thre others.

[@dannyboy2751]

You guys did leave here tomorrow, you're as Free as a Bird now and yes, we do remember you 😢 and we always will ❤

[@carolyngordin6091]

just a screw and a screw lose

[@onesecureone]

Others will doubt this but I'm 100% sure there will NEVER be another band even close Lynyrd Skynyrd

[@ronaldwaynevanzant3985]

That’s right! GETCHA pull!✌️😬✌️

[@shannontucker1286]

One of saddest days in history and music history 😢💔😪😞

[@barnacles62]

I grew up on this band, and at 26 years old, living on the streets of West Palm Beach, a prisoner to potions of my past, I sat in a biker bar and heard the song Coming Home. It hit home, and I come back to Maryland and it took two more years and a long term rehab, but I got clean. Give Me Back My Bullets (though it was actually about music on the charts) was my morning song. I made my daughter and young boys I work with now listen to That Smell. Most of the songs were very realistic, the kind of reality that most people want to pretend isn't there. Why? If dad has to make his stoner son quit his weed habit, he has to stop his daily bar and booze habit, mom has to quit her pill popping, and sis her coke habit. Its easier to blame health and family problems on everything else. Soooo, take another toke, have a blow for your nose, one more drink fool would drown you.....

[@hardcorehunter9438]

What part of MD. I live in and was born and raised in st marys co.

[@barnacles62]

@@hardcorehunter9438 Eastern Shore, Cambridge area....

[@henryclark5019]

baltimore here, what kind of work do you do?

[@barnacles62]

@@henryclark5019 I did Marine Construction for years, now I work for a company doing cement, remodeling offices and replacing industrial drain work in Chicken Plants...

[@katiewigginton2626]

So sad. Great documentary. These were and will always be very special to a lot of people.

[@chiefbrody2173]

Man this video always makes me sad. Such talent and friendship. Some stars are only meant to burn bright for a flash and remembered for the beauty they created in that quick flash.

[@dannysmith6035]

I was a country boy on this sad day 10//20/77 God bless this band. 🙏

[@dawnhall2400]

Bless you❤

[@figgy7099]

All they went through, to give us this beautiful music to live with. RIP

[@Shredder801]

Thx for uploading

[@bubbahazelitt1612]

sad day in music History💯🇺🇸💖🇺🇸💯

[@DB-qi3ty]

I worked at the cemetery where Allen Collins is buried from 92 -95 and mowed his grave about a million times.Visited the cemetery in Orange Park FL where Ronnie Van Zant was in an above ground crypt and Steve and Cassie Gaines ashes were entombed next to Ronnie.A few years later,some psychos vandalized it and pulled Ronnie's casket out and broke in and spilled out some of Steve Gaines ashes so now all three are buried along with Allen Collins and also where Bassist Leon Wilkinson and Leonard Skinner,their PE teacher is buried now at Riverside Memorial Park.

[@american_cosmic]

Didn't they move Ronnie's remains AGAIN a few years ago?

[@TuesdayLoew]

​@Ben Schwartz Yes,last year.He's in the same Cemetary near the Water.

[@catudik7438]

There was no more Lynyrd Skynyrd for me after the Freebird Crashed..

[@vincemauro2348]

As i.u can't replace yhe originals.

[@MP-ju4ol]

Many sad days in Rock n Roll, this to me was the saddest night of all. Just saw the legendary band from Florida in Oakland, CA at The Day on the Green in late summer before starting back to my third year. Later while in high school I hear that one of the best ever met their end. Album cover was altered. I love the band and still love that band to this day. Lynyrd Skynyrd lives forever!

[@lsunationalchamps08]

Billy was very strong to talk to the media about the accident. But I have to believe he was still in shock, and he certainly hadn’t processed everything that had happened to him

[@jmcrae825]

They did check the fuel. The right engine had a bad magneto causing it to have be run rich and used more fuel than planned. When that engine quit the pilots attempted to transfer fuel to the other tank but inadvertently dumped the last of it, the plane ran empty and hit the trees before they could make a field they trying for. It’s all in the NTSB report which can be found online. Still, the crash was caused by major pilot error.

[@sdushdiu]

Very well done coverage. Kudos to Tom Wells.

[@KateBates22zabu]

Ran outta gas! What a moronic reason to crash. RIP, you'll never be forgotten 💔

[@michaelhagan2788]

If Artemis ran for help , it was because he needed to , there was nobody there to save his band . He needed more help than one man could provide. He was a marine and he was a man for doing so !!!

[@kathyrais574]

There were 2 other people that ran for help with Artemis contrary to what he had in his pathetic movie. Ken Peden & Mark Frank, they deserve credit too & shame on Artemis trying to take solo credit

[@keithsexton1263]

People were already on their way

[@pickititllneverheal9016]

I wasn't there so I will hold my tongue.

[@rrrttt1112]

@@pickititllneverheal9016 Hey man, no need too, so set the record straight, what happened?

[@lesliesargent2183]

What a story! THX Tom for excellent coverage ...

[@georgeiovino1345]

Thanks for a great video

[@myklstorm1908]

thanks for the upload!

[@SouthVARonnie]

I wonder if Ronnie ever dreamed, that "They" would love & mourn a Boy from "Shantytown", the way so many L.S. fans all over the World, love & are still mourning the loss of RVZ, nearly 50yrs later. There's no limit, to what would have been.

[@vindivergilio3482]

I'm suprised they didn't mention Gene Odem in this video even once, the only survivor thrown out and under the plane. RIP Ronnie, Cassie, Steve, Dean and the pilots. Lynyrd Skynyrd will always rock on.

[@Johndoe345-k2d]

cause he a loser

[@bubbahazelitt6784]

How in the hell do you let a airplane run out of fuel? Those Pilots were dick heads for that one💯

[@niknikktm]

"Authorities still believe the plane ran out of gas. But why? Didn't they put enough gas in the tanks, or was there a leak? We won't know the answers to those questions for at least a month". So now here we are almost 44 years later and we STILL haven't gotten a straight answer.

[@ACDZ123]

Engines were running to rich ,burned more fuel than they thought was needed . That's what I'm lead to believe

[@PatriciaLen66]

Artemus says in an interview on KZbin that the gauge for fuel was broken. Artemus is a pilot.

[@justinboswell2517]

My dad saw them at the Jackson Mississippi in 1975

[@dawnhall2400]

God bless you guys. We'll never forget you

[@jojoheartspaypay]

Billy was in shock, and they got a mic in his face asking stupid questions. Ill never get over that..thanks for this

[@aynsleighmalayne3558]

Kevin Kozak The cause for so much disinformation, chaos and division. They don’t even report news or facts, just propaganda to meet the puppetmaster’s agendas. They’ve used TV to hypnotize and distract and now our schools are just dumbing down indoctrination centers turning kids against their own heritage, parents and country.

[@floydfletcher4313]

I am a survivor of the crash.

[@bobbiepeak8859]

Floyd Fletcher was it true that Linda Blair was on the plane at the time of the crash and was going out with Allen Collins?

[@Johndoe345-k2d]

me too

[@michaelhagan2788]

I love Artemis Pyle for running ,for help. He did the right thing by running for help .No one man could save so many otherwise !!!

[@keithsexton1263]

There was a bunch of people already on their way

[@colinhorne8464]

Damn thats trippy as hell seeing Tom Wills that young

[@edwardhenry3158]

They should have made the hell house A historic National landmark it should have never been torn down Ronnie I guess you were right greedy pencil pushers and landowners Took that away from all the fans he also said he wasn’t respected being from shanty town this man one of the greatest Singer songwriters ever this man wrote all about it the truth and I quote Lord I can see the concrete slowly creeping Lord take me in mine before that comes RIP Ronnie Van Zant Dean Kilpatrick Allen Collins Leon Wilkerson and Billy Powell

[@keithsexton1263]

It burned down

[@sallyperzanowski6625]

Sad. What a fantastic band

[@BeardBeerCigar]

saw (I think) their last concert at hollywood sportatorium in Oct 15th '77...heard a few days later that the had plane crashed...devastated.

[@TuesdayLoew]

Last Concert was in Greenville, S.C Oct 20 1977

[@BeardBeerCigar]

@@TuesdayLoew Yes, you're right; Thanks for the update!

[@GWM9930]

Their last concert performance was on October 19, 1977 at Greenville, SC. Their last song they played in what turned out to be their last concert was "Free Bird". The played the night before (on October 18th) at Lakeland, Florida at the Lakeland Civic Center. That is where I heard "Free Bird" for the last time in a live performance. Never would I have imagined way back then that it would be their next to last concert. Wow!

[@GWM9930]

On October 20th, they had the day off and were traveling to Baton Rouge to party there rather than hang out in Greenville, SC.

[@christophermarr6345]

I like this channel. This is the very 1st time that anyone has spoken of HOW Ronnie actually dies. Gene "says" in his opinion ( but is it HIS opinion only?) that RVZ was asphyxiated as the others crashed forward on impact -thereby suffocating him. He glances over this perspective when thinking about the cut seat belts which is a new prospective that I would like to hear a little more about this as it has never been raised before. Gene has alot to say on the matter and I'm glad he is now doing so. Q: why is he all of a sudden after 40 years discussing all of this so openly? What has been happening over the past 40 years? Note: There is intense cover-up it seems and great mystery surrounding Ronnie death. Strangely there is also no autopsy report or Coroner inquest. If so, it is hidden, as are photos of the funeral ( maybe 2 or 3 exist) I think the public has an interest in this.

[@kathyrais574]

From what I Understand is that at one time Judy released the autopsy to dispel reports that there was no open casket at Ronnie's funeral which started the rumor his face badly injured they could not. I assume you can't find it anywhere is because at that the age of computers was in it's infancy in homes. Today if an autopsy is released, it is everywhere. I don't believe there is any conspiracy, there was plane crash, everything came forward to where band sat. Whether Ronnie was seated & buckled in or he unbuckled himself, really doesn't matter. Steve, Dean, Cassie all buckled in. The four of them surrounded Gary & Allen. Why did they live & rest didn't. Who knows. Luck or it wasn't their time. Cassie had broken neck, Dean was impaled & possibly broken neck. The people that have talked abt what Ronnie looked like says he had 1 mark on his forward. My guess is he either had broken neck which kills pretty guick or blunt force trauma from everything being thrown forward. IDK what they could be hiding? They died, it was terrible tragedy. Pilot error & they gave their lives trying to land plane.

[@american_cosmic]

What exactly is the coverup you're alleging? And what leads you to believe there was a coverup? Also, there was definitely an autopsy report for Ronnie - His wife Judy posted it online almost 25 years ago.

[@PlayerToBeNamedLater1973]

Why do people have to think anytime a celebrity dies , there must be a conspiracy? No rock star ever died just because they made bad decisions. Not Ronnie Van Zandt, Hendrix, Joplin , Morrison, Cobain, etc. It's gotta be a cover up .

[@davidh6818]

Ronnie Van Zant died from blunt force trauma,there's no mystery there.And Gene Odom has been talking since October 21st 1977 to anyone and everyone who will listen,as the years pass his stories get more exaggerated and his importance to the band grows.

[@rayfabris2512]

how things have changed but still remain the same let's enjoy the United States and get along 😊 peace ✌ from a California

[@michaelhagan2788]

The Bird you can't change

[@chrisbennett8538]

Sweet home AL

[@davidrogers2085]

Artimus recently was quoted as saying Ronnie was on the cusp of serving Judy divorce papers. Interesting and disturbing.

[@plasteredbastard]

the story goes that judy was carrying on with the drummer (robert nix) from atlanta rhythm section and who judy would eventually sell the home she shared with ronnie and their baby daughter melody to.

[@davidh6818]

There's not one goddamned shred of evidence of any of that,Artimus Pyle is a bitter old man who will say anything for attention.He got kicked out of the band because of his own actions and has spent the last 25-odd years bad mouthing Judy Van Zant and Gary Rossington,saying anything he can to get some attention.It's pathetic.......

[@brendaniebel1355]

Ok, confusing, why? Wouldnt they check fuel, before taking off? That would have saved lives.

[@christomes2217]

It was all pilot error. Even when the first engine failed the pilot asked the copilot to transfer the remaing fuel to the good engine. Instead the copilot initiated a fuel dump. Precious fuel they could have used to get to a landing site.

[@sillygoose2508]

They immediately knew it ran out of fuel from the lack of fire at the crash site

[@markfedornak7279]

@@christomes2217 k

[@thegoose0m1]

Apparently the fuel gage on the plane was broken so they had to measure the amount of fuel in the tank by using a makeshift "dip stick". One of the engines had a bad magneto, so they had to run it on an extra rich mixture, which ended up using more bass than they anticipated. The end result was tragic....

[@davidh6818]

​@@christomes2217 There was no fuel dump or fuel transfer,that's all a myth.The engine that was giving trouble was run in the auto-rich position causing it to use more fuel than normal,it's all in the NTSB report on the crash that can be viewed via Google or any other Search engine on the ol'interwebs.

[@vincemauro2348]

The greatest

[@Betty-jb2ns]

Johnny boy loves Skynyrd, gimme back my bullets.

[@roertsgrooters-mf2oy]

God Bless you Johnny Van Zant Artimus Pyle

[@nimitz1739]

1:16 So this dude really hear that it sounded like it was one engine? “Yep that sounds like only one engine” 😂

[@cfhcowboy9292]

Eerie almost the same thing happend to richie valens ,buddy holly ,big bopper

[@davidh6818]

Their crash was caused by the wings icing over,if I recall correctly,and their plane crashed soon after takeoff.

[@cfhcowboy9292]

@Davidh ya like 5 or 10 minutes I heard

[@jeromemurphy2572]

They were hell raisers and drinkers and fighters in truth despite what the lady author maintained.

[@rjlong89]

The day southern rock died

[@jeromemurphy2572]

Ed King was not an original member as the special maintained.

[@GWM9930]

No. Wasn't he brought in as the Bass player when Leon stepped down (quit) for a while? And when Leon came back to the band, Ed switched to Guitar which was his strength.

[@lonesomeknoteye]

Tom Willis the real1

[@christophermarr6345]

Dear Gene, ( if you are reading this) I respect you and your honor and bravery through it all. Your memory is remarkable & vivid. You must have so much inside you all bottled up inside to talk about . IN DEATH, THERE IS LIFE -thereby bringing you fame with tragedy . I personally am interested in knowing more and or seeing more of RVZ. Are there any personal writings or poems or unproduced songs or letters etc that are somewhere in archives? It seems that you would know. You were also very involved with Ronnie's finances at the time and that Ronie too was v involved. What was his money situation at the time? Was he able to enjoy any riches earned? and I would like to know why although this was the 70's why are there not any tv appearances of Ronnie on live television, or more live appearances with him ? I hear only some breif interviews. I think the world would like to hear more personally from this poetic man who was such as Jeklyl/Hyde persona.

[@1927su]

I’m sure Duane Allman & Ronnie still a cool reunion in Rock Heaven…

[@littlefattexanable]

Awesome thanks

[@timothyboyd7266]

That crash could have been avoided

[@tbac6308]

good video 👌

[@caryscats5346]

Now bands don't travel any where in a hurry 😅

[@Johndoe345-k2d]

I don't believe in a higher authority.

[@user-ks5yh1xu2n]

❤

[@christophermarr6345]

In addition,. --I would like to have a chat with Gene myself. The gal who is interviewing him is lovely although not of that generation.

[@kelleythompson6162]

Go go

[@martinshrewsbury950]

I thought it was 26 passengers

[@vc23]

24 passengers plus the 2 pilots

[@stevemino142]

Most were playing "poker" lol most of the band were high on something the whole flight even the pilots like how do you run out of gas? Then or now? I used to fly convair 240 and 340s in the 70s clearly this was poorly planned costing people's lives i remember clear as day when this happened there was nothing wrong with the plane there was a problem with the maintenance on the plane the right engine had a problem with high fuel consumption because it needed a tune up they refueled many times and not even knowing how much fuel was in the planes fuel tanks

[@claychandler3468]

This is rvz fault for being so insistent to get on the airplane they never should have listened to him they'd all still be alive today and none of this would have happened if they had not listened to Ronnie

[@April_Crawford-NAFO]

Nobody had a gun to their heads, they were adults, their choice. Very disrespectful to blame the dead.

[@colinhorne8464]

How exactly is this ronnies fault?

[@bobbiepeak8859]

Clay Chandler. Ronnie was told that the plane was safe to go on to their next stop to be worked on.

[@PlayerToBeNamedLater1973]

​@@colinhorne8464because he threatened to fire anyone who chose not to board the airplane. That's well known.

[@allergictostupidpeople7893]

No said INJURIES on Ronnie

[@martinshrewsbury950]

Unless he is saying 24 not counting pilot and co-pilot, guess I'm the idiot

[@KevinSago-rs1ys]

It wasn't Ronnie that was sent to the principal for long hair. It was Gary, Allen. Ronnie was a few years older.

[@richardedwards9349]

allen didn't go to lee, he went to forrest

[@dannyhood4007]

Sad sad story. I remember people like this back east in the south. I was kid 11 years whatever. Reminded they look funny

[@tbac6308]

I wonder if they all panicked ??? Did they scream? Pray??? Freak out ???

[@gblackburn31]

Survivors said was as silent as could be not even a whisper

[@allergictostupidpeople7893]

FUEL WAS DUMPED

[@allergictostupidpeople7893]

JEALOUSY

[@allergictostupidpeople7893]

OWNER OF PLANE INS UPPED IN $! THIS WAS A TAKE DOWN FOR HUGE PAYOUT

[@allergictostupidpeople7893]

NORTH TOOK THEM OUT

[@allergictostupidpeople7893]

Pilots drunk

[@roknrolbilly]

[@stevepulse4893]

Bet they were playing poker on lucenite.