John Roy Van Zant (born February 27, 1960), also known as Johnny Van Zant, is an American singer and the current lead vocalist 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 and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...

band

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

. He is the younger brother of Lynyrd Skynyrd co-founder and former lead vocalist

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

, and of the

38 Special 38 Special or 0.38 Special or .38 Special, may refer to: * .38 Special, a revolver cartridge Music * 38 Special (band), an American rock band ** ''38 Special'' (album), the 1977 debut album of the band 38 Special * .38 Special (song), a 2022 ...

founder Donnie Van Zant.

Biography

During the 1970s, Van Zant performed with his first band, the Austin Nickels Band. They later changed their name to The Johnny Van Zant Band releasing their debut solo album, '' No More Dirty Deals'', in 1980. Early members of the Johnny Van Zant Band consisted of Van Zant on lead vocals, Robbie Gay on guitar, Danny Clausman, on bass, Erik Lundgren on lead guitar, Robbie Morris, drums and

Joan Hecht Joan Hecht is an American humanitarian and award winning author of the book ''The Journey of the Lost Boys''. She is also the founder and President of the 501 c-3 non-profit Alliance for the Lost Boys of Sudan, an organization that assists with t ...

(previously Joan Cusimano) and Nancy Henderson on background vocals. Van Zant released three more solo albums between 1981 and 1985, before taking a break from the music business. He became lead vocalist and chief songwriter for the reunited Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1987 and continues to record and perform with them today. He released another solo album, ''Brickyard Road'', in 1990, which featured the popular title track, which was a #1 hit on the U.S.

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

chart for three weeks. He also records and performs with his brother, Donnie, as Van Zant since 1998. Van Zant and Lynyrd Skynyrd performed in Arizona on April 9, 2022, during Arizona Bike Week at WestWorld of Scottsdale. He stated that original member

Gary Rossington Gary Robert Rossington (December 4, 1951 – March 5, 2023) was an American musician best known as a founding guitarist of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, with whom he performed until his death. Rossington was also a founding member of the ...

was recovering and still needed prayers. In May 2006, less than one day before he was to perform at KSAN-FM 107.7 ''The Bone's Bone Bash 7'', Van Zant underwent emergency surgery to have his

appendix Appendix (: appendices or appendixes) may refer to: __NOTOC__ In documents * Addendum, an addition made to a document by its author after its initial printing or publication * Bibliography, a systematic list of books and other works * Index (publis ...

removed. Treated at

Stanford University Medical Center Stanford University Medical Center is a teaching hospital which includes Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health. It serves as a private hospital for the Stanford University School of Medicine. In 2022–23, it was ranked by the U ...

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

, after reporting pain to a doctor earlier in the day. The incident forced the band to cancel three U.S. shows. Van Zant is a fan of the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

. He recorded a video, along with remaining members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, that is played at every Jaguars home game on the

TIAA Bank Field EverBank Stadium is an American football stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is the home facility of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL), and the headquarters of the professional wrestling promotions Al ...

video board. According to Skynyrd's website, Van Zant was again hospitalized on August 6, 2011, at the

Hennepin County Medical Center Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) is a Level I adult and pediatric trauma center and safety net hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the county seat of Hennepin County. The primary 484-bed facility is on six city blocks across the street fro ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, due to complications from a previous surgery. According to the website, Van Zant had a "surgical site" infected with cellulitus which required both hospitalization and IV/Antibiotic treatment. He began displaying signs of a

staph infection A staphylococcal infection or staph infection is an infection caused by members of the ''Staphylococcus'' genus of bacteria. These bacteria commonly inhabit the skin and nose where they are innocuous, but may enter the body through cuts or abrasi ...

and other symptoms related to the infection. His subsequent illness resulted in a number of scheduled performances being cancelled.

Discography

Music videos

References

External links

Lynyrd Skynyrd website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Zant, Johnny 1960 births 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers American male singers American people of Dutch descent American rock singers Living people Lynyrd Skynyrd members Singers from Jacksonville, Florida Van Zant (band) members American blues rock musicians