January 9 is the birthday of Cassie LaRue Gaines (1948-1977), American singer, best known for her work with Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
In the mid-1970s, the Senecca, Missouri-born Gaines was invited by Deborah Jo "JoJo" Billingsley and Ronnie Van Zant to become a backup singer for Lynyrd Skynyrd, a band she had not heard of at the time. To enlighten her, Billingsley lent Gaines a copy of the band's first two albums: (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) and Second Helping. In late 1975, Cassie, JoJo, and Leslie Hawkins became The Honkettes, a female gospel vocal trio for Skynyrd.
When Lynyrd Skynyrd was in need of a guitar player to replace the departed Ed King, Gaines recommended her younger brother, Steve, who joined the band soon after.
On October 20, 1977, a plane carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, crashed outside of Gillsburg, Mississippi. The crash killed Ronnie Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, as well as pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray.
Cassie and Steve Gaines were buried in Orange Park, Florida. The two are the subject of the 2001 song "Cassie's Brother" by alt-country band Drive-By Truckers.
On February 15, 1979, Steve's and Cassie's mother, 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.
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In the mid-1970s, the Senecca, Missouri-born Gaines was invited by Deborah Jo "JoJo" Billingsley and Ronnie Van Zant to become a backup singer for Lynyrd Skynyrd, a band she had not heard of at the time. To enlighten her, Billingsley lent Gaines a copy of the band's first two albums: (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) and Second Helping. In late 1975, Cassie, JoJo, and Leslie Hawkins became The Honkettes, a female gospel vocal trio for Skynyrd.
When Lynyrd Skynyrd was in need of a guitar player to replace the departed Ed King, Gaines recommended her younger brother, Steve, who joined the band soon after.
On October 20, 1977, a plane carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, crashed outside of Gillsburg, Mississippi. The crash killed Ronnie Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, as well as pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray.
Cassie and Steve Gaines were buried in Orange Park, Florida. The two are the subject of the 2001 song "Cassie's Brother" by alt-country band Drive-By Truckers.
On February 15, 1979, Steve's and Cassie's mother, 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.
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