@@jussisaari7683 Ronnie did what he had to do for the band. There's a reason there's zero hits after plane crash. Ronnie wrote the hits and the band could not duplicate the success. That was Ronnie's band.
@@rebelwithacause3574 Ronnie knocked Billy's 4 front teeth out, cut up Gary's hands so badly he had to have stitches (in both hands) the night before a gig in Germany. It was even in the press ("bloodbath in Hamburg). There are videos on line showing Gary playing with blood oozing through his bandages. Ronnie was a maniac and terrible bully. Only Artimus could handle him. My college room mate worked in their business office one summer. She said they were all afraid Ronnie would kill someone. I don't think that's "what he had to do for the band." He was lucky to have a band.
I wish I would have had a chance to have loved these guys to there face as so many fans put there .Just tell them.what there music ment to me and they put there hearts in there music so I guess we all share a little something everytime we listen....THANKS GUYS DAMN WE MISS ALL PF YOU
@@kevenrowe2958 I am from Indiana. Gary was born in Jacksonville, but both his maternal and paternal sides were from Indiana. His grandparents are buried here.
Makes me sad. Feels like I’ve gone back in time in a time machine, or like I’m watching ghosts, especially with the way the tape has degraded and you see those jumps and lines and other distortions.
Does anyone have the complete Skynyrd home movie footage that Craig Reed shot of Skynyrd in 1977? Some small segments of the footage were used in Skynyrd's "Freebird The Movie (1995)", but I have never seen the film in its entirety.
Extra: Martha Millen was Gary's first wife. He met his second wife, Dale Krantz, when she joined Rossington Collins, the band Gary and Allen formed some years after the Skynyrd crash.
Some day I'm going to have to seriously check this out. It is history and I've always yawned at it. This was in 1977 BEFORE the plane crash and Steve Gaines and others were there.
@@TheContingencyPlan Yeah, I see your point. But now upon further investigation, it appears that Steve and Ronnie were at the wedding AFTER the plane crash. A lil' known fact. I am full of facts and other stuff too. But as for your sarcasm, I was just surprised that Steve Gaines was at a wedding of a Skynyrd member. Ronnie was already well into his second marriage. He had two daughters. Allen had also been married way back to around the time Kathy Collins has said to Allen: If I Leave Here Tomorrow, would you still remember me? And that line is bad English. If I left here tomorrow, would you even remember me might be better. So Allen and Ronnie had been married all that time. I was just intrigued by Gary's 77 marriage. Was this Gary''s second wife? I really don't know. Was Gary a swinging dick bachelor up to 1977. If so, Gary could do what he wanted with any of the groupies, no guilt about cheating. So, sure, you can make it all about me being daff if you want to. I make stupid comments on a daily basis. I'm ok with this.
@@jaxflfreebird No, this was his first marriage to Martha Millen, and it ended by about 1979-1980. He then married Dale Krantz in 1982 and they stayed married until his death. This footage is obviously before the plane crash as Mssrs. Van Zant and Gaines are shown in it, and both were unfortunately killed in the plane crash. It was said that Mr. Rossington would wake up and ask Ms. Millen, "Who are you again?" as he was often drunk or high during this time. After the plane crash, he was still married to her (you can see some footage later on, such as during the Volunteer Jam in 1979 when he is wearing what appears to be a wedding ring). Mr. Collins married Kathy Johns in 1970 and Mr. Gaines married his wife around 1974. Mr. Van Zant was first married in 1967 to Nadine Inscoe and divorced by about 1969. He then married Judy Seymour in 1972.
@@googleusergp You do your homework. On my channel where I have posted a ton of Lynyrd Skynyrd content, I get the dumbest comments. It's nice to hear someone who has actually done some homework, or someone who perhaps knew some of these people.
That isn't really fair to say. It is 2 different lifetimes, He thought his whole life in front of him, Lynyrd Skynyrd was hottest they had ever been & they had nowhere to go but up. 6 wks later, he lost 1 of his best friends. I didn't see video of his other wedding so can't compare. Gary has been through a ton of stuff in his life, losing Ronnie, Allen his 2 best friends in the world, the what might have been? He has watched his friends die 1 by 1, his mom, grew up w/out a dad. So glad he found Dale, I think he very easily could have ended up like Allen, unfortunately Allen lost his wife & child as well as Ronnie, they both suffered tremendous survivors guilt. Gary has been md to Dale 39 yrs, have kids & grandkids but I am sure a part of him died w/Ronnie, then their dream, lost a lil w/Allen so I imagine there is a part of him that was never the same
@@kathyrais574 I am well aware of the hardships Gary suffered, and there are probably more that we don't know about. Nevertheless, this is still the happiest I've seen him.
I've never been a fan of Gary's but I'll just say on camera Gary is more reserved than his band mates. Most BYRD HEADS know where they were when the plane crashed, but he was ON it. No one is ever the same after such traumatic experiences.
@@pjburke131 yep, how could he not. It amazes me he gets on planes & flies all over. It is the southern way of thinking I guess, the same one Ronnie had that fateful day if it's your time to go, you will whether it be airplane, car or Fallin down stairs, believe me I heard it all the time from my southern born truck drivin daddy. I always told him, you don't have to make it easy by doin stupid things like climbing around on a roof even roofers weren't thrilled abt. He lived to be almost 91 so not sure if that proves qnything or not. Lol I am sure Gqry feels guilt he couldn't save Allen from himself. He was wild as far back as Kindergarten according to one of his closest friends that met him 1st day of K. I think Kathy grounded Allen to some extent & when she died he just lost it.
I don't understand this. Gary Rossington is said to have married only once, that was a few years after the plane crash. He married Dale Krantz to whom he is still with. But this girl is not Dale Krantz. I also had a big crush on Gary Rossington. As ELP said in a lyric: I wanted to be the strings on his guitar.
Sorry but he was married previously. It did not end well though. I think it took someone with Dale's strength to rein our boy in! He was lucky he met her but on the other hand, it did not help Allen. It sort of undermined all that RCB was and eventually ended it.
These guys all md very young & back in those days they were probably told, to not tell the world they were md. I had no idea Gary was md or Ronnie for that matter, I knew he had w/ daughters, thought both were with Judy, but they never took them on the road, you never heard much abt the wives til plane crash
Ronnie’s first daughter was with his wife Nadine who he was married to from about 1967 to 1969. His second daughter was with Judy, and was about a year or so old when he died in 1977.
That's so cool, feels like watching it , your kinda like hanging there , like a fly on a wall. It's a grand togetherness of their past. For me knowing that those Free birds are still in form, in a paridise from Jesus we're all waiting for. Amen.
Oh Jo Jo was NOT a happy girl at all. If it's true that Ronnie fired her in late august after the Vegas gig, took a lot of balls to show up in September for Gary's wedding. Was she shooting daggers at Ronnie or Allen.... ?
@@corygoodman753 I got confirmation from someone with the band - jo jo was definitely fired "for causing trouble" - and they also debunked some of her other claims as well.
John Eastman. He was close to Lacy and the entire SKynyrd family. We went in together for a video of Lacy's home where Ronnie and his brothers grew up. Not sure where John is today but he is what I would call a superfan. And a great guy as well.
Please subscribe to this channel. We have an interview with Gary, Leon and Allen from September 1978 talking about the crash, song origins and even Leonard Skinner! You can plainly hear their voices and tell who is who. Plus it is great to hear Allen's voice again....
A little confused by this. I've never heard that he married this woman- Martha Claire Millen. He met Dale in 1977 and married her in 1982. What happened to his first wife? Apparently divorced in June 1980. Is she still alive?
He married Martha in Sept of 1977. They divorced I believe in 81. The marriage "was dissolving" long before the divorce. Martha is alive and well, she remarried around the same time Gary and Dale married. Martha lives in Boca Raton now. I've read that she and Gary remain friends and still in contact. They had only a month together before the band went back on tour and the plane crashed. The young marriage just didn't survive all those catastrophic changes.
He once stated, “I guess she got tired of me waking up every morning asking her who she was.” I imagine he was some strong pain meds for some time give the extent of his injuries. There was a rumor that Gary and Dale were messing around in 77 while she was a backup singer for .38 Special. Martha and Gary were divorced in 1980.
@@ladybuggs11 I read somewhere that Dale and Allan were having a "torrid" affair before she got with Gary, part of what broke up Rossington-Collins. Allen's wife died in 1980, so if there was an affair it must have happened while Allen was married. Allen also had an affair with JoJo Billingsly, which was partly why she was fired from the band. Although lots of what we hear was never true, so who knows.
@@wagliz163 Yes, I have heard this as well. I heard from some people who knew Allen he denied that he wanted Dale, he stated it was the other way around, which caused Gary to go off. Apparently, Allen and Gary got in a fight at Allen’s house. He was chasing Gary down the road. Dale has stated ultimately the death of Kathy was the last nail in the proverbial coffin for RCB. There are so many stories. There is a story that Ronnie was with JoJo first. Then Ronnie found out about JoJo and Allen. It became a little too crowded, plus JoJo was said to be going wild. Ron Eckerman or his publisher took out the part about Allan and JoJo in his book. I think that was probably a respectful move for their families. Lynyrd Skynyrd has definitely left a long lasting legacy through their music, and possibly the inner workings of the band, whether true or not. ✌️
Martha Millen and they were married from 1977 to 1979 or early to mid 1980. Reportedly, he would wake up drunk and ask who she was. He married Dale Krantz in 1982.
@Tracy - according Artimus , her name was Martha - "Little Marthy" was her nickname. She was Gary's 1st wife , but marriage only lasted about 2 yrs, Gary's RnR lifestyle was too much to deal with , apparently ...check out this video, Artimus comments on it ua-cam.com/video/z-f7PQabaq4/v-deo.html
Tracy her name was Martha Clare they divorced due to Gary drunken brawls with her and others and the drugs We learned about all this from Artymus Martha was way more atractive than his current wife Dale Rossington who is a rude greedy woman like that really ug;y Judy Van Zant whom Ronnie hated and was going to Divorce her,,,,Artymus hates Dale and Judy and that ugly Teressa Gaines Steve could of done better
Greetings from Arkansas she was very pretty...sGary was good looking still is...her name isMartha Millen..great hair cut...I like Dle too but she needs a hair cut...
I too, though this looked eerie, kind of like the George Romero movie, "Night of the Living Dead", no pun intended though, particularly in view of their plane crash just six weeks later.
Yes. Gary was fine looking ❤ loved to hear him play always ❤ ❤
A doppelganger for my 1st husband!!! Another Southern boy!!!😊
Thanks for posting this, Ronnie Van Zant seems like the coolest, down to earth rocker there ever was!
and yet billy said after the crash "thank god the violence is over", referring to ronnie
@@jussisaari7683 Ronnie did what he had to do for the band. There's a reason there's zero hits after plane crash. Ronnie wrote the hits and the band could not duplicate the success. That was Ronnie's band.
He was a punk.
Good riddance to him.
@@Johndoe345-k2d go to hell
@@rebelwithacause3574 Ronnie knocked Billy's 4 front teeth out, cut up Gary's hands so badly he had to have stitches (in both hands) the night before a gig in Germany. It was even in the press ("bloodbath in Hamburg). There are videos on line showing Gary playing with blood oozing through his bandages. Ronnie was a maniac and terrible bully. Only Artimus could handle him. My college room mate worked in their business office one summer. She said they were all afraid Ronnie would kill someone. I don't think that's "what he had to do for the band." He was lucky to have a band.
When I’m listening to these men talk they sound just like my whole family did when I was growing up as a kid in the 1970’s.
Gary has always been the prince charming ❤️
Lucky girl.
They call him Prince Charming ❤
I wish I would have had a chance to have loved these guys to there face as so many fans put there .Just tell them.what there music ment to me and they put there hearts in there music so I guess we all share a little something everytime we listen....THANKS GUYS DAMN WE MISS ALL PF YOU
their .. not 'there' .. the possessive form is required .. sorry the grammar nazi in me couldn't resist
😢 they will always be missed
I know the quality isn't great but what a epic video!!!
Whoever uploaded this..Thankyou!
Yes, thank you a billion times!!!! Seeing this means a lot to me. ✌️♥️
Always had a crush on Gary and his voice.
...just a sweet southern boy.
@@laurag644 His parents were from Indiana.
@@ladybuggs11how do you know that ?
@@kevenrowe2958 I am from Indiana. Gary was born in Jacksonville, but both his maternal and paternal sides were from Indiana. His grandparents are buried here.
So great to see and hear Steve.
This is fucking gold
It sure is ..👍
~ Priceless Footage🎥💎
Makes me sad. Feels like I’ve gone back in time in a time machine, or like I’m watching ghosts, especially with the way the tape has degraded and you see those jumps and lines and other distortions.
Gotta agree. Seems strange to watch this. Like it happened on another planet, yet it was during my lifetime. So weird.
Ronnie is such a good looking man ! ❤️
Short and bald.
Wow, this surprised me. Talk about swept under the rug!
Does anyone have the complete Skynyrd home movie footage that Craig Reed shot of Skynyrd in 1977? Some small segments of the footage were used in Skynyrd's "Freebird The Movie (1995)", but I have never seen the film in its entirety.
this is just awesome !!thats for that this.!
Extra: Martha Millen was Gary's first wife. He met his second wife, Dale Krantz, when she joined Rossington Collins, the band Gary and Allen formed some years after the Skynyrd crash.
This was 6 weeks before the plane crash.
Wow going back in time the next year I got married it brings back memories and Good Times
That is Steve Gaines talking at the beginning..
I thought it was Gary talking.
It’s Leon.
It’s Leon
Steve is the one who says “I Look like the Devil”
Some day I'm going to have to seriously check this out. It is history and I've always yawned at it. This was in 1977 BEFORE the plane crash and Steve Gaines and others were there.
So you’re saying Ronnie and Steve attended this wedding BEFORE they died in a plane crash? Thanks for the insight.
@@TheContingencyPlan Yeah, I see your point. But now upon further investigation, it appears that Steve and Ronnie were at the wedding AFTER the plane crash. A lil' known fact. I am full of facts and other stuff too. But as for your sarcasm, I was just surprised that Steve Gaines was at a wedding of a Skynyrd member. Ronnie was already well into his second marriage. He had two daughters. Allen had also been married way back to around the time Kathy Collins has said to Allen: If I Leave Here Tomorrow, would you still remember me? And that line is bad English. If I left here tomorrow, would you even remember me might be better. So Allen and Ronnie had been married all that time. I was just intrigued by Gary's 77 marriage. Was this Gary''s second wife? I really don't know. Was Gary a swinging dick bachelor up to 1977. If so, Gary could do what he wanted with any of the groupies, no guilt about cheating. So, sure, you can make it all about me being daff if you want to. I make stupid comments on a daily basis. I'm ok with this.
@@jaxflfreebird No, this was his first marriage to Martha Millen, and it ended by about 1979-1980. He then married Dale Krantz in 1982 and they stayed married until his death. This footage is obviously before the plane crash as Mssrs. Van Zant and Gaines are shown in it, and both were unfortunately killed in the plane crash. It was said that Mr. Rossington would wake up and ask Ms. Millen, "Who are you again?" as he was often drunk or high during this time. After the plane crash, he was still married to her (you can see some footage later on, such as during the Volunteer Jam in 1979 when he is wearing what appears to be a wedding ring).
Mr. Collins married Kathy Johns in 1970 and Mr. Gaines married his wife around 1974. Mr. Van Zant was first married in 1967 to Nadine Inscoe and divorced by about 1969. He then married Judy Seymour in 1972.
@@googleusergp You do your homework. On my channel where I have posted a ton of Lynyrd Skynyrd content, I get the dumbest comments. It's nice to hear someone who has actually done some homework, or someone who perhaps knew some of these people.
@@jaxflfreebird Most of the information is online, you just have to separate the wheat from the chaff.
This is really rare. Some of this is actual audio from the video. Where did you find this?
Met him in El Paso Texas in 79
This is the happiest I've ever seen Gary be even with his present wife. Wow!
That isn't really fair to say. It is 2 different lifetimes, He thought his whole life in front of him, Lynyrd Skynyrd was hottest they had ever been & they had nowhere to go but up. 6 wks later, he lost 1 of his best friends. I didn't see video of his other wedding so can't compare.
Gary has been through a ton of stuff in his life, losing Ronnie, Allen his 2 best friends in the world, the what might have been? He has watched his friends die 1 by 1, his mom, grew up w/out a dad.
So glad he found Dale, I think he very easily could have ended up like Allen, unfortunately Allen lost his wife & child as well as Ronnie, they both suffered tremendous survivors guilt.
Gary has been md to Dale 39 yrs, have kids & grandkids but I am sure a part of him died w/Ronnie, then their dream, lost a lil w/Allen so I imagine there is a part of him that was never the same
@@kathyrais574 I am well aware of the hardships Gary suffered, and there are probably more that we don't know about. Nevertheless, this is still the happiest I've seen him.
I've never been a fan of Gary's but I'll just say on camera Gary is more reserved than his band mates. Most BYRD HEADS know where they were when the plane crashed, but he was ON it. No one is ever the same after such traumatic experiences.
@@kathyrais574 you can tell he has carried this huge burden around with him since that tragedy. He said he stills dreams about it nearly every night.
@@pjburke131 yep, how could he not. It amazes me he gets on planes & flies all over. It is the southern way of thinking I guess, the same one Ronnie had that fateful day if it's your time to go, you will whether it be airplane, car or Fallin down stairs, believe me I heard it all the time from my southern born truck drivin daddy.
I always told him, you don't have to make it easy by doin stupid things like climbing around on a roof even roofers weren't thrilled abt. He lived to be almost 91 so not sure if that proves qnything or not. Lol
I am sure Gqry feels guilt he couldn't save Allen from himself. He was wild as far back as Kindergarten according to one of his closest friends that met him 1st day of K.
I think Kathy grounded Allen to some extent & when she died he just lost it.
Nice guy
Steve Gaines
Great by every measure.
Gary was hot. Elvis like
Is that Steve Talking in the beginning about Free Bird
It’s Leon
To bad with the poor quality, an english camera maybe. Fascination and tragic when you know what waited round the corner.
The Lynyrd Skynyrd band members looked so happy back then. Not knowing what was to come next.
Is it just me or does Artimus look like the zig zag man?
Absolutely, almost like Zig Zag incorporated took inspiration from Arty.
I don't understand this. Gary Rossington is said to have married only once, that was a few years after the plane crash. He married Dale Krantz to whom he is still with. But this girl is not Dale Krantz. I also had a big crush on Gary Rossington. As ELP said in a lyric: I wanted to be the strings on his guitar.
Sorry but he was married previously. It did not end well though. I think it took someone with Dale's strength to rein our boy in! He was lucky he met her but on the other hand, it did not help Allen. It sort of undermined all that RCB was and eventually ended it.
@@Mark-bi9il Thank you.
He married a lovely lady but the stress after the accident and the drug use that followed were too much for her
These guys all md very young & back in those days they were probably told, to not tell the world they were md. I had no idea Gary was md or Ronnie for that matter, I knew he had w/ daughters, thought both were with Judy, but they never took them on the road, you never heard much abt the wives til plane crash
Ronnie’s first daughter was with his wife Nadine who he was married to from about 1967 to 1969. His second daughter was with Judy, and was about a year or so old when he died in 1977.
That's so cool, feels like watching it , your kinda like hanging there , like a fly on a wall. It's a grand togetherness of their past. For me knowing that those Free birds are still in form, in a paridise from Jesus we're all waiting for. Amen.
At the height of their powers....great thought!
5:51 Is that Jo Jo Billingsly, all dressed up!
Yes, that is Jo Jo.
i need Dramamine after this.............
Oh Jo Jo was NOT a happy girl at all. If it's true that Ronnie fired her in late august after the Vegas gig, took a lot of balls to show up in September for Gary's wedding. Was she shooting daggers at Ronnie or Allen.... ?
I thought the same thing. She definitely didn't look she was enjoying herself.
@@corygoodman753 I got confirmation from someone with the band - jo jo was definitely fired "for causing trouble" - and they also debunked some of her other claims as well.
Where do u see jo Jo?
@@bls8959 she is the woman seen fanning herself furiously - wearing quite the scowl
@@timyaowen6420 time stamp??
Where did you get this from?
John Eastman. He was close to Lacy and the entire SKynyrd family. We went in together for a video of Lacy's home where Ronnie and his brothers grew up. Not sure where John is today but he is what I would call a superfan. And a great guy as well.
A song quote from a very cool person. Don't tell your woman you love her that's when your troubles begin.
Is that Leon’s voice talking over the footage in the beginning of the video, or is it Steve’s? The quality is too poor for me to tell.
I was wondering the same
Can someone clean this up, and stabilize the footage?
I wish. I got this from a VHS tape recorded in the 70's...ugh.
Who ever speaking sounds like Leon or Gary they sound alike talking
Please subscribe to this channel. We have an interview with Gary, Leon and Allen from September 1978 talking about the crash, song origins and even Leonard Skinner! You can plainly hear their voices and tell who is who. Plus it is great to hear Allen's voice again....
This film wasn't very well preserved. What did they record this on?
No idea. And my copy was probably 19th generation...
Bass player Leon wilkeson does the narrating it first.
Very cool, hanging out with Skynyrd! Is Berniece Gary's mom? Funny, open champagne bottle with teeth?
A little confused by this. I've never heard that he married this woman- Martha Claire Millen. He met Dale in 1977 and married her in 1982. What happened to his first wife? Apparently divorced in June 1980. Is she still alive?
He married Martha in Sept of 1977. They divorced I believe in 81. The marriage "was dissolving" long before the divorce. Martha is alive and well, she remarried around the same time Gary and Dale married. Martha lives in Boca Raton now. I've read that she and Gary remain friends and still in contact. They had only a month together before the band went back on tour and the plane crashed. The young marriage just didn't survive all those catastrophic changes.
He once stated, “I guess she got tired of me waking up every morning asking her who she was.” I imagine he was some strong pain meds for some time give the extent of his injuries.
There was a rumor that Gary and Dale were messing around in 77 while she was a backup singer for .38 Special. Martha and Gary were divorced in 1980.
@@ladybuggs11 I read somewhere that Dale and Allan were having a "torrid" affair before she got with Gary, part of what broke up Rossington-Collins. Allen's wife died in 1980, so if there was an affair it must have happened while Allen was married. Allen also had an affair with JoJo Billingsly, which was partly why she was fired from the band. Although lots of what we hear was never true, so who knows.
@@wagliz163 Yes, I have heard this as well. I heard from some people who knew Allen he denied that he wanted Dale, he stated it was the other way around, which caused Gary to go off. Apparently, Allen and Gary got in a fight at Allen’s house. He was chasing Gary down the road.
Dale has stated ultimately the death of Kathy was the last nail in the proverbial coffin for RCB.
There are so many stories. There is a story that Ronnie was with JoJo first. Then Ronnie found out about JoJo and Allen. It became a little too crowded, plus JoJo was said to be going wild. Ron Eckerman or his publisher took out the part about Allan and JoJo in his book. I think that was probably a respectful move for their families.
Lynyrd Skynyrd has definitely left a long lasting legacy through their music, and possibly the inner workings of the band, whether true or not. ✌️
I think her name was Martha
Martha Millen and they were married from 1977 to 1979 or early to mid 1980. Reportedly, he would wake up drunk and ask who she was. He married Dale Krantz in 1982.
Who is his first wife? What happened to her?
@Tracy - according Artimus , her name was Martha - "Little Marthy" was her nickname. She was Gary's 1st wife , but marriage only lasted about 2 yrs, Gary's RnR lifestyle was too much to deal with , apparently ...check out this video, Artimus comments on it ua-cam.com/video/z-f7PQabaq4/v-deo.html
Tracy her name was Martha Clare they divorced due to Gary drunken brawls with her and others and the drugs We learned about all this from Artymus Martha was way more atractive than his current wife Dale Rossington who is a rude greedy woman like that really ug;y Judy Van Zant whom Ronnie hated and was going to Divorce her,,,,Artymus hates Dale and Judy and that ugly Teressa Gaines Steve could of done better
His first wife
@@hazor777 It's just the same footage of the wedding and music. No Artimus commenting on it.
@@lacy.knickers146
I meant in the UA-cam comments
I wonder how Martha is doing
Would be cool to talk to her!
Greetings from Arkansas she was very pretty...sGary was good looking still is...her name isMartha Millen..great hair cut...I like Dle too but she needs a hair cut...
Who was his 1st wife?
👍🏼
I too, though this looked eerie, kind of like the George Romero movie, "Night of the Living Dead", no pun intended though, particularly in view of their plane crash just six weeks later.
His second wife video this.
Omy 😬
Where did you find this gem? Very cool. RIP boys, you'll never be forgotten.
It is an awesome piece of history. And the timing is so sad as well. I am a collector and have much Skynyrd rare and unique stuff. More coming!
I've been looking for an autograph of Ronnie. Not an easy find.