All band members of Lynyrd Skynyrd are alive.
Lynyrd Skynyrd . At the peak of their success , two band members and a backup singer died in an airplane crash in 1977 , putting an abrupt end to the band 's most popular incarnation . The surviving band members reformed in 1987 for a reunion tour with lead vocalist Johnny Van Zant , the younger brother of lead singer and founder Ronnie Van Zant .