Over the years there have been many tv shows, biographies and documentaries made about that fateful day of October 20th 1977 when the plane carrying the excellent southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd crashed in a Mississippi swamp. Some of them from the perspective of the rescue workers, and some including the memories of the surviving band members themselves.
This 'biodrama' comes solely from the Perspective of drummer Artimus Pyle and given that only he and Gary Rossington are the only band members still living that experienced that horrific accident, there's no one really left that can dispute his version of the story.
There are a few contradictory stories from previous documentaries, such as Pyle finding the already dead body of Cassie Gaines outside the wreckage with Billy Powell still trapped inside, when previous testimony from Powell states that Cassie had died in his (and Pyle's) arms indicating that they were both free of the fuselage before Pyle went to get help.
There's no denying that Pyle was a hero that day in going to get the required help need to save more lives and the lack of fuel that caused the crash stopped an inferno that could have resulted in no survivors at all.
Whilst it is common knowledge that Ronnie Van Zant was an absolute bruiser who would pick a fight with the wind if it dared to blow his hat off, he is not painted in the best light in this movie. Most of the 'non plane' scenes feature groupies with bare breasts, drugs and copious amounts of alcohol and whilst the band were known for their excesses in this area, you get the feeling that it was just a chance to show some titties on the screen.
Also noticeably absent is any original Lynyrd Skynyrd music from the time with a lot of the music being performed by Pyle and his current band. The only exception was a scene at the beginning where the band is seen performing 'Call me the Breeze' a song off the band's 2nd album, but being that this was a cover of a J. J Cale song, this is probably why that song was chosen. Given Pyle's acrimonious parting with the current Skynyrd line up and how vociferously Ronnie Van Zant's widow still protects his memory, this wasn't surprising and speaks volumes of how they felt about this movie being made.
If you want to see a more thorough, and less morbid historical retrospective on this terrific band, then I recommend 'If I leave Here Tomorrow' but this is a passable attempt to show us the final days of classic Skynyrd.
Don McLean can sing all he wants about 'The Day the Music Died' because we all know that it was October 20th 1977. However, Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines will live on in their music until the end of time itself.
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