Cassie Gaines

Rock Singer

Birthday January 9, 1948

Birth Sign Capricorn

Birthplace Missouri

DEATH DATE Oct 20, 1977 (29)

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About

Remembered for her performances with the popular rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, this backup singer died along with several of her band mates in a 1977 plane crash near Gillsburg, Mississippi. At the time of the crash, she was on her way to a tour stop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Before Fame

Soon after joining Lynyrd Skynyrd, she became a member of the band's all-female vocal sub-group, The Honkettes (a trio that also included JoJo Billingsley and Leslie Hawkins).

Trivia

She and Steve Gaines inspired the 2001 Drive-By Truckers song "Cassie's Brother."

Family Life

Steve Gaines, the guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd, also died in the plane crash that killed his sister Cassie. Tragically, the siblings' mother died in a car accident less than two years later.

Associated With

She and "Sweet Home Alabama" co-writer Ed King were both members of Lynyrd Skynyrd.