- Van Zant, a rock and country band of Donnie and Jonny made a music album that received RIAA gold certification in 2005.
- Fire outbreak at the backlot of Universal Studios Hollywood destroyed about 40,000 to 50,000 archived digital video and film copies including that of the 2 brothers.
- Loud Rock Music almost made Donnie go deaf.
Van Zant brothers was an American musical band comprising Donnie and Johnny Van Zant with genres such as southern rock, country, and arena rock. The band which was established by the duo in the 1980s is famous for songs such as You’ve Got to Believe in Love (1985), Help Somebody (2005), and Nobody Gonna Tell Me What to Do (2005).
How Many Van Zant Brothers are There?
Donnie Van Zant is the Older Brother of Johnny and The One-Half of the 2 Brothers
View this post on Instagram
Donnie is one of the duo Van Zant band of brothers and the second among 3 of Van Zant brothers. He was born Donald Newton Van Zant on the 11th of June, 1952 in Jacksonville, Florida. The 72 year old was a part of bands such as 38 Special and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The singer who has been active since the 1960s was later threatened due to ill health. The star was said to have had inner ear nerve damage due to loud music. It was so bad that quitting music was the only solution to avert impending deafness. He then took to writing music before his official retirement in 2013 after almost 4 decades of his career.
Johnny Van Zant is The Lead Vocalist of Lynryd Skynyrd
View this post on Instagram
Johnny was welcomed to the world on the 27th of February 1960. The 64 year old rock star is the younger brother of Ronnie and Donnie. He is an American singer/composer and the lead vocalist of Lynryd Skynyrd.
He has been singing with his brother but also has a solo album to his credit titled ‘Brickyard Road’. Jonny who is associated with bands such as Van Zant, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and 38 Special also has his own band called ‘The Johnny Van Zant’ in the 1970s.
The Brothers Began Playing in Their Teens
View this post on Instagram
The prog-rock artists began playing in the sailors club in their teens. Donnie at that age was singing with the 38 special bands. Early exposure to music gave them the wide and favorable opportunity to develop themselves by playing cover songs and earning a fortune of about $2 a week.
The van Zant brothers all had a solid foundation in music. They learned how to play the drums and the guitar early enough and began their professional career before they clocked 20. Donnie rose to fame quite earlier from ‘38 special’ A band he founded with his neighbor, Don Barnes. 38 special sold over 20 million copies of their album from 1975. The rock music stars made a remarkable twist in 2005 from rock and started singing country music. Their music album ‘Get right with the Man’ received RIAA gold certification in 2005.
Their career was almost affected on the 1st of June 2008, when an unfortunate fire outbreak at the backcloth of Universal Studios Hollywood destroyed about 40,000 to 50,000 archived digital video and film copies including that of Van Zant.
SEE ALSO – Jake Kiszka- 10 Interesting Facts About Greta Van Fleet’s Band Member
How Many Siblings Do They Have?
The rock stars have one brother and two sisters. Their elder brother Ronnie Van Zant was the original lead singer for the rock band Lynrd Skynrd. He founded Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1964. He, unfortunately, died in a plane crash alongside other members of the band on the 20th of October 1977. He was aged 39 until his demise.
They Hail From a Family of Musicians
The rock stars have the all-famous Ronnie Zant of Lynrd Skynrd as their elder brother. He was one among many who lost their lives in a fatal plane crash in 1967. His younger brother Johnny stepped in as a lead vocalist in the band.
Their family seems to have a long history of musical talents as it was said their nephews, Robbie Morris and Ronnie Morris were also rock stars.
Johnny and Donnie’s parents are Marion and Lucy Van Zant. Donnie is married to Ashley while Johnny’s wife is called Lisa. They both are blessed with adorable kids.
Music Career of the Brothers Together
View this post on Instagram
The Brothers are Worth More Than $10 Million
Alone, Van Zant brother Donnie has an estimated net worth of about $8 million dollars while his brother Johnny has an estimated net worth of about $10 million dollars.
The brothers accumulate their wealth chiefly from their music career with songs selling millions of copies across many nations.
Some of Their Music Albums That Have Contributed to Van Zant Net Worth
The brothers were able to achieve a lot together. They released about 6 albums. These include;
- Van Zant (1985),
- Brother to brother (1998),
- Van Zant ii (2001),
- Get right with Man (2005),
- My kind of country (2007), and
- Red White (Live album in 2016)
Selected Hit Singles of the Duo Band
Away from the live and recorded albums of the rock stars, they were also able to also record great hit singles like
- Rage
- I’m a fighter
- Help somebody
- Nobody Gonna Tell Me What To Do
- Things I miss the most
- That scares me
- Goes down easy.
Their highest peak chat position was at number 8 in the U.S country music ranking. They also were at number 16 in the U.S main Rock music chart.
