38 Special ready to rock years ago
After 27 years together, 38 Special knows how to put on a performance
"That high-energy show you remember is still there," said Donnie Van Zant, lead singer. "It's an exciting time for us to be playing, and people will see that."
The group, which has sold almost 13 million albums, will perform June 1 at Chingawassa Days in Marion.
38 Special is busier than ever. They are working on a new studio album, cut a song for a Hank Williams Jr. tribute CD, and wrote all the music for the comedy film "Super Troopers."
The band also contributed music to "The Day America Cried," a CD designed to raise funds for victims of the Sept. 11 attack.
They tour constantly — at least 75 dates this year alone.
"The travel is the hard part, but we love performing," Van Zant said in the deep southern drawl instantly recognizable to 38 Special fans. "Walking up those steps to the stage is still the ultimate high for me."
New songs will be featured, but fans love the classics like "If I'd Been the One," "Back Where You Belong," and "Caught Up in You."
Van Zant doesn't mind singing them.
"So many people tell us that we wrote the soundtrack to their lives," he said. "People remember where they were when they heard a particular song by 38 Special."
Van Zant family
Van Zant's family is one of the most influential in rock history. His older brother, Ronnie, helped found Lynyrd Skynyrd.
"Back when they were One Percent, before they became Skynyrd, they used to practice in our parents' living room," Van Zant recalled. "Here I was, five years younger with a crew cut, thinking 'Ronnie sure looks like he's having fun.'"
In 1977, Ronnie Van Zant was killed in a plane crash. Youngest brother Johnny then stepped in as lead singer for Lynyrd Skynyrd, and remains so to this day.
Donnie Van Zant and co-founder Don Barnes started playing in various bands when they were 14 years old.
They performed at school functions, then moved to dirt-floor honky-tonks, playing until the sun came up.
"I wasn't sure I wanted to be in the music business anymore," Van Zant said.
He applied for a couple of railroad jobs, and was offered both the same day. He went to see his older brother.
"Ronnie laughed in my face," Van Zant said. "He said I had music in my blood, whether I liked it or not, and I should give it one more shot. That's when Don and I formed 38 Special."
The band slowly built a following but it was hard work. At one point, they received only $2.50 per day for meals. The soundman kept a cooler full of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which he sold for a quarter each.
Ronnie Van Zant arranged a meeting between 38 Special and Lynyrd Skynyrd's manager, who in turn introduced them to Jerry Moss, chairman of A&M Records.
Moss signed the band to a two-album deal. But with southern rock groups flooding the market — and none of them matching up to Lynyrd Skynyrd — 38 Special sold few albums.
When Ronnie died in 1977, A&M quietly extended the contract with 38 Special to include one more album. Company officials just didn't have the heart to drop the band after the tragedy.
It was a profitable decision for A&M. The album "Rockin' Into the Night" found its niche, and the band began pumping out hit albums and singles from 1979 to 1989.
A 38 Special video was one of the first five played on the first day MTV began broadcasting.
"Our management company said they wanted us to do a clip for MTV, and we said 'What's that?'" Van Zant said.
38 Special videos — some were mini-movies, others simply showed the band playing — helped create the video revolution.
Many artists say videos ruined modern music, emphasizing looks before sound. Van Zant says it's all a matter of perspective.
"It's good for the new bands because they don't have the chance to be on the road as much as 38 Special," he said.
Scoring the movie "Super Troopers," was a fascinating process. It's an arena Van Zant would like to pursue.
"So much of it is luck, but we did have quite a few hits off soundtracks," he said.
Discussions about a "true story" documentary on a music or entertainment channel have taken place. Van Zant said it isn't certain 38 Special will be part of it.
"They want a lot of dirt from a band," he said with a chuckle. "I'm not sure I want my kids to know that much about me."
If there's any doubt that the band is "the soundtrack to people's lives," Van Zant recalls the words they hear from someone at almost every concert.
"There have been a lot of children conceived to 38 Special, apparently," he said with a laugh. "And that's quite a compliment, if you think about it."
