The reunited band was intended to be a one-time tribute to the

The reunited band was intended to be a one-time tribute to the original lineup, captured on the double-live album Southern by the Grace of God : Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour 1987 . That the band chose to continue after the 1987 tribute tour caused legal problems for the survivors, as Judy Van Zant Jenness and Teresa Gaines Rapp (widows of Ronnie and Steve, respectively) sued the others for violating an agreement made shortly after the plane crash, stating that they would not “exploit” the Skynyrd name for profit. As part of the settlement, Jenness and Rapp collect nearly 30% of the band’s touring revenues (representing the shares their husbands would have earned had they lived), and hold a proviso requiring any band touring as Lynyrd Skynyrd to include Rossington and at least two of the other four surviving members from the pre-crash era, namely Wilkeson, Powell, King and Pyle. Following this rule, the band would have been forced to retire in 2001, but they have still continued to tour for another two decades.