Melody Van Zant, daughter of the original lead singer of the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, sold her oceanfront home at 851 Beach Ave. in Atlantic Beach on April 30 for $5.5 million.
Van Zant, who was 13 months old when her father, Ronnie Van Zant, died in a plane crash, sold the property through Melody R. Van-Zant Trustee of the Melody R. Van-Zant Trust. The legal documents hyphenate Van Zant, while her father did not use a hyphen.
Spouses James E. and Kimberley B. Graham of Jacksonville purchased the home. Kimberley Graham is a Realtor with Beckwith & Co. LLC. No mortgage information was listed in sale documents.
The 2,073-square-foot home is on 0.36 acre and was built in 1951. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a swimming pool.
Melody Van Zant purchased the home in April 1998 for $720,000, according to property records.
The 1977 plane crash in which Ronnie Van Zant died also killed band members and siblings Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines as well as the pilot and copilot.
Melody Van Zant operated Freebird Live, a Jacksonville Beach concert venue, with her mother, Judy Van Zant Jenness. After 16 years, it closed in January 2016. It is now Surfer [The Bar] at 200 First St. N. in Jacksonville Beach.
