Pyle was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1967-71 as a sergeant in aviation. He joined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1974. He survived the 1977 plane crash that killed Ronnie Van Zant, Cassie Gaines andSteve Gaines. Pyle suffered several broken ribs, but he and other survivors walked several hundred yards to a farmhouse to try to get help. The appearance of Pyle and his companions alarmed the residents of the farmhouse, who greeted them with guns and demanded th ...