Allen Collins

At 37 years old, Allen Collins has this physical status:

Larkin Allen Collins Jr. (July 19, 1952-90), was one of the founding members and guitarists of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, and he co-wrote several of the band's songs with late frontman Ronnie Van Zant.

He was born in Jacksonville, Florida.

Personal life

Collins began playing guitar at 12 years old, with a few lessons from his stepmother, Leila Collins, a British-and-western guitarist, and his father receiving his first guitar and amplifier from his father after a falling out between the two players. Collins attended Nathan B. Forrest High School.

Collins married Kathy Johns in 1970. Both of his bandmates were at his wedding reception, but Kathy was worried that the band's long-haired appearance would annoy her parents. She asked all band members to have their hair covered by wigs at the wedding reception in order to solve the problem. The wedding reception was one of the first public performances of "Free Bird" complete with the trademark extended guitar jam at the end. Collins' family grew with the birth of his daughter Amie, followed by Allison. Collins was also a fan of cars and had a large car collection, one of his favorites being a 1932 Plymouth coupe designated "Dixie Blue."

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Career

Allen Collins joined Skynyrd in Jacksonville, Florida, just two weeks after it was launched by Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington, along with Bob Burns and Larry Junstrom. The band decided to approach Collins, knowing that he played guitar and owned their own gear. Both Van Zant and Burns had a reputation for ridicule, and Collins escaped on his bike and hid a tree when they pulled up in his driveway. They soon told him that they were not there to beat him up, and he eagerly joined the band, which was then called The One Perpetualist.

"Free Bird," "Gimme Three Steps," and "That Smell" were among Collins and lead singer Ronnie Van Zant's most popular Skynyrd hits, including "Free Bird," "Gimme Three Steps." The band appeared on their Quadrophenia tour in 1973, with the Who opening in 1973.

An airplane carrying the band crashed into a forest in Mississippi on October 20, 1977, killing three band members, including Van Zant. Collins was seriously injured in the crash, suffering two fractured vertebrae in his neck and significant injury to his right arm. Though amputation was suggested, Collins' father refused and he eventually recovered.

Collins continued to perform on stage in the Rossington-Collins Band, which gained modest success, releasing two albums (Anytime, Anywhere, and This Is the Way) and charting a few singles (particularly "Don't Misunderstand Me").

Tragedy struck again just as the Rossington Collins Band was getting off the ground. During Collins' widowhood's miscarriage of their third child, she died of a hemorrhage during the first days of the debut concert tour. The tour's cancellation was due to this. Kathy's death devastated Collins, who's still mourning the aftermath of losing his relatives in the plane crash.

In 1982, the Rossington-Collins Band was disbanded. Collins continued to perform music, founding the Allen Collins Band, which released one album called Here, There & Back in 1983. Two members of Skynyrd were included in the group, as well as lead singer Billy Powell and bassist Leon Wilkeson, drummer Derek Hess, and guitarist Barry Lee Harwood and Randall Hall. Collins attempted to resurrect the band in 1984 by recruiting Jacksonville guitarist Mike Owings and bassist Andy Ward King. Michael Ray FitzGerald, guitarist-vocalist, and bassist "Filthy Phil" Price were among the later members.

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