Wikipedia Accuracy

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As many people are, I'm a Wikipedia junkie. It's a fabulous tool to quickly prove to your friends that you were right! Other than that, I don't think it is good for much else...

Anyway, I used to occasionally participate in the editing process due to the many spelling and grammatical errors that constanly surfaced, particularly on the rap/hip hop links.

Having recently viewed the current Lynyrd Skynyrd lineup in concert, I wanted to check out the current/past members, read about the plane crash, etc. It definitely was not 90 minutes I'll never get back - The show was corny and canned, but the history behind the current/original members is fantastic.

I did find the Allen Collins page to be somewhat cluttered and trite considering he was a major contributor and a driving force behind the original lineup. What I'm not sure about is the statement that he was only 12 years old when he joined the band. Is this true? Did Lynyrd Skynyrd start off as a preteen band?

Mark

[Bluesberry]

I just found this on the net........what a tragic life this poor guy had......
Allen Collins biography

Allen Larkin (after his father) Collins was born on July 19, 1952 at St Lukes Hospital, Jacksonville, FLA.

Allen, throughout his life, was an energetic person. As a child Allen was given Ritalin to combat his hypertension. Randall Hall recalls;

He could do more of everything than anybody. I remember having a contest between him and one of the road guys to see who could string a guitar the quickest. He beat the roadie! And he had it in tune without even putting it on a tuner. I was going, "My God."

This was reflected in his love of cars and racing. During the summer months (from the age of eight), Allen would spend every Saturday night watching the legendary American racing driver Leroy Yarborough.  Allen loved cars so much, that when he began to make good money with Skynyrd he began, what would eventually become, a very impressive collection of classic and performance cars.

In 1963, a friend of Allen's obtained a guitar, and this started a fascination in him for the instrument. It wasn't long before Allen's mother (who had to work hard to make little money) took her soon to Sear's, where he got a Silvertone guitar and amp.

Allen Collins first started his musical life at the age of 12, after listening to his step-mother, Leila Collins, play guitar (she was a country and western player). Allen's father, Larkin Collins;

"My wife, Leila sat down and taught Allen three or four notes at one sitting, and he liked it. He picked it up from there and, well, she taught him some more, but he never had a lesson in his life. She sort of, you might say, was his only lesson. No doubt about it at all."

After falling out quite badly with Larkin, Allen moved in permanently with his mother. However, it was Larkin who bought Allen his first guitar and amp.

Allen played with his first band "The Mods" at various "Battle of the Bands" contests. It was here that he first came int o contact with future bandmate Ronnie Van Zant, who was singing at the time with rival group "Us".

By 1964, Allen had been in (and left) his first band "The Mods" and had joined up with Ronnie van Zant, Bob Burns and Gary Rossington in what would become Lynyrd Skynyrd. Ronnie, Gary and Bob had been wanting to headhunt Allen for their band, and were out one day in Ronnie's Mustang when they noticed him on his bike. Bob spotted him and shouted ""Hey, that guy's got a guitar, and he's pretty good, Ronnie." As soon as Allen saw them, he took off (Ronnie and Bob both had fearsome reputations around town). He climbed as quickly as he could up an Oak tree, convinced that Ronnie and Bob wanted to beat him up !! It took some convincing to get him down again.

By 1970, Allen (at just 18 years old) had married Kathy Johns. Obviously, the guys attended, but Kathy was worried about what her parents would think of these rock n' rollers. The answer was simple - the band turned up wearing short haired wigs (with their long hair tucked underneath). Legend has it, that it was at the wedding reception that Allen and the boys first played a new song called "Freebird" in public. Soon after marrying, the Collins' were blessed by two daughters; Amie, quickly followed by Allison.

During the early seventies, the band had many false starts before their break came with the recording and release of "Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd" in 1973, under the guiding hand of veteran Bob Dylan sideman Al Kooper. Allen was a crucial member of the Skynyrd sound on every album right up until "Street Survivors" and the resulting air crash three days into its supporting tour.

Allen - 1976

Although Allen survived the crash, it took a long time for the physical and mental scars to heal. After a couple of years, he and Gary felt that they owed to themselves and their fallen comrades to carry on playing. A few local jam sessions started it off, to ease the boys in. Rumour was rife that Skynyrd would reform with Greg Allman on vocals. During these days of loss, during a particularly drink and drug fuelled night at Judy Van Zant's house, Allen and Gary wrote a document that they both signed (under the influence) saying that Skynyrd would never come back. They would live to regret this.

Allen Collins made his live debut (after the plane crash) with Gary, Billy, and Artimus at the 1979 Charlie Daniels Volunteer Jam.

The guys made some rare appearances throughout the year, with 1979 ending on Allen and Gary working on a Skynyrd compilation to be called "Gold and Platinum".

As the jam sessions continued, Allen and Gary persuaded Billy Powell and Leon Wilkeson to start performing with them again.  The big question though, was how to recruit a singer without constant comparsion to Ronnie. The answer was to recruit the female, former 38 Special backing singer Dale Krantz to front the band.

Allen with Barry Lee Harwood, Rossington Collins Band

The debut Rossington Collins Band album "Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere" was released in June 1980. It was, to the bands relief, well received, selling over a million copies. They were again playing to sell out crowds. During the debut tour for the band, tragedy hit Allen. Whilst on tour, Allen's heavily pregnant wife Kathy, expecting their third child, suffered a miscarraige at a cinema and died as a result.  Allen was devastated, and although the band continued for a while, Allen's heart wasn't in it - this can be seen in the weaker second album "This is the Way". Allen drowned his sorrows in drink and drugs, and couldn't cope with life without his beloved wife.

Tensions arose within the ranks of the Rossington Collins Band, causing Gary and Dale Krantz to quit. Allen, however, kept going as "The Allen Collins Band". The band was originally to be called Horsepower, but the name had been in use with another band. He formed his own self-named group using much of the core of Skynyrd/ RCB:  Jimmy Dougherty (vocals), Randall Hall (guitar), Barry Harwood (guitar), Billy Powell (keyboards), Leon Wilkeson (bass) and Derek Hess (drums).

The band's material was in the same vein as that of Skynyrd's, but just not as strong. They also used brass (as Skynyrd sometimes did) on their only album, 1983's  "Here, There and Back". MCA never really took much interest in the band though, and they soon split.

Now without a band, Allen's life fell apart. It all culminated in a car crash in 1986, which killed Allen's girlfriend Debra Lizama Watts,, and left Allen himself paralysed from the waist down, with severe impairment to the use of his arms. With little other choice, Allen pleaded guilty to a charge of Driving Under the Influence.

With 1987, came the tenth anniversary of the Skynyrd crash. The guys got back together, and painfully for Allen, he could not perfom as a member of the band due to his injuries. He was credited as Musical Director. He picked the songs, arranged them, and was in charge of the stage set. Part of Allen's punishment from the courts, was that every night of the Tribute Tour he had to go centre stage in his wheelchair, and tell the audiences why he couldn't play with the band. Allen decided that if he couldn't perform he would get the say on who would, and Allen chose his friend Randall Hall to take his place.

Disagreements grew from the Tribute Tour and Allen disappeared from the tour to live out the rest of his days quietly. Due to his paralysis, Allen was becoming more and more vulnerable to infection, and, after four months in hospital in late 1989, he eventually contracted pneumonia. Despite the best efforts of hospital staff, Allen Collins died on January 23 1990.

Allen's Obituary

In October 2003, Gibson Guitars honoured Allen by launching a limited edition Allen Collins Gibson Explorer,. featuring a body and neck of Korina wood (African limba wood), a modified bridge and a Maestro vibrola. From the aged antique finish to the '57 Classic humbucking pickups, it replicates the look and the spirit of the original.

[launched]

I agree - And a sorrowful story as well. A child prodigy who helped start a blockbuster band that ended up unable to cope with his losses.

[OsCKilO]

Anyway, I used to occasionally participate in the editing process due to the many spelling and grammatical errors that constanly surfaced, particularly on the rap/hip hop links.

They are written by cats...



But then again...