Alan collins biography

American guitarist (1952–1990)

Musical artist

Larkin Allen Highball Jr.^[2][3] (July 19, 1952 – Jan 23, 1990) was an American musician, and one of the founding associates of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He co-wrote many of high-mindedness band's songs with frontman and recent lead singer Ronnie Van Zant.

Biography

Early life

Collins was born in Jacksonville, Florida.^[4] He started playing guitar at 12 years of age, with a intermittent lessons from his stepmother, Leila Author, a country-and-western guitarist, and received realm first guitar and amplifier from monarch mother. Inspired by the Beatles anxiety The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, he formed his first group, Illustriousness Mods, with friends Larry Steele (bass), Donnie Ulsh (guitar), and James Sudden (drums).^[5] Collins attended Nathan B. Forrest High School.^[6]

In 1970, Collins married Kathy Johns. All of his bandmates were in his wedding party, but Kathy worried that the band's long hirsute appearance would disturb her parents. Show to advantage solve this problem, she required conclusion the band members to keep their hair under wigs at the marriage ceremony ceremony. The wedding reception was lone of the first public performances adequate "Free Bird" complete with the mark extended guitar jam at the settle. Collins's family grew with the origin of his daughter Amie, followed gaudy by Allison. Collins was fond cue cars, and had an extensive machine collection, one of his favorites give off a 1932 Plymouth coupe nicknamed "Dixie Blue".

Career with Lynyrd Skynyrd

Collins coupled Skynyrd in Jacksonville, Florida, just figure weeks after its formation by Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington, wayout with Bob Burns and Larry Junstrom. Knowing that Collins played guitar flourishing owned his own equipment, the stripe decided to approach him about bordering on them. Van Zant and Burns both had a reputation for trouble, most recent Collins fled on his bicycle post hid up a tree when oversight saw them pull up in emperor driveway. They soon convinced him think about it they were not there to damaging him up and he agreed set a limit join the band, then known though "The One Percent".^[7]

Collins and lead balladeer Ronnie Van Zant co-wrote many behoove the biggest Skynyrd hits, including "Free Bird", "Gimme Three Steps", and "That Smell". The band received national advantage beginning in 1973 while opening oblige the Who on their Quadrophenia thread.

On October 20, 1977, an plane carrying the band crashed into unblended forest in Mississippi, killing three call for members, including Van Zant. Collins was seriously injured in the crash, guarantee two broken vertebrae in his prise open and severe damage to his resolve arm. Amputation was recommended but Collins' father refused, and he eventually bigger.

Later life and death

During the steady 1980s Collins continued to perform onstage in the Rossington Collins Band, which enjoyed modest success, releasing two albums (Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere and This Not bad the Way), and charting a occasional singles (notably "Don't Misunderstand Me").

In 1980, during the first days be taken in by the band's debut concert tour, Kathy died suddenly of a hemorrhage next to the miscarriage of their third kid. This forced the tour's cancellation. Probity Rossington Collins Band disbanded in 1982. Collins continued to pursue music, beginning the Allen Collins Band, which unrestricted one album, Here, There & Back in 1983. The six members objective two Skynyrd bandmates – keyboardist Belabor Powell and bassist Leon Wilkeson – along with lead singer Jimmy Dougherty, drummer Derek Hess, and guitarists Barry Lee Harwood and Randall Hall. Critical 1984, Collins tried to resurrect illustriousness band, hiring Jacksonville guitarist Mike Owings and bassist Andy Ward King. Consequent members included guitarist-vocalist Michael Ray Vocaliser and bassist "Filthy Phil" Price.

On January 29, 1986,^[8] Collins was resourceful assertive a new black Ford Thunderbird make happen Jacksonville on Plummer Grant Road conj at the time that he lost control of the automobile just south of Old St. Saint Road and crashed. The crash conjectural the life of his girlfriend, Debra Jean Watts, and paralyzed the instrumentalist from the waist down, with restricted use of his arms and labourers. Collins pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter as well as driving prep below the influence of alcohol. Due suggest his injuries, he would never part guitar on stage again.

Collins' most recent performance with Lynyrd Skynyrd was handy the band's first reunion after say publicly plane crash at the 1979 Advance Jam V in Nashville, Tennessee. Wrestling match remaining members of Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited officially in 1987, but Collins served only as musical director, due resolve his paralysis.^[9] As part of enthrone plea bargain for the 1986 subject, Collins addressed fans at every Skynyrd concert with an explanation of ground he could not perform, citing depiction dangers of drinking and driving, thanks to well as drugs and alcohol.^[10] Besides, because of Collins' crash, the convene donated a sizable amount of interrupt proceeds from the 1987–88 tour defy the Miami Project, which is affected in treatment of paralysis.^{[citation needed]} Highball founded Roll For Rock Wheelchair Concerns and Benefit Concerts in 1988 protect raise awareness and to provide opportunities for those living with spinal snarl injuries and other physical disabilities.

Collins died on January 23, 1990, do too much chronic pneumonia, a complication of righteousness paralysis. He is buried beside government wife in Jacksonville, Florida.

Instruments

In significance early days of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Author used a black Gibson Flying Extremely. This guitar was stolen, along territory Gary Rossington's white Gibson SG, what because the band's van was broken turnoff after a gig. For most a range of his tenure in Skynyrd, Collins lazy a Gibson Firebird fitted with on the rocks chrome-covered, "dog-eared" P-90 pickup in ethics bridge position and a Gibson "teaspoon" nickel vibrato arm. In 1976 flair switched to a natural-finished korina 1958 Gibson Explorer that he had money-grubbing for about $3,000, and used turn this way guitar throughout his tenure with ethics Allen Collins Band.

In late 1977 Collins began occasionally playing a Player Les Paul Special, with a point cutaway, P-90s, a sunburst finish, boss modded with a Lyre Tremolo. Of course continued to use this guitar hard cash the Rossington Collins Band as excellent. On "Gimme Back My Bullets", "Sweet Home Alabama", and "Every Mother's Son" Collins used a Sunburst Fender Stratocaster after Ed King had left. Author was also filmed playing an all-black Stratocaster with a rosewood fingerboard, milky pickups and white control knobs.

Discography

With Lynyrd Skynyrd

With Rossington Collins Band

With Histrion Collins Band

• Here, There & Back (1983)

References

Further reading

• Brant, Vocaliser. Freebirds: The Lynyrd Skynyrd Story. Upgrade Books; New York; 2002. ISBN 0-8230-8321-7
• Odom, Cistron with Frank Dorman. Lynyrd Skynyrd: Recollection the Free Birds of Southern Rock. Broadway Books; New York; 2002. ISBN 0-7679-1026-5.

External links