Allen Collins
Allen Larkin Collins (born July 19, 1952 in Jacksonville , Florida , † January 23, 1990 ) was an American musician. He was the co-founder, guitarist and, alongside Ronnie Van Zant, also songwriter of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd . His unique way of playing guitar and writing songs were important factors in the band's success. He is widely considered to be one of the best and most influential guitarists in rock history.
Life
Collins first played a friend's guitar when he was eleven. His single mother was able to buy him his own guitar despite financial difficulties, but she could not afford lessons, so he taught himself to play the guitar. In the summer of 1964 he and his childhood friends Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington , Larry Junstrom and Bob Burns formed the band that was later called Lynard Skynard and soon afterwards the final name Lynyrd Skynyrd . In 1970 Collins married Kathy Johns , with whom he had two children, Amie and Allison. The band had their first success in 1973 with Free Bird , followed in 1974 by Sweet Home Alabama .
In a plane crash on October 20, 1977, the band members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines as well as the tour manager Dean Kilpatrick, the pilot Walter McCreary and the copilot William Gray were killed. The other members survived injured. Collins' arm was so badly injured that the attending physician recommended an amputation. Collins' father prevented this, and Collins was later able to play the guitar again.
In the early 1980s , Collins played with some of the other surviving band members together in the Rossington-Collins Band, which after the departure of Rossington was only called Allen Collins Band. His wife Kathy had already passed away on the Rossington-Collins Band's debut tour. Since a car accident caused by Collins under the influence of alcohol in 1986, in which his girlfriend died, Collins has been paralyzed from the waist down; the injuries also affected the mobility of his arms. When the remaining members of Lynyrd Skynyrd got together again in 1987, he could no longer play guitar and acted as their tour manager.
Collins became ill with pneumonia in 1989 as a result of his limited lung capacity since the accident and was hospitalized in September, where he died on January 23, 1990 at the age of 37. He was buried next to his wife in Jacksonville, Florida.
Equipment
Collins played a Gibson Firebird for a long time until he switched to a Gibson Explorer with a Lyre vibrola in 1976 . For songs like Sweet Home Alabama, Gimme Back My Bullets, I Know A Little etc., he used a Fender Stratocaster after Ed King left .
Discography
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Rossington Collins Band
- 1980: Anytime, anyplace, anywhere
- 1982: This is the way
Allen Collins Band
- 1983: Here, there and back
Web links
- Allen Collins biography
- Allen Collins at Allmusic (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Collins, Allen |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Collins, Allen Larkin (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American guitarist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 19, 1952 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Jacksonville , Florida |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 23, 1990 |