Lynyrd Skynyrd biography - Page 9 - the spin-off bands and the wilderness years

Autumn 1979 saw Alias make their live debut on a nationally broadcast radio show from Atlanta's legendary Agora Ballroom. Unfortunately, the band never really had a chance. 

Although Gary and Allen were ready to put together their own band, there was a huge problem; how to find a vocalist who wouldn't suffer in comparisons to their fallen brother Ronnie. Gary recalled how they couldn't...

"...get a male singer that would copy Ronnie. We couldn't go for that, not just another, you know, because no matter how good he was, he'd be compared. God bless Ronnie VanZant. He was my best friend I ever had and I don't think I'll ever have one as good, as even close as good as him. He raised me. Really. But, we put our heads together -- we ain't quite as dumb as we look. We thought, who in hell would think us comin' out, in our style of music, with a female vocalist? Our strategy was not to be compared and who can compare a female with Ronnie?

Rumours abounded in the press that the vocalist for the new band would be none other than Southern legend Greg Allman. However, it emerged that Gary and Allen had indeed settled on a female singer; Janis Joplin- influenced ex-38 Special backing singer Dale Krantz.  Dale came with experience and the ability to not be compared with Ronnie. The downside was that she had never been a songwriter, and had never fronted a band before. 

In 1980 The Rossington-Collins Band was formed, featuring four surviving Skynyrd members (Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Billy Powell, and Leon Wilkeson) . Artimus Pyle had signed up for the band too, but just before the recording of the debut album (as he was finishing his own project "Studebaker Hawke") he was involved in a motorcycle crash in South Carolina which knocked him out of the picture. The dates for the recordings were put on hold to allow Artimus to recover. However, eventually it became accepted that fate wasn't letting Artimus be a part of this one. He was only able to perform with one functioning leg, and it was holding the band back. His place was taken by "Running Easy" drummer Derek Hess. 

"It happened all of a sudden, like over a weekend. I was just doing another straight job, as a ship's chandler. I was extremely frustrated and about ready to hang it up. Billy Powell called me and said this is a good chance, and it kept me awake the rest of the night.".. Derek Hess

A month was given to Derek to get up to speed with the material the new band was performing. To get the band to gell, three low key gigs were lined up in Orlando, Gainesville and New Orleans. The vocalist remained a secret. The RCB made their live debut in Orlando, FLA after being introduced to the stage by their comrade Artimus Pyle.  The band played two 35 minute sets, riddled with sound problems. No matter ! The audience lapped it up, and when the band came back to encore, Rolling Stone hack Phil Kloer described the instrumental Freebird as the...

"most intense, moving, musically brilliant quarter hours of rock I have ever heard."

Completing the link with Lynyrd Skynyrd, the band picked Gene Odom (formerly Ronnie's security chief) to be their road manager. This arrangement with Gene lasted for the first RCB album and tour before differences within the band hastened his departure.

After the Rossington Collins Band ended, Gary Rossington (after some years of semi-retirement in the Grand Teton Mountains, near the National Elk Refuge) enlisted Dale Krantz-Rossington (as she had married Gary after the RCB split), Derek Hess, Jay Johnson, Tim Lindsay and Garry Ross to form the Rossington Band which recorded with Atlantic Records and MCA Records. 

Allen was also keen to keep playing, and found himself socialising with Barry Harwood and Randall Hall a great deal. At the time Randall played in a band called The Moody Brothers, so Allen and Barry often came by to see them. The Moody Brothers drummer was a guy called Jimmy Dougherty who became friendly with all the guys.  Before long, with the additon of Skynyrd companions Leon Wilkeson and Billy Powell,  the Allen Collins Band was together and rehearsing in  Allen's converted studio (formerly his six car garage). They recorded together but never managed to get as far as a second album as Allen's personal problems (and record label apathy) forced the end of the band.  (Although there was a plan to record a second album which had the working title "We Sweep all Corners")

The end of the Allen Collins Band didn't deter AC who started to consider the possibility of reconvening Skynyrd. Although it was plan that never happened, Collins' "Lynyrd Skynyrd II" project in the mid-eighties had the interest of some of Allens band mates, such Billy, Leon and Artimus (Gary Rossington was noticable by his non-involvement). The core group started off with some loose jam-type rehearsals (one of the which was captured on tape and became known as "The Final Flight of a Freebird") involving Allen, Artimus and Kenny Zaridar (a buddy of Artimus')

Lynyrd Skynyrd II also comissioned some initial artwork for an album (which never came off)

But another tragic event would take place in 1986 (which immediatley killed all plans for LS II) when Collins was in a serious car crash which killed his girlfriend Debra Lizama Watts and left him paralyzed; four years later, he died of respiratory failure.

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