Allen Collins Tribute - All I Can Do Is Write About It

[rsaleeba62]

Allen you were my friend and I miss you!!!

[redneckcadillac1]

man i got to see him three times and i was there when they cutt the lights out during sweet home alabama and people went crazy at rickwood field birmingham al 1976

[1105tnutt]

seriously??? come out of the ether...while A.C. was a good player and Skynyrd was and still is an excellent stadium band. I saw them when Ronnie was fronting and have seen them many times since. they're great as a whole (many pieces) in many forms, but none of them are supreme. don't get me wrong, I love them, always have, always will. however as individuals....there are many that are better. they made a supergroup...but alone they were musicians.

[chance501]

@1105tnutt Allen Collins was just good? Ronnie was just good? Rossington was just good? And you seen Ronnie many times, So you have to be almost sixty as i am, i just want to know who have you seen that is better than the original Skynyrd. If Ronnie, Collins, Gaines, Rossington wasnt supreme than who was just curious.

[bomis4]

Best of the Rest,They wer'nt Kidding!Forever missed and forever remembered!Many Many unforgetable times with Family and friends,who are mostly gone now!But Skynyrd and their music and my Loved one's live forever through timeless music from our Best Fuckin Band the Good Lord Created LYNYRD SKYNYRD!This is for Sammy-Tony-Mario-Carl-Jessie-m­ikey-Don-Don...

[thepittsburghkid39]

Couldnt agree more, why is Allen Collins, Stevie Gaines and Slide Guitarist Gary Rosington never mentioned among the great, all three have those guys would be a sick lead in any other band and you had all three in one. That wont unselfishness and complete outlaws will never happen in one band EVER again.

[ahurt58401]

he is greatly missed..

[CoreyZ91681]

Words cannot describe Allen's talent!

[toddzilla1955]

Yes Allen is and will always be the greatest underated guitar player of all time.. GodSpeed Allen and fly on all of you Freebirds.. the Beethoven statement by ranchcroper1974 is without a doubt the greatest single tribute to a man and his band I have ever heard.. thank You very much for the words that say it all!

[rippleand]

never forget

[putdownan8dude]

to quote a coked up pete townshend who paused in mid sentence as he heard the boys opening for the who, "they really are QUITE good, aren't they??" r.i.p. allen, and the rest of the boys

[PanteraFan6969]

this guy was bad ass and got me to pick up a guitar just like Dimebag Darrell

[PanteraMan]

one of the greatest guitarist, its sucks that "life" beat the shit out of him, he continue to go thru everything and still "life" was thier like a asshole fucking with him.

[OldSchoolMetalHead1]

The funnest songs in the world to play are Skynrd songs. Because while you're learning them, you realize just how smart and talented they are. I learned guitar thanks to Skynrd. The first song people usually request out of me is Simple Man....

[arjis06]

America's Finest... The heart of the USA

[basher3804]

What happens when you put an amazing guitarist together with an amazing song writer?

Your listening to it. Thankyou God for giving us Lynyrd Skynyrd.

[evelskunny]

put them with the beetles,the stones,Zepplin,the who,all the great one's,because thats what Lynyard Skynyard were,

[timjessa1]

i am sure jesus's house band has the long haired lanky boy just shredding that explorer. sure loved his playing and energy, and he was a damn fine writer too.

[canes7007]

Lord Jesus keep them all safe in Your Sight..can't wait to meet You and them in Heaven, thanks to You, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ....never forget Jesus and LSB in your everyday walk..keep them in your thoughts and prayers..and for all of us on earth that remember them, Together Forever..missing you guys tonight..Gods Peace to you all..except Jesus while your on this side of the earth..

[MrSwerve1966]

@canes7007 Sorry canes but i'm not so sure JC was their inspiration

[DOConROCK1]

God Bless Ronnie, Allen, Leon, Billy, Steve, Cassie, Dean......may they all R.I.P. under the sweet hand of our Lord, & Saviour..... NONE deserved thier demise!!

[duanekuiper]

Allens solo on needle and the spoon. nuff said. god-i miss him

[supaballzpdp]

I GET TO SEE LYNYRD SKYNYRD LIVE TOMORROW NIGHT. Granted only 1 member is left from the OG skynyrd. And Johnny sounds like freaking nickelback when he sings.

[dermagrafa]

thinkin about you & ronnie tonite..R.I.P Allen..

[yeagerbarry]

I saw Ronnie strut on-stage barefooted, many times, no disrespect to gary, steve, ed, or anyone else but Allen was the guitar GOD of Lynyrd Skynyrd

[cynewarm28]

Real heart rending stuff this. Never heard it before so thanx for opening my ears to it Rocker.

[rocker53zero]

Just look what Johnny boy has done to Allens band. Shame on you Mr Van Zant.

[nicolas19791]

he wass a fucking genious, R.I.P. allen.

[cassiemariekeehn]

i totally agree with maxnned. allen is my idol and my inspiration. in my opinion, he is one of the greatest guitarist to ever live. he deserves so much more credit.

[bahashawa1]

There are still kids out there trying to learn his lead for Freebird , timeless !!!

[MrDjmacd]

brown56 I am not him, but I want to tell you he is more full of grace than you are willing to give to him. (a canajun who grew with Skynard)

[hatchetman305]

Best Guitarist That Ever Lived-

Allen Collins

[mebloke69]

or Ed King? no,skynyrd is Ron´s and Allen´s garden

[YasyAnaPriMas4Life]

you forgot steve gaines and his sister .steve is my hero guitar player

[mebloke69]

you cannot play REAL skynyrd without RONNIE AND ALLEN all others are replaceable,listen todays"skynyrd"insult

[brownrider56]

so true

[SmartAss2u]

I agree if you add Steve Gaines.

[honkytonk4life]

We'll miss the "GREATEST" guitar player ever"RIP Allen! I know you are up there performing for the LORD.GOD kicked aside the harp and handed you the golden Les Paul. Rock on forever!!!!

[RoyallyYours886]

god is gettin his own band ronnie will be the lead singer

[suthernrocker13]

they almost have enough members in heaven to form the original line up

[BeBopDeluxe85]

all but rossington, and ed king

[Groooveboy]

and Allen the Lead Guitarist

[ritcheyrocker]

Don't talk about god that way because everybody has to die sometime. Allen had a great life and his dream came true. If you think about it, he brought it on hiself, by drinking and drivivng under the influence. then he died of complications of nemonia

[brownrider56]

i have a bone or 2 to pick with god he dose some uncalled for shit to people dont tell me how to talk to god when i say  FUCK HIM if he had a hand in the many bad things that go down daily... i just came back from the mayo clinic & i seen his handy work!!! so ageain FUUUCK HIM i cant wait to give him a peace of my mind... the lord knows what im talking about ...

[musicnotes01]

man if i was u i would ask for forgivince right now because if u dont it dont look good for u get right with the lord!!!!!!!!!

[beowulven]

I don't want to get too philosophical or negative as this is a great tribute to a great talent, but this song to me, (as a southerner, as an American) is like a lullaby to the the culture I grew up believing was great. Multiculturalism? I'm not so sure...

[beowulven]

Take me and mine before that comes...

[Myavrick]

Love to watch the live versions of Free Bird with Allen standing there like a racehorse waiting for the gates to open so he could fly down the the track. He began at his part of the solo at 100 mph the broke the sound barrier 5 minutes later...

[beowulven]

He always rushed that solo, live, and I LOVE that energy. He was, in my opinion, the soul of a band with lots of strong souls.

[SouthernBoy4life1]

R.I.P. Allen Collins the BEST GUITARIST EVER!!!

[BackwoodsmanVA]

Allen's stage prescence was the best,he is my favorite guitar player,I just like to watch him in the videos we have here.He just really enjoyed himslf at work,something so many of us do not have the pleasure of doing!

[awesomelink]

Allen founded Roll For Rock Wheelchair Events and Benefit Concerts before he passed away. His dream was to use music to raise awareness about physical challenges. Please visit online for more information or to volunteer

[TomGunnyHighway]

R.I.P. man.. I wonder why the Good Lord doesn't take back jonas faggots and give us back old Skynyrd..

[beowulven]

THANK YOU.

[ChuckMullis]

You are very missed my southern brother.

[wammzy]

is this an outtake

[Freebird707]

one of the best guitarists ever

[waffen2]

great song, great player, great band. hope ac, bp ronnie and the rest of the guys are tearing it up in heaven.

[ROCKERGURL79]

kind of remind you of kid rock

[KarmicOmen]

Kid Rock? Hell no! He reminds me of Ronnie Van Zant -- a beautiful soul!

[Maxnned]

Allen Collins is the most underrated guitarist of all time. No question

[3ripleH]

@Maxnned True, he and Paul Kossoff

[masondixonkid]

@Maxnned He is my favorite of all time...without a doubt.

[ranchroper1974]

there never walked a man who paid more dues the A. C...Loved his crooked little smile..but that sadness in his eyes..haunting..& there never was a better rocker..oh, man could he tear things up..love to watch the knebworth videos when he jumps straight up pure energy...we were blessed to suck in air on the face of the earth, while these boys were alive. 500 years from now, they will be regarded as we now regard Beethoven..timesless,honest, classic pure.

missing the boys tonight. BP is gone.

[MrSwerve1966]

@ranchroper1974 way before his time,i love AC and i'm a realistic,nonbias bastard.

[Guitarschmoozer]

Allen, rest in peace, dude!

You EARNED it!

[Immiddim]

I must agree as this will always be about as good as it will ever get. It has been 31 years man. Today is October 20th 2008. Am I Losin' is way up there on that ladder of great songs.

[MyTymeBand08]

This is my fav Skynyrd tune....Along with "Am I Losin'." I've played Skynyrd tunes out alot....more than I should admit, but I think this is one of their best. Some younger guys should remember that this came out when Aerosmith, Boston and Led Zep were the kings of the airwaves. And Skynyrd recorded somthing like this. This band will be with us when many others are forgotten. Thanks for puttin' this up!!!

[UnderIndictment]

Great song by a great band. thanks for posting it.

[DarkSlashITA]

miss you bro

[PinePicker87]

VV is for vergado

[jscoolcrw]

Well explained Rob50, Hey Vergodelfuckwad or what ever your stupid ass name is please take your middle finger and plant it on your sitter, you might find out who and where you're from. Allen was one of the best rockers of my time, now go take your walk on the short plank! Cut a flip while falling it might generate brain activity.

[Rob50strat]

What kind of moron are you VergadoDelFuckhead or whatever the hell your name is?? Show a little respect and take a long walk off a short plank!

[skynyrd6048]

This hillbilly shit is an American Legend you Asshole! Go back to the third world country you came from.

[PinePicker87]

if ya dont like it get the fuck out yankee

[spvline]

I don't know if I'd call a guy with THAT name a Yankee!....;)

[ChuckMullis]

Allen Collins a yankee ???? Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah­ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah­ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah­ahahahahahaha !!!!!

[spvline]

I wasn't talking about Allen, I was talking about "VergadoDelFundillo." That sound like a Yankee name?

[KarmicOmen]

spvline: Sure am glad you corrected yourself because I was wondering how that drawl could ever sound Yankee to anyone!

[AllenCollins1]

hey you, go fuck yourself, prick

[ccr1965]

hey verdagoDelFart-o:

This "Hillbilly" is one of the greatest guitar players ever to throw one over their shoulder. Ignorance is the lack of knowledge, and obviously, you are the very definition of ignorance. Go back to your room and listen to your culture club album.

[kipkaixo]

mo fo titty wanky poncy noncy, hand shandy person, you were put on this planet to annoy people, you could now do this for your country, cymru am byth, diolch, gwelth chi eto, looney tun e man from wales, cardiff. ps, skynyrd were the best, love u all now,best ever song ever was free bird without a doubt.....

[PooPoo2U]

this is allen collins, rock and roll inductee and lead guitarist for lynyrd skynyrd.

vergadodelfundillo... what kind of ignorant shit is this?

[juttin39]

shut the fuck up asshole

[allenlovesjulia]

I love Allen

[AllenCollins1]

does anyone know what amps Allen uses, i know he uses Peavey, but wa ones? Classic 50's?

[idolofallencollins]

i saw your post about the pickups, p90 dog eared.

Don't worry about the amp, just get a fender dual tube/fender twin tube. Very classic amp.. Sounds amazing

[AllenCollins1]

ahhh, thanks, ur the second person too say this, lol, ill give them a go!

[ccr1965]

They used custom made Peavey Mace Amps. They had them in storage since the crash and restored them for the "Tribute Tour"

[AllenCollins1]

ahhh cool, thanks

[beowulven]

Allen Collins, was and will always be a prince among men. He lived and died hard. Thanks.

[TechKat]

That first picture of Allen is my favorite. It's just perfect the way the light gleams on his hair. And his expression and everything is just... I don't know. You can't describe it. It's perfect.

[sfslickdawg]

Allen Collins was a brilliant guitarist overshadowed by the collective work of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Collins, Gary Rossington, Ed King, then Steve Gaines all were exceptionally talented and it's impossible to say one is better than the other, as they were all masters.

[rossington14]

I'm only 14 and I know he is one of the greatest guitarist of ALL time

[kikque]

Great song and nice images of Allen Collins. The song's message is certainly valid today. Many thanks, a very nice post!

[beahgtm]

hi 5150,god is love you dont see it you feel it..and sometimes he speaks throurgh music moives,well everything you see. or now on the internet high way..YOU DONT BELEIVE IN GOD BUT HE BLEIVES IN YOU

[moorule]

atleast he didnt die in the plane crash

[moorule]

why do people one of the best??????? He is the best

[bobinfiler]

TALLENT as was blessed.

[deetsjones9189]

allen doesn't get enough respect, he was one of the greatest, i dont understand why god had to do what he did to that band. R.I.P Ronnie, Allen Steve.

[High5150Roller]

god didnt didnt do anything to skynyrd. i would be real and say that the people who made the plane or the people who were flying the plane messed up in some way. i dont really "believe" in god, no matter how bad that does sound, but it is foolish to blame everything on "God", the imaginary, unreal thought. god is nothing but a thought.

[msqtube]

dolt

[TonyBeazley]

good things come from thoughts.....think about it more...He is real.......

[wildflowersandi]

DITTO that! Amen!

Thanks for the beautiful song............

Southern Girl

[awesomundo]

just visited Allens grave today. Sure miss watching him perform. My all time favorite.

[Flashgordy22]

Thanks for making this, Allen Collins was the man. He will live forever in the hearts of all who love his music.

[funkman63]

god bless the greatest band ever played

[miketheday]

Thank you, Allen Collins. I love you, man!

RIP, brother.

[TheDoorsFan1232]

thank you

[BackwoodsmanVA]

Allen is/was my favorite guitar player,there is nothing like Lynard Skynard to me.

[Jedlmind]

G D Am C for all those who want to know... Great song

[anitaskynyrdfan]

18 years ago today. Jan 23, 1990. Love you Allen! Thanks for the music

[mebloke69]

january,18years ago allen died?rest in peace mr.wild flamboyant musician.

[jamesdean3823]

this isnt a trbute to allen beacause he lived long after ronnie vanzant and ronnie is singin this song

[herrocitywok]

i only chose this song bcause he is the main writer of the song, woulda done Free Bird, but i was savin that

[anitaskynyrdfan]

beautiful tribute to Allen. He is my favorite

[AllenCollins1]

he's my fav too, does anyone know his amp settings?

[PooPoo2U]

depends on what type of eq. if it's your standard 3 band (low, medium, high), try this.

start off with your high end and crank it to about 4 o'clock. take your mids, set them a hair higher, somewhere from 5-6, and then set the lows at about 1 or 2. of course it'll differ from amp to amp, but that's a good ballpark for most, and you can tweak the rest. gives you the nice subdued high end, cranked midrange, and defined bass end that allen always preferred

[AllenCollins1]

Hey PooPoo2U, thanks, I shall give that a try on the Marshall, I might be buying a Peavey Classic 50 today

[PooPoo2U]

no prob, glad to help a fellow collins fan. it's all done by ear really, the key being the mid and high range. more cranked high range will give you the rossington screech, and more bass will give you the gaines punch. allen's tone always falls right in the middle: nice and bassy, with a mild high end

[AllenCollins1]

do you know what amp Allen used most?

[PooPoo2U]

he started out using small fenders for clean and marshall plexis for dirty, but the marshalls tone went to crap the further you got from the stage (no surprise there). after that, hartley peavey sent them a couple of his Mace amps to try out, and they loved them.

[AllenCollins1]

Ahhh right, so he used a Mace amp, i cant seem to find many of them, very old amps, haha, hey thanks for all this info man, really helpin me out

[hooksandbullets]

I've got one. Actually, you might be able to see it in some of my videos. It's pretty sweet, but I use a pedal for distortion. And I love the built-in phaser.

[AllenCollins1]

cool< ill check it out :)

[PooPoo2U]

also, i finally found my notebook i write down amp settings in for different sounds, and it looked like i've got gary's too.

Treble - 5

Mid - 10

Bass - 5

Gain - 2-3

[AllenCollins1]

haaa cool, gain 2-3? thats quite low

[PooPoo2U]

yea, that setup is templated from his base tone on sweet home alabama. i usually just kick on my overdrive for the leads as it makes it more convenient to simply switch back to the normal rhythm tone. for his lead, i'd say put it around 6-8 and you'll be dead on

[AllenCollins1]

ahhh cool, thanks

[PooPoo2U]

yea, the maces are pretty hard to get your hands on. i've been fortunate to have my mace 2x12 for about 8 years now, and i usually run an Orange 2x12 extension cab as well. the mace pumps out 160 watts rms, so it's no lightweight. there's one precisely like mine on ebay for $775, and a head unit that's currently at $200, so that might be a good avenue to venture.