Posts Tagged ‘Allen Collins’

LYNYRD SKYNYRD – “WISH YOU WERE THERE” (PART 2)

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Vintage Lynyrd Skynyrd Photos and Artwork by Ben Upham

Lynyrd Skynyrd Vintage Concert Photos by Ben Upham

ALLEN COLLINS AND GARY ROSSINGTON OF LYNYRD SKYNYRD IN SPOKANE, WA. ON 10-7-76. PHOTO BY BEN UPHAM.

LYNYRD SKYNYRD-
“WISH YOU WERE THERE” (Part 2)
BY BEN UPHAM
The first time that I saw Lynyrd Skynyrd perform live in concert was at Winterland in San Francisco on April 27, 1975. The atmosphere at Winterland was ideal for a good Rock Concert. They used blacklights to light the arena so anything that was white glowed! It was only the second concert I’d ever been to (first was Marshall Tucker, Charlie Daniels, and Little Feat 12-21-74 @ Winterland) and I decided to bring my camera, a 35mm Fujica ST-701, to the show.

The opening act was the Charlie Daniels Band on their “Nightrider” tour. It was Tom Crains first tour as second guitarist in the C.D.B. They were excellent and got everybody really pumped up and excited for Skynyrd! Skynyrd had just released their third record about a month prior to the show, the incredible “Nuthin’ Fancy”. They hit the stage to roaring applause after an introduction by Rock promoter/nextdoor neighbor Bill Graham, and jumped right in with a killer version of “Workin’ for MCA” from the “Second Helping” album. The music was really loud and I was up close, about 30 feet from the stage. The sound engulfed me and I was thoroughly blown away by the energy that was being put forth. Barefoot Ronnie was scowling, and spitting and prancing all around the stage as the three guitarists lit the place on fire!

Ed King took the opportunity for the evenings first solo with some wonderful false harmonics that just drove people in the crowd nuts! I was in awe! These guys were just blow away and the show had barely begun…Noticeably missing from the lineup was Keyboard player Billy Powell, who apparently had called in sick for the evening!

After “MCA” came to a thunderous conclusion Ronnie had a big grin on his face and said, “A good-good evening to ya”…At that point the band kicked in with a powerful version of “Whiskey Rock-A- Roller” from the new album. As the set continued on I recall how crisp and clean the guitar solos sounded, and being very entertained by Ronnies stage presence, where he was literally conducting the band. Calling for solos with a whistle, or an “Up” call. He would carry the mic stand around with him shaking it violently at times or using it like an energy conductor during powerful guitar breaks.

The crowd just seemed to get higher and higher as the band ripped through a great set consisting of, I Ain’t the One, The Needle and the Spoon, I’m A Country Boy, Gimme Three Steps, Don’t Ask Me No Questions, Saturday Night Special, Railroad Song, Call Me the Breeze, and their big hit Sweet Home Alabama. Then to HUGE ROARING OVATIONS they said goodnight and left the stage. The crowd was just knocked out, and this was Winterland where the Rock goes on and on…The Audience started stomping their feet and a call for “Skynyrd, Skynyrd, Skynyrd” was deafening above the already constant roar!

I was blown away! This was amazing and I was enjoying every moment of it. As the band came back on stage the crowd approval got even more intense and the band could feel the Love. You could tell by the smiles on all of their faces. As the crowd calmed down Ronnie asked a favor and said, “Let me say one thing, please people, let me just say one thing. If there is a better audience than Bill Grahams Winterland, well, I ain’t seen it yet”…And this was received by another round of thunderous applause. Then the band kicked in to the brand new Allen Collins song, “On the Hunt”, which was already my favorite from the new record! They nailed it perfectly and then left the stage again…But we all new they were just taking a breather before coming out to finish us off!

Five minutes later the band returned and this time when the crowd quieted down Ronnie said, “This goes out to Duane Allman and Berry Oakley…Free Birds”… And then the first delicate notes of “Free Bird” started to play… It was pure, and sheer delight for all who were there. And they played as good of a version of it as I’ve ever seen them do (and I’ve seen the original band play it 4 times)…Gary Rossingtons opening slide part was mesmerizing, and Ed King played a beautiful guitar solo in the spot where Billy Powells piano solo would’ve been.

Ronnie sang his next set of vocals with his eyes closed and you could easily see that he was putting every ounce of emotion he could muster into the feel of the words. It was amazing. As the music started to build and Ronnie grimaced he sang, “I’m as Free as a Bird now, and this Bird You’ll Never Change, whoa-oah-oah, Lord knows I can’t Change…Oh won’t You Fly High…Oh Free Birds Yeah”… And with that phrase delivered it was all ALLEN COLLINS show at that point! He stepped out and I was blown away watching him play that incredible, soaring, flying solo that is Free Bird!

He built the solo up carrying it faster and higher as he went, never missing a single note…Ed King started pushing Allen with his own soloing and Allen responded by just taking everything up another notch. And when they all reached the crest of the first wave Allen was airborne! Leaping high and coming down into yet another run up the path into yet higher and higher territory. The crowd was in a frenzy as Allen took flight one more time! Unbelievable!

One more leap and the song peaked…and they wound it up and it was over…10 minutes of applause later the crowd finally relaxed and I recall how wide everyones eyes were. Smiles for miles…I had experienced Lynyrd Skynyrd and life would never be the same again…

My pictures from that show are not very good. As a matter of fact most of them aren’t good at all. Partially because I didn’t have my telephoto lens with me, and partially because of how wild it was in the crowd. I had only brought two rolls of film, shot some of the CDB and the rest of Skynyrd. Although only a few shots were acceptable, one of them wound up making it on to the cover of Gene Odoms book that was published in 2011.
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Vintage Lynyrd Skynyrd Photos and Artwork by Ben Upham

LYNYRD SKYNYRD DISCOGRAPHY:
1973 Pounounced Lynyrd Skynyrd
1974 Second Helping
1975 Nuthin’ Fancy
1976 Gimme Back My Bullets
1976 One More From the Road (Live)
1977 Street Survivors
1978 First and Last
1982 Best of the Rest
1987 Legend
1991 Box Set
1998 Skynyrds First (Complete Muscle Shoals)
2000 Collectybles
2009 Live at Winterland 3-7-76
2009 Live at Cardiff 11-4-75

Tags: Allen Collins, Allman Brothers, Artimus Pyle, Berry Oakley, Bill Graham, Billy Powell, Bob Burns, charlie daniels, Duane Allman, Ed King, Florida, Free Bird, Gary Rossington, Gimme Three Steps, jacksonville, Leon Wilkeson, Leslie Hawkins, little feat, lynyrd skynyrd, lynyrd skynyrd lyrics, lynyrd skynyrd songs, Marshall Tucker, ronnie van zant, Saturday Night Special, Sweet Home Alabama, Workin' For MCA
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LYNYRD SKYNYRD – “WISH YOU WERE THERE” (PART 1)

Friday, September 9, 2011

LYNYRD SKYNYRD ROCK PHOTOS BY BEN UPHAM

Vintage Ben Upham Lynyrd Skynyrd Rock Photos

Allen Collins jams lead guitar with Lynyrd Skynyrd at Winterland, California

LYNYRD SKYNYRD-
“WISH YOU WERE THERE”
(PART 1)
BY BEN UPHAM

It’s very easy for me to remember the very first time I ever heard Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was in January of 1974, and I was in the middle of my Junior year at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, California. I had been practicing hard for 3 months to make the school baseball team, and it was the day that I saw the list of who had made the team. My name was not on the list, which was a crime…I was a better player than at least 4 or 5 of the players that survived the cut. I knew in my mind that politics had come into play and I had been dealt a bad hand…

The news was devastating because baseball was my life at that time. This was a serious lesson about injustice. I remember coming home from school that day feeling like the world wasn’t such a great place. I ignored my Mothers attempts to cheer me up with milk & cookies and I closed myself in my bedroom where I could sulk in privacy. After about 10-15 minutes of lying on my bed cursing the coaches who had caused my misery I decided to see if the radio on my nightstand could help ease my troubled mind.

I turned it on to my favorite F.M. station and they were playing a song that I’d never heard before, that sounded really good. The lyrics seemed as if the singer was singing about what I was thinking. The lines “If I leave here tomorrow would you still remember me” felt like something I would have wanted to say to the coaches that cut me. Then I heard the line, “There’s too many places I’ve got to see”, which made me think about all of the time I’d spent practicing for the team, missing out on so many of the other things I could have been doing, had I known I would be cut. All of a sudden I began to realize that there was a positive aspect to this otherwise negative situation…I was Free…and just as I’m having that thought the singer says, “I’m as Free as a Bird now”, which really was perfect and very “In the Moment” for me.

I reached over and turned the volume up on the radio, as this song was reaching deep inside of me at this point. The songs tempo was changing and I could feel the energy building musically. At that point the singer says, “Oh won’t you fly high, oh Free Birds yeah”, and this otherworldly lead guitar literally jumps out of the radio at me! I was starting to feel better and my Spirit began to smile as the music started to take off. This song was GREAT! The guitars kept reaching out at me and I listened in amazement as the song seemed to keep building and building in intensity. I remember thinking, “My God, who is this Band?”… My question was answered after the song had reached its final notes when the D.J. came on and said, “That was ‘Free Bird’ by Leonard Skinner”.

I shut off the radio and ran out to my car to head down to “Village Music”, the Mill Valley record store. As I walked in I was greeted by the owner, my friend John Goddard. I said hello back but headed right over to the “S” section of albums so I could find this record by Leonard Skinner! I found nothing! So I asked John about it. He said, “Oh, you must mean Lynyrd Skynyrd”, and he calmly walked me over to the “L” section and produced the album “Lynyrd Skynyrd- Pronounced” for me. I loved what I saw, made sure that it had “Free Bird” on it and then paid John for the record. When I got back home I was so anxious to hear “Free Bird” again that I played it first…I totally relived the experience I’d just had, only this time being able to gaze at the album jacket as it was playing. I now had photos of the band which helped me to visualize the band that was creating this Magical Music. I was able to put all of the frustrations of my bad day behind me and become completely absorbed into the energy of this fine new music. It felt really good!

At that point I decided that before I would listen to the rest of the album I would step outside and smoke a joint first. As I was getting high the words and music I’d just heard kept going through my head, and I was pretty well convinced that “Free Bird” had just replaced “25 or 6 to 4? (by Chicago) as my favorite song.

I went back inside, told Mom I’d gladly take the Milk & Cookies now, and then headed back to my room. I wondered what the rest of the record would sound like as I cued up the first track, “I Ain’t the One”. My jaw dropped, my spirit soared and Lynyrd Skynyrd were now totally in my life! The album was (and still is) spectacular from start to finish…A true Masterpiece in Rock Music History…I played the entire album 3 times and was totally Rocked by the Music I was hearing. The back cover of the record stated “Lynyrd Skynyrd Smokes” and that is the Truth!

The arrangement of the music seemed to blend perfectly with the sentiments and philosophies of vocalist Ronnie Van Zants lyrics. If you check out the lyrics on that first Skynyrd album you’ll see how diverse of a writer Ronnie was. He would blend his personal experiences with his acquired wisdom to create stories in musical form. I had just turned 16 a couple of months earlier and honestly feel that the lyrics on that record wound up shaping many of my opinions and feelings about life, values, and goals. My favorite lyric from the album came from the song “Simple Man” where Ronnie sings, “Be a Simple kind of Man, be Something You Love and Understand”. I’ve taken that to heart and tried my best to keep things in my life as simple and understandable as possible, good advice, and shared in a beautiful piece of music.

“Pronounced Lynyrd Skynyrd” introduced me to a band that I would follow intensly for many years, and although they produced many fine albums, that will always be my favorite of theirs.
LYNYRD SKYNYRD ROCK PHOTOS BY BEN UPHAM

Tags: 1977, Allen Collins, Artimus Pyle, Billy Powell, Bob Burns, Coach Leonard Skinner, Dean Kilpatrick, Ed King, Florida, Free Bird, Gary Rossington, Gimme Three Steps, Leon Wilkeson, Leonard Skinner, lynyrd skynyrd lyrics, LYNYRD SKYNYRD PHOTOS, Mill Valley California, ronnie van zant, Saturday Night Special, Southern Rock, Sweet Home Alabama, Tamalpais High School
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