later married in 1982. Guitarist Barry Lee Harwood was living in Atlanta at the time when he got the call from Rossington and Collins to be in the band. All seemed set, until Artimus Pyle, who had been slated to start rehearsals with the band, was involved in a motorcycle accident that broke his leg. Pyle decided that the RCB should find a new drummer rather than wait for him to recuperate. The suggestion came from Harwood to hire Jacksonville native Derek Hess. The Rossington-Collins Band, as it was named, then began rehearsals and writing, which took a little longer than expected because of Krantz's initial anxiety about being in this band. Even while in the studio, RCB would continue to write and revise their songs until they were considered finished. This led to the use of many master reels of recordings. Touring history The band initially premiered in the summer of 1980 to positive reviews. One highlight of the 1980 tour backing their album Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere, was a New Year's Eve performance at the Omni in Atlanta, Georgia. One permanent feature in the set lists was "Free Bird," which was performed without vocals and was dedicated to Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and Dean Kilpatrick. At one performance in Springfield, Massachusetts during 1980, guitarist Rossington had to play onstage with a broken leg, which happened the day before. Following the death of his wife, Kathy, Allen Collins would routinely walk off from gigs or not appear. This led to the cancellation of many performances during 1982. In addition to his Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Explorer, guitarist Collins switched between two double-cutaway Gibson Les Paul Specials during the live shows. Collins had not used a Les Paul since the early 1970s. Despite the short length of The Rossington-Collins Band's existence, there were many soundboard recordings made of live shows, and studio recordings made by Allen Collins in preparation for their first studio album. Allen Collins Band In 1983, the Allen Collins Band, featuring Allen Collins, Barry Lee Harwood, Leon Wilkeson, Billy Powell, and Derek Hess from RCB along with Randall Hall and Jimmy Dougherty, former singer in Alias, was formed but quickly fell apart due to Collins' erratic behavior and lack of leadership. Collins tried to resurrect the project in 1985 but in early 1986, he was sidelined by a serious injury, which left him partially paralyzed,