Lynyrd Skynyrd's Allen Collins' 1964 Gibson Firebird III, "The Freebird's Firebird"

Lynyrd Skynyrd The Needle And The Spoon video featuring this Firebird guitar.

Lynyrd Skynyrd performing Freebird live in London with the Firebird guitar.

Allen Collins used several guitars throughout his professional career including Fender Stratocasters, Gibson Les Pauls, and his iconic 1958 Gibson Explorer. However, it was the Gibson Firebird that made him famous and known to millions of fans worldwide. Throughout his Lynyrd Skynyrd tenure, Allen went through several Firebirds: his first was a modified 1964 Firebird I used from 1970-1975, then this modified 1964 Firebird III became his primary stage guitar from mid-1975-1976 for the "Torture Tour" before he switched full time to his Explorer for the remainder of Lynyrd Skynyrd's career.

Provenance: Original Lynyrd Skynyrd stage managers/guitar techs Craig Reed (with Skynyrd 1973-2006) and Joe Barnes (with Skynyrd 1971-1976) remember Allen switching over to this modified Firebird III as his primary stage guitar right around the time Ed King quit the band in 1975. Joe Barnes recalls him and Allen finding this Firebird on the road in mid-late 1974, and Joe set it up to be similar in layout to his original Firebird I. It has the same pickup and control arrangement: a mini-humbucker in the neck position and a dog-ear P-90 in the bridge, wired for only single volume and tone control knobs. The two additional holes for the other control knobs were plugged. They don't recall the exact reason why he made the switch to this one as his primary guitar but they can pinpoint it to the beginning of May of 1975. Based on official MCA tour records, it appears Allen played this Firebird in front of hundreds of thousands of fans in approximately 110 live shows during the band's infamous "Torture Tour" from May 1975 up until April 7th, 1976 when it was broken on stage in Boston. Joe and Craig remember it well: "Every time we played Boston, there was always something that went wrong. Once a hotel room was almost burned up, once someone unplugged Allen's power cord during Freebird, and then this time when Allen broke his Firebird and Leon smashed his bass guitar. Allen tossed the guitar just after the finale of Freebird and then Ronnie Van Zant kicked it into the crowd. Allen quickly signaled to us that he wanted it back so we had to rush into the crowd to get it was quite the experience but we got it back. In the bustle, the headstock was broken off." Allen put the guitar away in his garage soon after and it was never repaired in his lifetime. The current owner of the guitar was a close personal friend of Allen's who was given a red 1963 Mercedes convertible along with this guitar at the time of Allen's death in 1990 by his father and executor of his estate, Larkin Collins Sr.

This guitar was used to record on the 1975 album "Nuthin' Fancy" and the 1976 album "Gimme Back My Bullets." It was also played live by Allen in some of Lynyrd Skynyrd's most famous shows including the band's first televised live broadcast from London on "The Old Grey Whistle Test" and Bill Graham's 1976 Winterland. This guitar was used for rhythm and lead guitar on the following iconic songs in a typical Lynyrd Skynyrd set:
"I Ain't the One"
"Gimme Three Steps"
"Saturday Night Special"
"Double Trouble"
"Needle and the Spoon"
"Call Me the Breeze"
"Free Bird"
In 2016, 40 years after the Firebird was broken on stage, the owner decided it was time for it to be professionally restored. After careful consideration, he hired Jacksonville, FL master luthier Dale Roberts to do the restoration. Dale took on the project and carefully repaired the broken headstock and brought the guitar back to life. "When we first heard it make a sound after it was repaired, it gave us chills. It still sounded the same as it did on those old Skynyrd videos. We had the holy grail of southern rock guitars in my shop, very surreal"

Allen Collins' 1964 Gibson Firebird III with factory original tobacco burst finish and white pickguard. It displays a heavy patina and finishes checking. It was modified from its original factory specifications to resemble the controls on his original 1964 Firebird I. It has a mahogany neck with its original bound rosewood fretboard and original frets. The headstock was professionally repaired just forward of the fretboard in 2016. The guitar has nickel-plated hardware with banjo-style tuners. It has a Gibson mini-humbucker pickup in the neck position and a nickel-plated 1960s Epiphone dog-ear P-90 pickup in the bridge position, which was a key component of Allen's signature tone. The bridge is a Leo Quan "Badass" model. The guitar was rewired by Joe Barnes in late 1974 to have only two controls; one for volume and one for tone control. He plugged the remaining two control knob holes. It has a chromed Gibson short maestro vibrato tailpiece with a flat metal arm. There are characteristic wear patterns all over the guitar starting with the pickguard, where the screws have been overtightened end the edges have cracked off in places, and additional screws added for stability. There is a characteristic deep scratching underneath the high E string. In addition, just about all of the finish is worn off the back of the neck due to Allen's furious playing style. You can see all of this guitar's characteristics up close and experience its sound in great detail by watching "The Old Grey Whistle Test" color footage from November of 1975, particularly on Allen's signature song "Free Bird." The guitar remains extremely playable and still sounds as good as it did before it was broken in 1976. It retains its original Gibson case in worn condition, and is covered in original backstage passes from various Lynyrd Skynyrd shows including the 1974 opening for Joe Walsh and another for Mountain, some with Allen's name on them and some with LYNYRD SKYNYRD. The case's handle has been crudely reattached with a guitar string, and inside on the gold label is a red label that reads PROPERTY OF ALLEN COLLINS.

Provenance: Letter of Authenticity from Craig Reed, Lynyrd Skynyrd's guitar tech and plane crash survivor.

Condition: More detailed condition reports and additional photographs are available by request. The absence of a condition report does not imply that the lot is in very fine condition. Please message us through the online bidding platform or email Guernsey's at auctions@guernseys.com to request a more thorough condition report.