After Lynyrd Skynyrd
The Rossington-Collins Band got off to a good start, as their 1980 debut, '"Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere," became a modest hit. But shortly after the release of their second album, 1982's "This is the Way," the band split up. Wilkeson opted to remain with Allen Collins in a new venture, The Allen Collins Band, issuing one album in 1983, "Here, There and Back." After the Collins Band fizzled, little was heard from Wilkeson during the mid-1980s, except for a short-lived membership with Rocco Marshall's Christian-rock band Vision, which also included Billy Powell. But in 1987, Wilkeson and Powell signed on with a reunited version of Skynyrd, with Ronnie Van Zant's youngest brother, Johnny, supplying lead vocals. The group embarked on a successful, sold-out tour. The new Skynyrd continued to tour and release albums on a regular basis, when another mishap almost cost Wilkeson his life during the early 1990s. Guitarist Ed King found Wilkeson with his throat cut, bleeding profusely on the group's tour bus. Wilkeson was rushed to the hospital. The bassist was able to continue the tour, but exactly who was to blame for the incident remains unsolved.
Skynyrd received another burst of renewed interest during the late 1990s, due to an episode of VH1's Behind the Music that explored the group's turbulent career. Again tragedy struck. Wilkeson was found dead on July 27, 2001, in a Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, hotel room; he was 49 years old. Wilkeson had apparently been suffering from chronic liver and lung disease. His death was pronounced due to natural causes. Wilkeson's death put the group in a difficult position, since an agreement with Ronnie Van Zant's widow, Judy Jeness, mandated that at least three of Skynyrd's longtime members would have to appear in order for the band to use the name Lynyrd Skynyrd. Jenness waived this proviso, and the group continued with replacement bassist Ean Evans. Reactions to Evans style was mixed, although he had taken informal lessons from Wilkeson.
The band dedicated the song Mad Hatter on Skynyrd's 2003 album Vicious Cycle to the memory of Leon Wilkeson.
Read more about this topic: Leon Wilkeson