The band wished to develop their own sound rather than being regarded as a reformed Lynyrd Skynyrd, and toward that objective they hired a female lead vocalist, Dale Krantz, who later married Rossington.
Leon Wilkeson had suffered internal injuries that initially made doctors declare him dead at the scene of the crash, only to be resuscitated later.
Only Artimus Pyle (former Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer) and Billy Powell were in good enough condition to be released from the hospital within two weeks of the crash.
The earliest recording effort made by former band members were Pyle and Powell's involvement in the studio sessions for musician Leo LeBranche.
The band also featured guitarist Barry Lee Harwood (who had played mandolin on Skynyrd's "Gimme Back My Bullets" record of 1976) and who would later be involved with the RCB.
All remaining members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, with the exception of bassist Wilkeson (whose arm was still in a cast) performed an instrumental version of "Free Bird."
Collins tried to resurrect the project in 1985 but in early 1986, he was sidelined by a serious injury, which left him partially paralyzed, when he crashed his car into a culvert near his Mandarin home.