Albert Collins

Collins was born in Leona, Texas, on October 1, 1932.Johnson, John G. [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fcowg "Albert CollIns"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014110728/http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fcowg |date=2013-10-14 }}. Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Accessed July 17, 2013. He was introduced to the guitar at an early age by his cousin Lightnin' Hopkins, also a Leona resident, who played at family gatherings. The Collins family relocated to Marquez, Texas, in 1938 and to Houston in 1941,Obrecht, Jas, ed. (1993). Blues Guitar: The Men Who Made the Music. 2nd ed. Miller Freeman Books. pp. 246–259. {{ISBN|0-87930-292-5}}. where he attended Jack Yates High School.Albert Collins. Vital Blues Guitar Series. Transcriptions by Richard DeVinck. Creative Concepts Publishing (California), 1994. {{ISBN|1-56922-047-6}}. Collins took piano lessons when he was young, but when his piano tutor was unavailable his cousin Willow Young would lend Albert his guitar and taught him the altered tuning that he used throughout his career. Collins tuned his guitar to an open F-minor chord (FCFA♭CF), with a capo at the 5th, 6th or 7th fret.{{cite web |url=http://www.gibson.com/news-lifestyle/features/en-us/alt-tunings-who-uses-what-0914-2012.aspx |title=Alt. Tunings: Who Uses What? |publisher=Gibson.com |date=2012-09-14 |access-date=2015-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151220125410/http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/alt-tunings-who-uses-what-0914-2012.aspx |archive-date=2015-12-20 |url-status=dead }} At the age of sixteen, he decided to concentrate on learning the guitar after hearing "Boogie Chillen' " by John Lee Hooker.

At 18, Collins started his own group, the Rhythm Rockers, in which he honed his craft. During this time he was employed for four years at a ranch in Normangee, Texas; he then worked as a truck driver for various companies for 12 years.

Collins played an Epiphone guitar during his first two years with the Rhythm Rockers, but in 1952, after seeing Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown playing a Fender Esquire, he decided to purchase a Fender. He wanted a Telecaster, but because of the cost he chose to buy an Esquire, which he took to the Parker Music Company in Houston to be fitted with a Telecaster neck pickup. This was his main guitar until he moved to California, and it was the guitar that he used on his earliest recordings, including his signature song, "Frosty". For the rest of his career he played a "maple cap"–necked natural ash body Fender 1966 Custom Telecaster with a Gibson PAF humbucking pickup retrofitted into the neck position, which became the basis for a Fender Custom Artist signature model{{cite web|title=Albert Collins Signature Telecaster|url=http://www.fendercustomshop.com/series/artist/albert-collins-signature-telecaster-maple-fingerboard-natural/|publisher=FenderCustomShop.com|access-date=8 December 2015|ref=Fender Custom Shop|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210194642/http://www.fendercustomshop.com/series/artist/albert-collins-signature-telecaster-maple-fingerboard-natural/|archive-date=2015-12-10|url-status=live}} in 1990.

In 1954, Collins, then aged 22 and without a record release, was joined in the Rhythm Rockers by 17-year-old Johnny Copeland, who had just left the Dukes of Rhythm (a band he had started with the Houston blues musician Joe "Guitar" Hughes).{{cite book|author=Hudson, Kathleen |title=Telling Stories, Writing Songs: An Album of Texas Songwriters|url=https://archive.org/details/tellingstorieswr00huds|url-access=registration |access-date=18 July 2013|year=2001|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-78871-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tellingstorieswr00huds/page/221 221]–}}

Collins started to play regularly in Houston, notably at Shady's Playhouse, where James "Widemouth" Brown (brother of Gatemouth Brown) and other well-known Houston blues musicians would meet for "Blue Monday" jams.{{cite book|author= Wood, Roger|title=Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdY5aJMVKkcC&pg=PA59|access-date=16 June 2013|year=2003|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-79159-6|pages=59–}}[http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2003-05-30/161515/ "Come Go Home with Me: Tracing the Bayou City's Blues Legacy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016014913/http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2003-05-30/161515/ |date=2013-10-16 }}. Austin Chronicle, 30 May 2003. Retrieved 16 June 2013. By the mid-1950s, he had established his reputation as a local guitarist of note and had started to appear regularly at a Fifth Ward club, Walter's Lounge, with the group Big Tiny and the Thunderbirds.{{cite book|author=Kathleen Hudson|title=Women in Texas Music: Stories and Songs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t-c78muIZ8AC&pg=PA140|access-date=19 July 2013|date=4 April 2013|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-75286-3|pages=140–}}{{cite book|author=Wood, Roger|title=Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdY5aJMVKkcC&pg=PA100|access-date=19 July 2013|date=1 April 2003|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-79159-6|pages=100–}}

The saxophonist and music teacher Henry Hayes heard about Collins from Hughes. After seeing him perform live, Hayes encouraged Collins to record a single for Kangaroo Records, a label he had started with his friend M. L. Young.{{cite book|author=Govenar, Alan B.|title=Texas Blues: The Rise of a Contemporary Sound|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=68Re4trXKqoC&pg=PA223|access-date=4 July 2013|date=9 October 2008|publisher=Texas A&M University Press|isbn=978-1-58544-605-6|pages=223–}} Collins recorded his debut single, "Freeze", backed with "Collins Shuffle", for Kangaroo at Gold Star Studios, in Houston, in the spring of 1958, with Hayes on saxophone.{{cite book|author=Bradley, Andy|title=House of Hits|date=March 2010|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XsvWyg1u0UwC&pg=PA83|access-date=23 June 2013|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-78324-9|pages=83–}} Texas blues bands of this period incorporated a horn section, and Collins later credited Hayes with teaching him how to arrange for horns.

In 1964, he recorded "Frosty" at Gulf Coast Recording Studio in Beaumont, Texas for Hall Records, owned by Bill Hall, who had signed Collins on the recommendation of Cowboy Jack Clement, a songwriter and producer who had engineered sessions for Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash at Sun Records.[http://www.cowboyjackclement.com/bio/interviews/lomax_part1.html Cowboy Jack Clement Interview c.1977] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810210538/http://www.cowboyjackclement.com/bio/interviews/lomax_part1.html |date=2014-08-10 }}. CowboyJackClement.com. Retrieved 01 July 2013 His debut album, The Cool Sound of Albert Collins, released in 1965 on the TCF Hall label, consisted of previously released instrumentals, including "Thaw-Out", "Sno-Cone", and "Don't Lose Your Cool".{{cite book|author=Bradley, Andy|title=House of Hits|date=March 2010|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XsvWyg1u0UwC&pg=PA129|access-date=7 July 2013|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-78324-9|pages=129–}}

On 19 June 1968, the group Canned Heat was playing at the Music Hall in Houston, and a friend of theirs mentioned that Collins was playing at the Ponderosa Club, which they duly attended.{{cite book|author=De La, Adolfo|title=Living the Blues|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QhK6p8Z_Ih8C&pg=PT78|access-date=18 June 2013|date=21 February 2013|publisher=eBookIt.com|isbn=978-1-4566-0332-8|pages=78–}} After Collins had finished playing, they introduced themselves and offered to help secure an agent for him as well as an introduction to Imperial Records in California.Taylor, Skip; Lemke, Brett (2006). [http://www.cannedheatmusic.com/bio.htm Canned Heat Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130519195438/http://www.cannedheatmusic.com/bio.htm |date=2013-05-19 }}. CannedHeatMusic.com. Retrieved 18 June 2013. With the offer of a record deal and regular live work, Collins decided to move, relocating to Kansas City in July 1968, where he played in the organ trio of the keyboardist Lawrence Wright, and then in November moving to Palo Alto, California. For his 1968 Imperial album, Collins chose the title Love Can Be Found Anywhere (Even in a Guitar), from the lyrics of Canned Heat's "Fried Hockey Boogie", in honor of Canned Heat and their lead singer Bob Hite, who wrote the liner notes for the album. In the spring of 1969 Collins was hired by Bob Krasnow to play on the Ike and Tina Turner album The Hunter, which was released by Krasnow's Blue Thumb Records.{{cite book|author=Danchin, Sebastian |title=Earl Hooker, Blues Master|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-G76U3ikkFAC&pg=PA274|access-date=21 July 2013|date=1 January 2001|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|isbn=978-1-57806-307-9|pages=274–}}[http://guitarinternational.com/2010/12/05/robert-cray-a-retrospective-interview/ Robert Cray Interview] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102053127/http://guitarinternational.com/2010/12/05/robert-cray-a-retrospective-interview/ |date=2013-11-02 }}. GuitarInternational.com. Interviewer: Rick Landers. Retrieved 21 July 2013. The move to California was proving to be the right decision, with Collins establishing himself as a regular act on the West Coast circuit, playing at the Fillmore West and the Whisky a Go Go and at the "Newport 69" festival in Northridge, California, in June 1969 and the Gold Rush Festival at Lake Amador, California, in October.{{cite book|author=Hunter, Dave|title=The Fender Telecaster: The Life and Times of the Electric Guitar That Changed the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7sFrOQv9I5kC&pg=PA105|access-date=22 July 2013|date=15 October 2012|publisher=Voyageur Press|isbn=978-0-7603-4138-4|pages=105–}}{{cite book|author1=John Poultney|author2=Amador County Archives|title=Amador County, (CA)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dNw8gUtLmocC&pg=PA44|access-date=4 July 2013|date=November 2006|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0-7385-4701-5|pages=44–}} In December 1969, his debut album, The Cool Sound of Albert Collins, was reissued as Truckin' with Albert Collins by Blue Thumb.{{cite book|title=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oCkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA59|access-date=17 July 2013|date=5 December 1970|pages=59–|issn=0006-2510}} He opened for the Grateful Dead at the Family Dog on the Great Highway in San Francisco in early August, 1969.

In November 1971, the Denver label Tumbleweed Records, which had been newly created by Larry Ray and Bill Szymczyk, released Collins's album There's Gotta Be a Change; it was the label's first official release.{{cite book|title=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QA8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA53|access-date=5 July 2013|date=27 November 1971|pages=53–|issn=0006-2510}}{{cite book|title=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iA8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13|access-date=5 July 2013|date=4 December 1971|pages=13–|issn=0006-2510}} The single "Get Your Business Straight", backed with "Frog Jumpin'", was released by Tumbleweed in February 1972.{{cite book|title=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8EQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA24|access-date=5 July 2013|date=12 February 1972|pages=24–|issn=0006-2510}}{{cite book|title=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uSgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA70|access-date=5 July 2013|date=11 March 1972|pages=70–|issn=0006-2510}} In 1973 Tumbleweed closed because of financial problems, leaving Collins without a record label.{{cite book|author=Brown, G. |title=Colorado Rocks!: A Half-Century of Music in Colorado|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=10eRzwLWOEwC&pg=PT9|access-date=5 July 2013|year=2004|publisher=Pruett Publishing|isbn=978-0-87108-930-4|pages=9–}} He was signed by Bruce Iglauer, the owner of Alligator Records, in 1978 on the recommendation of Dick Shurman, whom Collins had met in Seattle. His first release for the label was Ice Pickin' (1978), which was recorded at Curtom Studios, in Chicago, and produced by Iglauer, Shurman and Richard McLeese. On 2 February 1978, Collins appeared in concert with the Dutch band Barrelhouse, which was his first live appearance outside the United States. The concert was filmed for the Dutch TV show Tros Sesjun and was subsequently released on vinyl in 1979 by Munich Records as Albert Collins with The Barrelhouse Live.[http://www.barrelhouse.nl/bio/en.swf]{{dead link|date=December 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}

Collins won a W. C. Handy Award in the category Best Contemporary Blues Album in 1983 for his Alligator release Don't Lose Your Cool.[https://archive.today/20130721113400/https://www.blues.org/bluesmusicawards/pastyears.php4.php%23ref=bluesmusicawards_pastyears Blues Music Award: Past Winners]. Blues Foundation. Retrieved 21 July 2013.

In 1984 Collins did a two-tape instructional lesson for Arlen Roth and his company, Hot Licks.

On 13 July 1985, Collins performed with George Thorogood and the Destroyers at Live Aid, appearing as guest soloist on "Madison Blues"; the US part of the charity concert was held at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia and, with simultaneous broadcasts in other countries, was viewed by over 1.5 billion people.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/thelive8event/liveaid/history.shtml Live Aid 1985: How it all happened] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117102214/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/thelive8event/liveaid/history.shtml |date=2018-01-17 }} BBC Article. Retrieved 20 July 2013. In December 1986, Collins appeared in concert with Etta James and Joe Walsh at the Wiltern Theater, in Los Angeles; the concert was subsequently released on video under the title Jazzvisions: Jump the Blues Away.[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-11-28-ca-15892-story.html Jazzvisions Wiltern Concerts] . Los Angeles Times, 28 November 1986. Retrieved 20 July 2013.{{cite book|author=Clear, Rebecca D. |title=Jazz on Film and Video in the Library of Congress|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_NpQVuUAc1y8C|access-date=20 July 2013|year=1993|publisher=Diane Publishing|isbn=978-0-7881-1436-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_NpQVuUAc1y8C/page/n85 77]–}} The backing musicians for the concert were Rick Rosas (bass), Michael Huey (drums), Ed Sanford (Hammond B3 organ), Kip Noble (piano) and Josh Sklar (guitar). Also in 1986, Collins won a Grammy Award with Robert Cray and Johnny Copeland for their album Showdown! Collins finished working on his seventh Alligator album, Cold Snap, by October 1986. It was released shortly afterwards to good reviews and received a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Blues Recording of 1987.{{cite book|title=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qSQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA69|access-date=20 July 2013|date=25 October 1986|pages=1–|issn=0006-2510}}{{cite book|title=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2SQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA64|access-date=20 July 2013|date=20 December 1986|pages=64–|issn=0006-2510}} Collins cited the album as personally important to him because of the involvement of the organist Jimmy McGriff, an early musical idol, with whom Collins had played in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1966.

On 12 February 1987, Collins appeared as a musical guest on the NBC talk show Late Night with David Letterman.Kart, Larry. [https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/01/29/alligator-takes-a-big-bite-of-grammy-blues/ Alligator Takes a Big Bite of Grammy Blues] . Chicago Tribune, 29 January 1987. Retrieved 07 July 2013. He made a cameo appearance later that same year in the comedy film Adventures in Babysitting. Also in 1987, the American composer John Zorn and Collins collaborated on a suite, "Two-Lane Highway", which was subsequently released on Zorn's album Spillane. On 22 April 1988, Collins appeared at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in a group consisting of B.B. King, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan; the group played on the steamboat President as it cruised along the Mississippi River, in recognition of the musical heritage of New Orleans and artists such as Fate Marable, Louis Armstrong and Red Allen, who had entertained passengers on the fleet of riverboats owned by the Streckfus brothers.Seymour, Gene. [http://articles.philly.com/1988-04-22/news/26252847_1_fair-grounds-race-track-band-concerts-musical-gumbo In New Orleans, a Musical Gumbo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315162542/http://articles.philly.com/1988-04-22/news/26252847_1_fair-grounds-race-track-band-concerts-musical-gumbo |date=2016-03-15 }} at Philly. Philly.com, 22 April 1988. Retrieved 16 July 2013[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/b-b-king-is-friends-with-everybody-20120131/new-orleans-jazz-festival-0258316 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 22 April 1988] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428175946/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/b-b-king-is-friends-with-everybody-20120131/new-orleans-jazz-festival-0258316 |date=2016-04-28 }}. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 16 July 2013.[http://www.guitarworld.com/focused-stevie-ray-vaughan-comes-clean-1988-guitar-world-interview?page=0,4 Stevie Ray Vaughan Interview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430084840/http://www.guitarworld.com/focused-stevie-ray-vaughan-comes-clean-1988-guitar-world-interview?page=0,4 |date=2013-04-30 }}. Guitar World, September 1988. Retrieved 16 July 2013.

Collins was signed to Point Blank Records, a subsidiary of Virgin Records, in 1991 and released the album Iceman the same year.{{cite book|author=Peter Buckley|title=The Rough Guide to Rock|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ctjc6UWCm4C&pg=PT226|access-date=21 July 2013|year=2003|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=978-1-84353-105-0|pages=226–}}{{Cite journal|last=Bradley|first=Lloyd|date=5 March 1991|title=Iceman review|journal=Q Magazine|volume=55|pages=67}} Iglauer expressed his disappointment at the departure of Collins from Alligator while acknowledging that he had signed Collins on a record-to-record basis.{{cite book|author=Beauchamp, Lincoln T. Jr. |title=BluesSpeak: The Best of the Original Chicago Blues Annual|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xmIbg3YjqnMC&pg=PA60|access-date=21 July 2013|year=2010|publisher=University of Illinois Press|isbn=978-0-252-07692-3|pages=60–}} On 15 November 1991, Collins performed with Cray, Steve Cropper and Dave Edmunds at the Guitar Legends event in Seville, a series of five concerts to promote the upcoming Seville Expo '92.Elman, Peter. [http://tonyhollingsworth.com/?q=content/guitar-legends Guitar Legends] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017082230/http://tonyhollingsworth.com/?q=content%2Fguitar-legends |date=2018-10-17 }}. TonyHollingsworth.com. Retrieved 17 July 2013. The preceding month, on 28 October, Collins was filmed in concert for the television program Austin City Limits; the concert was broadcast on 21 February 1992 and released on DVD in April 2008 as Albert Collins: Live From Austin, TX.[http://acltv.com/anthology/ Austin City Limits: Albert Collins (season 17, episode 5, 1992)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712034934/http://acltv.com/anthology/ |date=2015-07-12 }}. ACL.com. Retrieved 17 July 2013. In 1993, Collins played at the Point Blank Borderline Blues Festival in London, which ran from 17 March to 27 March; this was his last appearance in the UK.{{cite book| first= Tony| last= Russell| year= 1997| title= The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray| publisher= Carlton Books| location= Dubai| pages= 82–83| isbn= 1-85868-255-X}}

Collins was performing at the Paléo Festival in Nyon, Switzerland, in July 1993 when he was taken ill.[http://yeah.paleo.ch/en/edition/1993 Paléo Festival, Switzerland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914185416/http://yeah.paleo.ch/en/edition/1993 |date=2013-09-14 }}. Retrieved 21 July 2013. He was diagnosed in mid-August with lung cancer, which had metastasized to his liver, with an expected survival time of four months. Tracks for his last album, Live '92/'93, were recorded at shows that September. Collins died on 24 November 1993 at the age of 61.Watrous, Peter [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/25/obituaries/albert-collins-guitarist-dies-influential-blues-stylist-was-61.html Albert Collins] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125101312/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/25/obituaries/albert-collins-guitarist-dies-influential-blues-stylist-was-61.html |date=2017-01-25 }}. New York Times, 25 November 1993. Retrieved 16 June 2013. His final album, Live '92/'93, was posthumously nominated at the 38th Grammy Awards of 1996 in the category Best Blues Contemporary Album.{{cite book|title=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zg4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA74|access-date=29 June 2013|date=13 January 1996|pages=74–|issn=0006-2510}}

Collins is remembered for his informal and audience-engaging live performances. He would frequently leave the stage while still playing to mingle with the audience.[http://www.bluesaudience.com/speakeasy.html The Blues Audience Newsletter Editorial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213143322/http://www.bluesaudience.com/speakeasy.html|date=2012-02-13}} from the August/September 2007 issue. Publisher and Editor: Diana Shonk. Retrieved 03 July 2013. The use of an extended guitar cord allowed Collins to go outside clubs to the sidewalk; one anecdote stated that he left a club with the audience in tow to visit the store next door to buy a candy bar without once stopping his act.Dahl, Bill. [https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/12/10/blues-fans-in-a-deep-freeze-over-loss-of-albert-collins/ Blues Fans in a Deep Freeze Over Loss of Albert Collins] .

Chicago Tribune, 10 December 1993. Retrieved 4 July 2013.

He is also remembered for his humorous stage presence, which can be seen in the comedy film Adventures in Babysitting. It is also prominent in the documentary Antones: Austin's Home of the Blues: Collins was playing a lengthy solo one night at Antone's and left the building while still playing. He returned to the stage still playing the solo and resumed entertaining the audience in person. Shortly afterwards, a man arrived at the club and gave Collins the pizza he had just ordered.[http://www.thewittliffcollections.txstate.edu/research/a-z/antones.html Antone's Home of the Blues] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829014117/http://www.thewittliffcollections.txstate.edu/research/a-z/antones.html|date=2013-08-29}}. TheWittliffCollections.txstate.edu. Texas State University. Retrieved 21 July 2013.

In his early days, Collins worked as a paint mixer and truck driver to make ends meet.Gleason, Holly. [http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1989-01-27/features/8901050719_1_albert-collins-collins-trademark-gatemouth "Cool Blues Put Albert Collins in the Pink". Sun Sentinel.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729195341/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1989-01-27/features/8901050719_1_albert-collins-collins-trademark-gatemouth|date=2014-07-29}} In 1971, when he was 39 years old, he worked in construction, since he could not make a proper living from his music. One of his construction jobs was a remodeling project for Neil Diamond.Komara, Edward, and Lee, Peter, eds. The Blues Encyclopedia. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Hwk3AgAAQBAJ&dq=Albert+Collins+Construction+Neil+Diamond&pg=PA220 Collins, Albert, p. 220.] He continued with this type of work until the late 1970s,Hunter, Dave. The Fender Telecaster: The Life and Times of the Guitar That Changed the World. [https://books.google.com/books?id=sUn0AwAAQBAJ&dq=Albert+Collins+Construction+worker&pg=PA105 Albert Collins, p. 105.] when his wife, Gwen, talked him into returning to a career in music.Davies, Phil. Black Cat Rockabilly. [http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/albert_collins.htm Albert Collins.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619000445/http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/albert_collins.htm|date=2013-06-19}}

After a three-month battle with cancer, Collins died at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 24, 1993. He was 61 years old. Surviving him were his wife, Gwendolyn, and his father, Andy Thomas.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/25/obituaries/albert-collins-guitarist-dies-influential-blues-stylist-was-61.html|title=Albert Collins, Guitarist, Dies; Influential Blues Stylist Was 61|newspaper=The New York Times|date=25 November 1993 |access-date=2014-05-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429185124/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/25/obituaries/albert-collins-guitarist-dies-influential-blues-stylist-was-61.html|archive-date=2014-04-29|url-status=live |last1=Watrous |first1=Peter }}

Albert Collins is buried at Davis Memorial Park in Las Vegas, Nevada, a cemetery adjacent to Harry Reid International Airport.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/collins-albert|title=Collins, Albert|website=Tshaoblibe.org}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.davismemorialpark.com/about-us/our-location|title=Our Location | Davis Funeral Homes Rainbow Chapel|website=Davismemorialpark.com}}

Collins was an inspiration to a generation of Texas guitar players, including Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmie Vaughan. He was among a small group of Texas blues players, along with Johnny "Guitar" Watson and Johnny Copeland, who shaped the legacy of T-Bone Walker into a modern blues template that was to have a major influence on many later players. In an interview with Guitar World magazine, Robert Cray said, "it was seeing Albert Collins at a rock festival in 1969 that really turned my head around." Two years later, Collins played at Cray's high-school graduation party in Tacoma, Washington, and the ice-pick sound sunk in deep: "That was it," Cray recalled. "That changed my whole life around. From that moment I started seriously studying the blues."[http://www.guitarworld.com/robert-cray-discusses-albert-collins-gear-and-his-new-album-1989-guitar-world-interview?page=0,1 Robert Cray Interview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516042551/http://www.guitarworld.com/robert-cray-discusses-albert-collins-gear-and-his-new-album-1989-guitar-world-interview?page=0,1 |date=2013-05-16 }}. Guitar World, January 1989. Retrieved 01 July 2013. Rolling Stone ranked Collins at number 56 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/100-greatest-guitarists-153675/|title=100 Greatest Guitarists|first1=Rolling|last1=Stone|magazine=Rolling Stone |date=December 18, 2015|access-date=March 5, 2021}}

• 1965: The Cool Sound of Albert Collins (TCF Hall TCF-8002) collection of singles, reissued in 1969 as Truckin' with Albert Collins (Blue Thumb BTS-8)
• 1968: Love Can Be Found Anywhere (Even in a Guitar) (Imperial LP-12428)
• 1969: Trash Talkin' (Imperial LP-12438)
• 1970: The Compleat Albert Collins (Imperial LP-12449)
• 1971: There's Gotta Be a Change (Tumbleweed TWS-103)
• 1978: Ice Pickin' (Alligator AL-4713)
• 1980: Frostbite (Alligator AL-4719)
• 1983: Don't Lose Your Cool (Alligator AL-4730)
• 1986: Cold Snap (Alligator AL-4752) - with Jimmy McGriff
• 1991: Iceman (Point Blank/Virgin VPBCD-3; 91583; 86197; 39194)

• 1985: Showdown! (Alligator AL-4743) - with Robert Cray, Johnny Copeland

• 1969: Alive & Cool (Red Lightnin' RL-004) - live at the Fillmore West, 1969
• 1976: The Bicentennial Session (Crossed Arrow Music 2008)
• 1978: Albert Collins with The Barrelhouse Live (Munich Records BM-150225)
• 1979: Jammin' with Albert (Blues Tune BT-008) - with Champion Jack Dupree, Rory Gallagher
• 1981: Frozen Alive! (Alligator AL-4725) - live at the Union Bar, Minneapolis, MN
• 1984: Live in Japan (Alligator AL-4733) - live at Kudan Kaikan, Tokyo, 1982
• 1989: Jazzvisions: Jump the Blues Away (Verve 841287) - with Etta James, Joe Walsh
• 1995: Live '92/'93 (Point Blank/Virgin 40658)
• 1995: Cold Tremours (Blues Boulevard 250186, Music Avenue 250186)
• 1995: Charly Blues Legends Live – Vol. 7 (Charly CBL-756)
• 1998: Molten Ice (Cass Records CAS-70108) - live at the El Mocambo Club, 1973; also released as The Things He Used To Do, The Iceman Cometh, and The Hot 'Cool' Sound of Albert Collins
• 2005: The Iceman at Mount Fuji (Fuel 2000/Varese 061457) - live at the Mt. Fuji Jazz Festival, 1992
• 2008: Live at Montreux 1992 (Eagle ER-20124)
• 2014: Funky Blues – Live 1973 (Rockbeat ROC-3275) - live at Joe's Place, Cambridge, MA
• 2016: Live at Rockpalast – Dortmund 1980 (MIG Music 90632, 2-CD + DVD set)
• 2017: At Onkel Pö's Carnegie Hall – Hamburg 1980 (Delta Music N-77040, 2-CD set)

• 1991: The Complete Imperial Recordings (EMI America 96740, 2-CD set)
• 1993: Collins Mix (The Best Of) (Point Blank/Virgin 39097) - re-recordings of his classic tracks
• 1997: Albert Collins: Deluxe Edition (Alligator ALCD-5601)
• 1999: The Ice Axe Cometh (The Collection 1978–1986) (Music Club MCCD-406)

• Gary Moore, "Too Tired" on Still Got the Blues
• Gary Moore, "The Blues is Alright" on After Hours
• Gary Moore, "Too Tired" on Blues Alive
• David Bowie, "Underground" on Labyrinth
• Jack Bruce, "Blues You Can't Lose" on A Question of Time
• Robert Cray, "You're Gonna Need Me" on Shame + A Sin
• John Lee Hooker, "Backstabbers" on Mr. Lucky
• John Lee Hooker, "Boogie at Russian Hill" on Boom Boom
• B.B. King, "Call It Stormy Monday" on Blues Summit
• Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom, "Chillin' Out" and "Defrostin'" on B-3 Blues and Grooves
• Branford Marsalis, Super Models in Deep Conversation
• Buckshot LeFonque, "No Pain, No Gain" on Buckshot LeFonque
• John Mayall, "Light the Fuse" and "I'm a Sucker for Love" on Wake Up Call
• John Zorn, "Two-Lane Highway" on Spillane
• "Blues for Stevie" on Guitar World Presents...'Guitars That Rule The World' (various artists 1991 sampler)

• "Freeze" / "Collins Shuffle" (Kangaroo KA-103/KA-104)
• "Defrost" / "Albert's Alley" (Great Scott 0007; Hall-Way 1913; Hall-Way/Smash 1795)
• "Homesick" / "Sippin' Soda" (Hall-Way/Smash 1831)
• "Frosty" / "Tremble" (Hall 1920)
• "Thaw-out" / "Backstroke" (Hall 1925)
• "Sno-Cone, Part I" / "Sno-Cone, Part II" (TCF Hall 104)
• "Hot 'n' Cold" / "Dyin' Flu" (TCF Hall 116)
• "Don't Lose Your Cool" / "Frost Bite" (TCF Hall 127)
• "(What'd You Say) I Don't Know" / "Soulroad" (Tracie 2003)
• "Cookin' Catfish" / "Taking My Time" (20th Century/ABC 6708)
• "Ain't Got Time" / "Got a Good Thing Goin'" (Imperial 66351)
• "Do the Sissy" / "Turnin' On" (Imperial 66391)
• "Conversation with Collins" / "And Then It Started Raining" (Imperial 66412)
• "Coon 'n' Collards" / "Do What You Want to Do" (Liberty 56184)
• "Get Your Business Straight" / "Frog Jumpin'" (Tumbleweed 1002)
• "Eight Days on the Road" / "Stickin'" (Tumbleweed 1007)

• 1986 Further On Down the Road: Albert Collins, Lonnie Mack, Roy Buchanan – Live at Carnegie Hall (Alligator)
• 2003 The Iceman at Mount Fuji (Fuel 2000/Varese 061299)
• 2003 In Concert: One Filter (Music Video Distributors 6526)
• 2005 Albert Collins: Warner Bros. Classics (Warner Bros. 9086390)
• 2006 Live Has Many Faces (Munich MRDVD-6004)
• 2008 Live From Austin TX (New West NW-8051)
• 2008 Live at Montreux 1992 (Eagle Vision EREDV641)
• 2016 Live at Rockpalast – Dortmund 1980 (MIG Music 90632, 2-CD + DVD set)

• 1978 Live Has Many Faces (Barrelhouse featuring Albert Collins, filmed for the Dutch television show Tros Sesjun)
• 1987 Late Night with David Letterman (television show musical guest)
• 1987 Adventures in Babysitting (motion picture film cameo with his band)
• 1992 Austin City Limits [season 17, episode 5] (1991 studio concert)

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.alligator.com/artists/Albert-Collins/ Albert Collins at Alligator Records]
• [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092513/fullcredits Adventures in Babysitting at IMDB - Albert Collins Cameo]
• [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fcowg Albert Collins Biography at Texas State Historical Association]
• [http://musicbrainz.org/artist/73b8dddb-ec29-4d11-b449-d97fde73f07b Albert Collins Discography at MusicBrainz]

{{Albert Collins}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Albert}}

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