Biography of Albert Collins

One of the most influential guitarists in the post-World War II period, Collins was a prominent performer in the Houston area who began recording in the '50s but lingered in obscurity until discovered by members of the rock group Canned Heat in 1966. His early recordings for the Hall label were collected in The Cool Sound of Albert Collins (TCF Hall 8002), which featured primarily instrumentals with similar titles ("Frosty," "Sno-Cone," "Frost Bite"). Collins has kept this identity since. Three albums on Imperial are a mixed lot -- gems mixed in with commercial dross. The '70s were largely uneventful for the guitarist until a 1978 relationship with Alligator Records. Here Collins began to blossom, and the Alligator albums, which continued to be released until 1986, are uniformly excellent and reveal a previously obscured ability as a blues singer. Still active and always a stimulating live performer, the "Master of the Telecaster" is going strong. His most recent album was on Charisma/Point Blank. ~ Bob Porter