Albert Collins
Albert Collins (born October 1, 1932 in Leona , Texas , † November 24, 1993 in Las Vegas ) was an American blues guitarist and singer. His fans gave him numerous nicknames, such as Ice Man or Master of the Telecaster .
life and work
Collins was a distant relative of Lightnin 'Hopkins . He learned to play the guitar at an early age. During the 1940s and 1950s he heard the styles of Texas Blues , Delta Blues and Chicago Blues , from which he developed his own style. In 1952 Collins formed his first band and was soon the number one band for blues clubs in Houston , Texas. In 1958 he made his first recordings. He released a few singles, mainly instrumental titles such as Frosty . In 1965 he moved to Kansas City , where he quickly became known.
In 1967 Collins went to San Francisco to make more recordings . He performed with bands like Canned Heat , and in 1968 his first album was released. He gave highly acclaimed concerts at the Fillmore and in Winterland . In 1973 Collins moved back to Texas. He toured successfully in the USA, Canada , Europe and Japan . Well-known blues musicians like Robert Cray , Debbie Davies , Stevie Ray Vaughan , Jonny Lang , Susan Tedeschi and Kenny Wayne Shepherd were influenced by him.
Collins played in the open guitar mood in F minor (fcf-a-flat-cf), which is unusual for blues musicians . In addition, he brought in the amount of the 7th Federal his electric guitar a capo , so that Collins also played in the rhythm game in relatively high positions, starting from the tonic C. He was neither a pick nor a thumb pick user, but plucked with the thumb and forefinger of his right hand. Collins usually didn't wear the guitar strap over his shoulder and back as usual, but just slipped his right arm through the strap and only carried the guitar on the strap with his shoulder. He also used very long guitar cables, which enabled him to mix with the audience while playing electric guitar or to leave the locality at small clubs to play on his guitar amplifier from the street .
Collins worked in 1987 on the concept album Spillane by New York avant-garde musician John Zorn ; whose composition Two Lane Highway was a feature for the blues guitarist. Gary Moore played in 1990 with Albert Collins and Albert King as guest musicians on the album Still got the Blues , with "Ice Man" Collins accompanying the subsequent tour as a guest musician.
Albert Collins died in Las Vegas in 1993 of complications from liver cancer .
In 2011, Rolling Stone listed Collins as 56th of the 100 best guitarists of all time .
Discography
Solo albums
- The Cool Sounds of Albert Collins (1964)
- Love Can Be Found Anywhere (even in a guitar) (1968)
- Trash Talkin ' (1968)
- Truckin 'With Albert Collins (1969)
- Alive & Cool (1969)
- The Compleat Albert Collins (1970)
- There's Gotta Be a Change (1972)
- Molten Ice, The Hot 'Cool' Sound of Albert Collins (1973)
- Ice Pickin ' (1978, awarded the Prix Big Bill Broonzy )
- Frostbite (1980)
- Frozen Alive (1981)
- Don't Lose Your Cool (1983)
- Live In Japan (1984)
- Cold Snap (1986)
- Albert Collins and Barrelhouse live (1986)
- Sudden Frost (1986)
- Iceman (1991)
- Collins Mix: The Best (1993)
- Live '92 / '93 (1995)
- The Complete Imperial Recordings (1991, contains albums: Love Can Be Found Anywhere , Trash Talkin ' , The Compleat Albert Collins )
- Live At Montreux 1992 (2008)
- In Concert (1997, contains 5 songs from Molten Ice, other were recorded at the Fillmore Auditorium, California)
- Jammin 'with Albert, feat. Champion Jack Dupree / Rory Gallagher (Release date unknown, contains material from Montreux July '79 / Nyon July '83)
- Live At Rockpalast - Dortmund 1980 (2016, 2-CD / DVD-Set)
- At Onkel Pö's Carnegie Hall - Hamburg 1980 (2017, 2-CD-Set)
With other musicians
- Richie Havens, Taj Mahal, Albert Collins, Queen Ida, Elizabeth Cotten: At The New Morning Blues Festival (1979, double LP)
- Albert Collins, Robert Cray , Johnny Copeland : Showdown! (1985; remastered reissue 2011 with a bonus track added )
- Albert Collins, Etta James, Joe Walsh: Jump The Blues Away (1988)
- Robert Cray with Albert Collins: In Concert (1999, concert recording from 1977)
Guest appearances
| Interpreter | Album title | Record label | Year of publication |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenth Anniversary Anthology | Vol. 1 | Antones's | 1986 | ANT0004CD |
| Gary Moore | Still Got The Blues | Virgin | 1990 | CDV 2612 |
| Gary Moore & Midnight Blues Band | Livin Blues | Magic Mushrooms Records | 1990 | MMR-CD 9101 |
| Uptown Horns | revue | VICEROY music semaphore | 1990 | 26638-222 CD |
| John Lee Hooker | Mr. Lucky | Silvertone | 1991 | ZD75087 |
| Antones's Anniversary Anthology | Vol. 2 | Antone's | 1991 | ANTCD0016 |
| John Lee Hooker | Boom boom | Point blank | 1992 | VPBCD 12 |
| Gary Moore | After hours | Virgin | 1992 | CDV 2684 |
| Ron Levy 's Wild Kingdom | B-3 Blues And Grooves | Rounder | 1993 | BULLSEYE BLUES CD BB 9532 |
| Debbie Davies | Picture This | Blind Pig Records | 1993 | BPcd 5004 |
| BB King | Blues Summit | MCA Records | 1993 | MCD 10710 |
| John Mayall | wake up call | Silvertone | 1993 | ORE CD 527 |
| Buckshot LeFonque | Buckshot LeFonque | 1994 | ||
| AC Reed | Junk food | Ice Cube Records | 1997 | IC3970 |
Web links
- Albert Collins at Allmusic (English)
- Albert Collins discography at MusicBrainz (accessed April 5, 2013)
Individual evidence
- ↑ 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Rolling Stone , December 18, 2015, accessed August 8, 2017 .
- ↑ The data were taken from the information on the sound carriers.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Collins, Albert |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ice Man (nickname); Master of the Telecaster (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American blues guitarist and singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 1, 1932 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Leona , Texas |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 24, 1993 |
| Place of death | Las Vegas |