Lyn Collins

Not to be confused with the actress Lynn Collins.
Lyn Collins
Background information
Birth name Gloria Lavern Collins
Also known as "Female Preacher"
Born (1948-06-12)June 12, 1948
Lexington, Texas, U.S.
Died March 13, 2005(2005-03-13) (aged 56)
Pasadena, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s) Vocalist
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1962–2005
Labels
Associated acts

Gloria Lavern Collins, better known as Lyn Collins (June 12, 1948 March 13, 2005), was an African-American soul singer best known for working with James Brown in the 1970s and for the influential 1972 funk single "Think (About It)". Contrary to some reports, she is not related to Bootsy and Catfish Collins.

Early life and career

Born in Lexington, Texas, she began her recording career aged 14. Her biggest solo hit was the James Brown-produced gospel-style song "Think (About It)", from her 1972 album of the same name on People Records. The song contains five breaks which have been widely sampled in hip-hop and drum and bass, most famously, the "Yeah! Woo!" and "It takes two to make a thing go right" loops in Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's "It Takes Two" which is composed almost completely from samples of Think including a few lines of Collins' vocals.

Furthermore, it was used in the early sociocritical eurodance classic I Can't Stand It by Twenty 4 Seven, and in the 2013 EDM/House song "Everything You Never Had (We Had It All)" by Breach. Another album followed in 1975 Check Me Out If You Don't Know Me by Now. After the release of this album, she returned to performing mainly as a back-up vocalist.

In the late 1980s and early '90s, Collins attempted a comeback as a dance/club diva, recording the house single "Shout" for Belgium's ARS label. In 1993, Collins' profile was given a boost by female dancehall singer Patra, who invited Collins to perform on her hit remake of "Think (About It)"; partly due to the resulting interest, her two official albums were reissued in England and the Netherlands. Collins continued to tour and perform, most notably at the European Jazz/Funk Festival (in both 1998 and 1999) and the Montreux Jazz Festival.

In February 2005, Collins embarked on her first ever solo tour. For three weeks, she performed in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The tour was produced by the Soulpower organization.

Death

Shortly after returning from her European tour, Collins died aged 56 in Pasadena, California from cardiac arrhythmia.

Legacy

In 2006, Paris-based Hi&Fly Records released a live album entitled Mama Feelgood, which included recordings from her European tour and some interview clips. This release was produced by German-born DJ Pari, who has also produced for Marva Whitney and who has managed Collins' last tour. An official anthology CD, also called Mama Feelgood, was released on Universal Music that same year.

Reflecting on her time working with James Brown, she reportedly said, "I would have preferred to sing more and scream less."[1]

Legacy

Discography

Albums

Singles

Year Single Peak chart
positions
Album
US US
R&B
1972 "Think (About It)" 66 9 Think (About It)
1972 "Me and My Baby Got a Good Thing Going" 86 Non-Album Single
1973 "Take Me As I Am" 35 Non-Album Single
"We Want to Parrty, Parrty, Parrty" 64 Non-Album Single
1974 "Mama Feelgood" 37 Non-Album Single
"Give it Up or Turnit a Loose" 77 Non-Album Single
"How Long Can I Keep it Up" 45 Check Me Out If You Don't Know Me by Now
"Rock Me Again & Again & Again & Again & Again & Again" 53 Check Me Out If You Don't Know Me by Now
1975 "If You Don't Know Me By Now" 82 Check Me Out If You Don't Know Me by Now
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References

  1. Brown, Geoff (2008). The Life of James Brown. London, England: Omnibus Press. p. 197. ISBN 9781846099588.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.