Phil Collins, The #33 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Three

 

Be sure to listen to Part One 

and Part Two

first!

 

The following year, Collins released the album ...But Seriously.  David Crosby sang backing vocals on "Another Day In Paradise", one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.  It dominated the music scene for four weeks on the Popular chart and five weeks on the AC chart in the U.S. and hit #1 in West Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland and #2 in the U.K., Austria and Ireland.  

For the second time in five years, Collins won the prestigious Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards and chalked up a Gold single.

Collins received eight other nominations at the Grammy Awards--Song of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male and Best Music Video, Short Form (for "Another Day In Paradise", Non-Classical Producer of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Pop Instrumental Performance (for "Saturday Night And Sunday Morning" and Best Music Video, Long Form (The Singles Collection).

 
The album rose to #1 in every major country in the world and finished 1990 as the top-selling album in the United Kingdom.  It has sold over four million copies in the United States and over 14.5 million around the world.  The #3 smash "I Wish It Would Rain Down" included Eric Clapton on guitar and topped the Canadian chart for six weeks.

 Collins earned American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Pop/Rock Male Album.  He flew to #1 for five weeks on the AC chart and #4 overall with "Do You Remember?", which is about "how you might meet an old flame and start to reminisce, realizing that the reasons for breaking up were maybe not what you remembered," Collins told The Mail on Sunday.  "We paint ourselves into corners, and pride doesn't allow us to see things any other way."  Stephen Bishop, who wrote "Separate Lives" for him, sings backing vocals.  

 

Phil enjoyed another of his biggest and most enduring with "Something Happened On The Way To Heaven", a #2 smash with Adults and #4 overall.  For the second consecutive album, Collins enjoyed four Top 10 hits, and this time those four all peaked in the Top 5.  After an incredibly hot streak of 14 Top 10 songs in eight years, however, it was his last big hit.

Phil's album Serious Hits...Live! was #1 in West Germany and the Netherlands and is just short of 10 million units sold globally.  Phil received an honorary doctorate of music from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in 1991.

Genesis recorded the album We Can't Dance in 1991 and toured into the following year.  It was the final album Phil recorded with the band.

 Collins played all of the instruments on the album Both Sides in 1993, which reached #1 in the U.K., West Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland and landed in the Top 10 in every major country except the United States, where it stopped at #13.  Although his duet with David Crosby (who wrote the song and recorded it originally), "Hero", reached #3 on the AC chart, it stalled at #44 overall. 

 

The album nonetheless has topped four million in worldwide sales.  Phil officially left Genesis in 1996 and released the Gold album Dance into the Light in 1996.  Collins enjoyed one of the best tours of the year while promoting the album.  Although all of six singles failed to reach the Top 10, "Just Another Story" is a solid track.

Collins was nominated for Best Instrumental Arrangement with Accompanying Vocals for his collaboration with Quincy Jones and Sammy Nestico, "Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me".  

 

Phil and his band concluded a world tour in 1998 with a performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival.  Collins released his compilation album Hits, which has gone over 10 million in worldwide sales.  Phil recorded a remake of Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" for the album and jumped to #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

In 1999, Collins released the live album A Hot Night in Paris.

 

Phil recorded the soundtrack for the animated movie Tarzan.  "You'll Be In My Heart" presided at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for 19 weeks, a record at the time.  He sang his songs in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish for the soundtrack.  With an overall peak of #21, it is an obvious choice for one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*. 

Collins earned an American Music Award for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist for his work on Tarzan and won a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "You'll Be In My Heart".  He won a Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Album and was nominated for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.  In the summer, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The next year, however, Phil became partially deaf in one ear due to a viral infection.  In 2002, Phil was the drummer for the house band at the Party at the Palace concert in honor of Queen Elizabeth II.

 

In 2003, Collins was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.  He released his solo album Testify, which was his lowest-selling album to date.  Phil notched his eighth #1 AC hit with another song that Popular radio stations missed the boat on--"Can't Stop Loving You", a song written and originally recorded by Billy Nichols.  Leo Sayer, the Outlaws and Keith Urban have also covered it.  

Collins recorded songs for the 2003 animated movie Brother Bear.  Phil went on tour in 2004 and 2005 before working with Disney on the musical production of Tarzan.

(Photo provided by ITV)

Phil joined Genesis for the Turn It On Again tour in 2007.  Collins announced in 2009 that because of his deaf ear, he wouldn't be able to drum again.  In 2010, he released an album of Motown covers called Going Back.  Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions originally recorded "You've Been Cheatin'".

The following year, he announced that he was retiring to concentrate on his family life with his third wife, Orianne. 

However, in 2015, Collins announced that he was planning to record a new album and tour.  In 2016, Phil released his autobiography, Not Dead Yet.  He toured that year in Europe, and tickets to all five shows at the Royal Albert Hall sold out in 15 seconds.

Phil has registered 27 career hits with a sensational 14 of those reaching the Top 10 and seven going to #1.  He has 19 hits on the Adult Contemporary chart, with all but five of those hitting the Top 10 and eight #1's.  That consistent chart record makes Collins is one of the most reliable artists of all-time.  He owns a Diamond album, four that have sold at least four million, six that have sold at least three million and nine Gold albums and six Gold singles. 

Collins has bagged seven Grammy Awards from an impressive 24 nominations, three American Music Awards out of seven nominations, two Golden Globe Awards out of three nominations, two Oscars from three Academy Award nominations and one MTV Music Video Award from two nominations.

Collins has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, according to the Royal Albert Hall in London.  

The Top 100 Artists Checklist: #35-100

We hope you are enjoying The Top 100 Artists* special!  The best way to listen to it is to listen to each song by each artist, one immediately after the other, the way it was first presented on radio.  Everyone's tastes are different, but it is readily apparent from listening to the great array of songs that each of these artists have had amazing careers.  Here is our handy checklist to make it easy to catch up on superstars you may have missed:

Prelude:

#102-- Dan Fogelberg, Part One

Dan Fogelberg, Part Two

Dan Fogelberg, Part Three

Dan Fogelberg, Part Four

#101--Christina Aguilera

The Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era:

#100--Tom Petty

#99--Platters

#98--Coldplay

#97--Beyonce

#96--Alicia Keys

#95--America

#94--Four Tops

#93--Dionne Warwick

#92--Tina Turner

#91--Kool & the Gang, Part One

Kool & the Gang, Part Two

#90--John Lennon

#89--Commodores

#88--Police

#87--Eric Clapton, Part One

Eric Clapton, Part Two

#86--Metallica, Part One

Metallica, Part Two

#85--Def Leppard

#84--Cars

#83--Jackson Browne, Part One

Jackson Browne, Part Two

Jackson Browne, Part Three

#82--Van Halen, Part One

Van Halen, Part Two

#81--Styx, Part One

Styx, Part Two

#80--Huey Lewis & the News

#79--Diana Ross

#78--Cher

#77--Electric Light Orchestra, Part One

ELO, Part Two

#76--Heart, Part One

Heart, Part Two

#75--Michael Bolton, Part One

Michael Bolton, Part Two

#74--Boyz II Men

#73--AC/DC, Part One

AC/DC, Part Two

#72--Paul Simon, Part One

Paul Simon, Part Two

#71--Usher, Part One

Usher, Part Two

#70.  Hall & Oates, Part One

        Hall & Oates, Part Two

#69.  Jackson Five

#68.  Gloria Estefan, Part One

         Gloria Estefan, Part Two

#67.  Doors, Part One

         Doors, Part Two

#66.  Earth, Wind & Fire, Part One

         Earth, Wind & Fire, Part Two

#65.  Taylor Swift, Part One

         Taylor Swift, Part Two

         Taylor Swift, Part Three

#64.  Everly Brothers, Part One

         Everly Brothers, Part Two

#63.  Moody Blues, Part One

         Moody Blues, Part Two

#62.  Bon Jovi, Part One

         Bon Jovi, Part Two

#61.  Rihanna, Part One

         Rihanna, Part Two

         Rihanna, Part Three

#60.  Genesis, Part One

         Genesis, Part Two

#59.  Doobie Brothers, Part One

         Doobie Brothers, Part Two

#58.  Aerosmith, Part One

         Aerosmith, Part Two

#57.  Four Seasons, Part One

         Four Seasons, Part Two

#56.  Santana, Part One

         Santana, Part Two

#55.  George Michael, Part One

         George Michael, Part Two

         George Michael, Part Three

#54.  Pink Floyd, Part One

         Pink Floyd, Part Two

         Pink Floyd, Part Three

#53.  Garth Brooks, Part One

         Garth Brooks, Part Two

         Garth Brooks, Part Three

#52.  Three Dog Night, Part One

         Three Dog Night, Part Two

#51.  Queen, Part One

         Queen, Part Two

         Queen, Part Three

#50.  Paul McCartney & Wings, Part One

          Paul McCartney & Wings, Part Two

#49.   ABBA, Part One

          ABBA, Part Two

          ABBA, Part Three

#48.  Bryan Adams, Part One

         Bryan Adams, Part Two

#47.  John Mellencamp, Part One

         John Mellencamp, Part Two

         John Mellencamp, Part Three

         John Mellencamp, Part Four

#46.  James Taylor, Part One

         James Taylor, Part Two

         James Taylor, Part Three

#45.  Prince, Part One

         Prince, Part Two

         Prince, Part Three

#44.  Barry Manilow, Part One

         Barry Manilow, Part Two

         Barry Manilow, Part Three

         Barry Manilow, Part Four

#43.  Who, Part One

         Who, Part Two

         Who, Part Three

#42.  Lionel Richie, Part One

         Lionel Richie, Part Two

#41.  Temptations, Part One

         Temptations, Part Two

         Temptations, Part Three

#40.  Donna Summer, Part One

         Donna Summer, Part Two

         Donna Summer, Part Three

#39.  Frank Sinatra, Part One

         Frank Sinatra, Part Two

         Frank Sinatra, Part Three

         Frank Sinatra, Part Four

         Frank Sinatra, Part Five

#38.  Journey, Part One

         Journey, Part Two

         Journey, Part Three

         Journey, Part Four

#37.  Foreigner, Part One

         Foreigner, Part Two

         Foreigner, Part Three

#36.  Olivia Newton-John, Part One

         Olivia Newton-John, Part Two

         Olivia Newton-John, Part Three

#35.  Janet Jackson, Part One

         Janet Jackson, Part Two

         Janet Jackson, Part Three

Phil Collins, The #33 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Two

 

(Continued from Part One)

 

Phil collaborated with Philip Bailey, vocalist with Earth, Wind & Fire, on his solo album Chinese Wall.  The pair notched a #2 hit of two weeks on the AC chart that stalled at #15 overall.  Having sold over one million copies in the U.S. alone and hitting the top spot in both the U.K. and Ireland, it is another of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs*.  Collins and Bailey were nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the Grammy Awards and won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Performance in a Video.

 

Later in the year, Phil capped a busy year by performing on the Band Aid charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?".

 Collins released the album No Jacket Required in 1985.  The single "One More Night" (featured in the great movie The Color of Money, starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise), achieved a double #1 in the United States--#1 for two weeks Popular and #1 for three weeks Adult Contemporary.  It sold over one million copies and reached the Top 10 in nearly every major country, including a stop at #2 in Australia.

You may have wondered what "Sussudio" means.  Nothing.  It is merely an example of Collins improvising lyrics.  He explains:

     This is one of those examples of improvising lyrics. 

     You know, sometimes you can use the lyric, other 

     times you're in big trouble, because what you write

     doesn't mean anything. So I set up this drum-

     machine pad, and I got some chords, and I started to

     sing into the microphone, and this word came out,

     which was 'sus-sussudio.' It just literally came out, 

     at the time... that was back when I could dance, so I 

     kind of knew I had to find something else for that 

    word, then I went back and tried to find another word

     that scanned as well as 'sussudio,' and I couldn't find 

    one, so I went back to 'sussudio.

"Sussudio" gave Phil two #1's in a row and his fourth Gold single in a little over a year.

The album reached #1 in every major country in the world except Austria, where it peaked at #11, and has sold over 18 million copies worldwide.  Collins released the single "Don't Lose My Number", a #4 smash from the album.  Phil played several instruments on the song, including drums and keyboards.

 Collins was in the middle of a hot streak of songwriting, but he didn't pen this one.  Stephen Bishop, who had hits with "On And On" and "Save It For A Rainy Day", wrote it for him.  In 1985, Phil also recorded "Separate Lives", a duet with Marilyn Martin, for the movie White Nights, and it too rose to #1 Popular and #1 for three weeks AC.

Phil won Grammy Awards for Album of the Year, Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, for No Jacket Required.  He was nominated for Best Music Video, Short Form, for the album and for his role in "Do They Know It's Christmas?".

 Collins performed at Live Aid in both London and Philadelphia, the only performer to appear at both locations.  He pulled a fourth Top 10 hit from the album when the great song "Take Me Home" took off, underrated even at #7, as evidenced by its peak of #2 for three weeks on the Adult Contemporary chart. 

 

(photo provided by B. Spremo, Getty Images)

Phil received American Music Award nominations for Favorite Pop/Rock Album, Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist and Favorite Pop/Rock Male Video Artist and was nominated for Best Male Video at the MTV VMA's.

Genesis released their biggest album, Invisible Touch, in 1985 before Phil played drums, sang backing vocals and co-produced Howard Jones's hit "No One Is To Blame" in 1986 and co-produced Eric Clapton's 1987 album August.

Phil received an honorary doctorate of fine arts from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1987.  In 1988, Collins starred in the movie Buster and recorded songs for the soundtrack album.  "Groovy Kind Of Love", Phil's remake of the Mindbenders hit, raced to #1 in the U.S., the U.K., Ireland and Switzerland and reached the Top 10 throughout the world.  It sold over one million singles, Phil's fifth single to achieve the feat, and scored a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male.

 

"Two Hearts" also climbed to #1 for two weeks overall and #1 for five weeks on the AC chart.  Phil co-wrote the song with Lamont Dozier, one-third of the legendary Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team at Motown Records that wrote 12 #1 songs.  "I grew up with Lamont's music," Phil said.  "He's written some of the best songs, and to have my name next to his at the bottom of the song credit means an awful lot to me".  

Collins won a Grammy Award for Best Original Song and was once again nominated at the Golden Globe Awards in the same category.  

Join us for Part Three of Phil Collins!