Phil Collins, the #33 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"He is just amazing.  That's all there is to it."

"An absolute genius."

"Phil Collins is one of the best singers around."

"A living legend who never wrote a bad song."

"A great songwriter and musician."

"Wow!  What talent!"

"Phil Collins is a master. The man is one of the geniuses still with us."

"He is an iconic talent."

"Phil is one of the best of a generation. He is top shelf."

"What an amazing artist. His work is truly timeless."

"Phillip Collins rules!"

"He's a fantastic artist...piano, powerful vocals and a monster on the drums."

"He's one of the best music artists of all-time."

"What incredible talent!"

"Brilliant artist and so talented. Love his music!"

"Phil Collins knows how to bring the mood out of the songs that he sings."

"The amount of love and respect I have for this man is unreal."

"Phil Collins is an absolutely legendary singer."

"My favorite romantic singer."

"I love Phil's music. He's just amazing."

"This guy is really talented. Great musician."

"Love, gratitude and respect for Phil Collins."

"Man, Phil is soooooooo talented! I love his music... the lyrics, the voice and the passion!!! wow!"

"The best interpreter of romantic songs in English. His music is unique."

"Phil Collins, a present-day genius. Song after song, hit after hit, he just delivers the goods."

"His music goes straight to the heart."

Phillip David Charles "Phil" Collins was born January 30, 1951.  He began playing drums at the age of five and he began professional acting training at age 14 at the Barbara Speake Stage School.  He landed a role as the Artful Dodger in the London stage production of Oliver! and was an extra in the Beatles' movie A Hard Days Night in 1964.  He later appeared in the movie Calamity the Cow in 1967.  While Phil was at the Chiswick Country School for Boys, he joined the band the Real Thing, and later wrote his first song when he was in the group the Freehold. 

Collins then joined the group Hickory, which, after changing their name to Flaming Youth, signed a recording contract with Uni Records and released the album Ark 2 in 1969.  The group toured for a year but split in 1970.  Collins played percussion on "Art Of Dying" on the George Harrison album All Things Must Pass.

 In 1970, Collins joined Genesis as its drummer and first appeared with the group on the album Nursery Cryme in 1971.  After touring to support the 1975 album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, lead singer Peter Gabriel departed for a solo career.  Collins took over lead vocal duties beginning with the album A Trick of the Tail, which was the group's best-selling album to that point.  

With Collins on lead, each album got progressively better, leading to the six-million selling classic album Invisible Touch in 1986.  Meanwhile, while Genesis was on hiatus in 1978, Phil went to Vancouver, Canada in a failed attempt to save his marriage that had been strained by constant touring.  After returning to his home in Shalford, Surrey, England, Collins began writing songs for his first solo album.  Genesis recorded the album Duke in 1980.

Collins released his album Face Value in 1981.  The lead single "In The Air Tonight" represents an historical achievement in audio processing with the invention of gated reverb, which combines strong reverb and noise gate.  Hugh Padgham and producer Steve Lillywhite invented the technique which is now most commonly applied to drums to make them sound more punchy.

"In The Air Tonight" jumped to the Top 3 everywhere in the world (including #1 in New Zealand, West Germany, Sweden and Switzerland) except the United States, where Billboard stopped it at #19.  A closer look, however, examines that the song should have been ranked much higher in the U.S.--it sold over six million singles and was on one of the top albums of the year.  Thus, "In The Air Tonight" is one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

 

To illustrate the above point, Phil's second single, "I Missed Again", also peaked at #19 and it did not reach one million singles sold.  It features a tenor sax solo from Ronnie Scott, whose club it was where Jimi Hendrix performed for the last time.  The Phenix Horns (Don Myrick, Louis Satterfield, Rahmlee Davis and Michael Harris), famous for playing on many Earth, Wind & Fire songs, also backed Collins here.

 

Face Value topped Album charts in seven countries and has sold over five million copies.  Phil performed at The Secret Policeman's Other Ball at the Theatre Royal in London in a benefit for Amnesty International.  "Droned" is a progressive instrumental featuring an Indian raga sound.

Collins produced the album himself with assistance from Hugh Padgham, who went on to co-produce several Collins and Genesis albums in the '80's.  This track describes a man who has been poor and his family is struggling financially.  This haunting song is "The Roof Is Leaking".

 

Much of Phil's first solo album reflects his feelings after his wife Andrea left him.  She told Collins that if he committed to a full tour with Genesis in 1981 that she would not be home when he got back.  Phil told Andrea that the group was on the verge of greatness and the tour would pay off in the long run.  But at the end of the tour, Andrea indeed left and took the couple's two children to Vancouver, Canada.  Phil moved to Vancouver himself in an effort to save his marriage, but it did no good.  "If Leaving Me Is Easy" is one such example of the influence his divorce had on this album.

Collins then returned his attention to Genesis for the albums Duke and Three Sides Live and produced and played on the solo album Something's Going On by Anni-Frid Lyngstad of ABBA.  Phil also played drums on the first solo album by Robert Plant, lead singer of Led Zeppelin.

 

In 1982, Collins released the album Hello, I Must Be Going!.  His cover of the Supremes smash "You Can't Hurry Love" rose to #1 in the U.K., Ireland and the Netherlands, #3 in West Germany and Australia and #10 in the U.S.

 

The album, named after the Marx Brothers' movie of the same name, has gone over three million in sales in the U.S. alone.  "I Don't Care Anymore" is another Top Track*, as evidenced by a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male.

 

If his first solo effort conveyed how miserable he was, the second was much more positive, as Collins had met his second wife Jill Tavelman prior to recording.  "Like China" finds Collins singing with a Cockney accent.

After a successful tour of North America and Europe, Phil again played drums for Plant on his album The Principle of Moments.

Genesis released their self-titled album and toured in 1984.  Meanwhile, Collins released the solo single "Against All Odds", the theme from the great movie of the same name.  The smash hit resided at #1 for three weeks on the Popular chart and piled up six weeks at #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart and sold over one million copies in the U.S., also reached #1 in Ireland and landed in the Top 10 in every major country except the Netherlands (#12) and Austria (#13).  

Collins' classic won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male and was nominated for the prestigious Song of the Year, while the Soundtrack was nominated for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special.  Collins also earned a nomination at the Golden Globe Awards.

This incredible talent has much more music to share--join us for Parts II and III!