Sunday Blues Shot: Albert Collins

Albert Collins was born in Leona, Texas, in 1932 the son of sharecroppers but later moved to the the black ghetto of Houston, TX. As a child he the learned to play piano as a youth and grew up listening to big-band music of Jimmie Lunceford, Count Basie, Louis Jordan, and Tommy Dorsey. His focus changed from the piano to the guitar after his organ was stolen. Fortunately, Collins learned to play guitar from his cousins Willow Young and Lightnin' Hopkins, both legendary bluesman.

His passion for the guitar grew as did his talent. In 1947 Collins began playing blues at local clubs with Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown.  Then in 1952, he formed his first band and spent two years as the headliner at several blues clubs in Houston. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s he continued to refine his style and absorb the blues sounds from Texas, Mississippi (Bentonia School) and Chicago. He regularly named John Lee Hooker and organist Jimmy McGriff, along with Hopkins, Guitar Slim and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown as major influences on his playing.

Collins in well-known for his unique sound featuring minor tunings. His razor-sharp guitar style combined sustained notes and an "attack" finger style. He also frequently used a  capo on his guitar, particularly on the 5th, 7th, and 9th frets. He primarily favored an "open F-minor" tuning (low to high: F-C-F-Ab-C-F). In the booklet from the CD Ice Pickin, it was stated that Collins tuned to a "D minor D-A-D-F-A-D" Tuning. He played without picks using his thumb and first finger. Collins credited his unusual tuning to his cousin, Willow Young, who taught it to him the 

By the late 1950s Collins began using Fender Telecasters. He later chose a "maple-cap" 1966 Custom Fender Telecaster with a PAF humbucker in the neck position and a 100 watt 1970s RMS silverface  Fender Quad Reverb combo as his main equipment.

Although he was largely unknown of until late in his career, he is considered one the best blues players of his era, while earning the nickname "Iceman" for his scorching solos and mind blowing riffs. He has influenced many artists and did collaborations with Ronnie Wood, Jimmy Page, Robert Cray, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Gary Moore, B.B. King and Eric Clapton. Collins was credited by the late guitarist Jimi Hendrix with being one of his primary influences.