There has never been and may never be again a bluesman quite like Albert Collins. Born on October 1, 1932, in Leona, Texas, Collins was deeply influenced by T-Bone Walker, John Lee Hooker and Gatemouth Brown, Collins absorbed the sounds of Mississippi, Chicago, and especially Texas. He had many nicknames such as "The Ice Man", "The Master of the Telecaster" and "The Razor Blade.” Some of you might remember him for his cameo appearance in the film “Adventures in Babysitting” he insisted to Elisabeth Shue that "nobody leaves this place without singin’ the blues", forcing the children to improvise a song before escaping.

Collins was known not only for the quantity of quality blues music that he put out throughout his career that has inspired so many other blues musicians, (Robert Cray, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnny Lang, Kenny Wayne Sheperd, John Mayer, and Frank Zappa just to name a few) but also for his live performances, where he would frequently come down from the stage, attached to his amplifier with a very long cord, and mingle with the audience whilst still playing. He was known to leave clubs while still playing, and continue to play outside on the sidewalk, even boarding a city bus in Chicago while playing, outside of a club called Biddy Mulligan’s (the bus driver stayed at the bus stop until Collins got off).

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