Lyn Collins | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Gloria Lavern Collins |
Also known as | Female Preacher |
Born | Dime Box, Texas, U.S. | June 12, 1948
Died | March 13, 2005 56) Pasadena, California, U.S. | (aged
Genres | |
Occupation | Singer |
Years active | 1962–2005 |
Labels |
Gloria Lavern Collins (June 12, 1948 – March 13, 2005), [1] [2] better known as Lyn Collins, was an American soul singer best known for working with James Brown in the 1970s and for the influential 1972 funk single, "Think (About It)". [1]
A favorite among hip hop, R&B, and dance music producers for decades, Collins is by far the most sampled female artist of all time, with portions of her recordings used in well over 3,500 songs. [3]
Collins began her recording career at age 14. She played with Charles Pike & The Scholars. [1] She sent her demo tape to James Brown who initially prioritized her after Marva Whitney and Vicki Anderson. After Anderson left Brown for the second time, Collins received the opportunity to be the lead female in Brown's touring lineup. Her first single released was "Wheel of Life" in 1971 on King Records, when Brown left the label, Collins went to Polydor and People which left the record neglected. [4] Collins recorded "What My Baby Needs Now Is a Little More Lovin'" with James Brown in 1972.
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. [1] The song contains five breaks which have been sampled widely 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" [1] which is composed almost completely from samples of Think, including a few lines of Collins' vocals. [5] She also recorded the 1974 funk song "Rock Me Again and Again and Again and Again and Again and Again".
In 1975, she released album Check Me Out If You Don't Know Me by Now. [6] She would go on to sing backup for Dionne Warwick and Rod Stewart. [4] In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Collins attempted a comeback as a dance/club diva, recording the house single "Shout" for Belgium's ARS label. [1] During this period a European tour was completed and a 1987 show alongside James Brown's Funky People which did not feature James Brown performing. [4] 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. [1]
In February 2005, Collins embarked on her first solo tour. For three weeks, she performed in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Shortly after returning from her 2005 European tour, Collins died from a seizure related to cardiac arrhythmia in Pasadena, California, at the age of 56. [5] Fellow James Brown backup singer Martha High was alongside Collins during her final days alive. [4]
In 2006, Paris-based Hi&Fly Records released a live album titled Mama Feelgood, which included recordings from her European tour and some interview clips. This release was produced by German-born DJ Pari, who produced for Marva Whitney and managed Collins' last tour.
Reflecting on her time working with James Brown, she reportedly said "I would have preferred to sing more and scream less." [7]
In October 2004, "Rock Me Again and Again" and "Think (About It)" featured on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack, playing on fictional radio station Master Sounds 98.3. [8] "Rock Me Again and Again" was covered by synth band The Human League on their 1984 album Hysteria. Bruce Springsteen's song "Shackled and Drawn" from his 2012 album Wrecking Ball and Ludacris' song "Southern Fried Intro" from his 2003 album Chicken-n-Beer both feature an excerpt from Collins' song "Me and My Baby Got Our Own Thing Going".
Year | Album | US R&B [9] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1972 | Think (About It) | 34 | |||
1975 | Check Me Out If You Don't Know Me by Now | — | |||
2005 | Mama Feelgood: The Best of Lyn Collins | — | |||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart. |
Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [9] | US R&B [9] | ||||||||
1972 | "Think (About It)" | 66 | 9 | Think (About It) | |||||
"Me and My Baby Got a Good Thing Going" | 86 | — | Non-album single | ||||||
"What My Baby Needs Now Is a Little More Lovin'" (with James Brown) | 56 | 17 | |||||||
1973 | "Take Me Just as I Am" | — | 35 | ||||||
"We Want to Parrty, Parrty, Parrty" | — | 64 | |||||||
"Mama Feelgood" | — | 37 | Black Caesar (Soundtrack) | ||||||
1974 | "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 (6 Times)" | — | 53 | |||||||
1975 | "If You Don't Know Me by Now" | — | 82 | ||||||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||||||
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, dancer, and musician. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by various nicknames, among them "Mr. Dynamite", "the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business", "Minister of New Super Heavy Funk", "Godfather of Soul", "King of Soul", and "Soul Brother No. 1". In a career that lasted more than 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres. Brown was one of the first ten inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 23, 1986. His music has been heavily sampled by hip-hop musicians and other artists.
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"Hot Pants (She Got to Use What She Got to Get What She Wants)" is a 1971 song by American singer James Brown, released as a single on his People Records label (then distributed by King Records) in July of that year with "Pt. 1" on the A-side and "Pt. 2 and 3" on the B-side. It was a number-one hit on the Billboard R&B chart, and reached number fifteen on the Hot 100 and number ten on the Cashbox magazine charts. "Hot Pants" was Brown's final release under King's purview before he and the People label moved to Polydor Records.
"Think (About It)" is a funk song recorded by Lyn Collins and released as a single on James Brown's People Records in 1972. The recording was produced by Brown (who also wrote the song) and features instrumental backing from his band The J.B.'s. It was the title track of Collins' 1972 debut album. The song is very popular for its raw drumbeat dressed with tambourine and multiple background vocals, which suggest the song was recorded altogether in one take, with Jabo Starks playing drums. It peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles chart and No. 66 on the Hot 100. Owing to the composition, it became a fan favourite and has been featured on various compilation albums posthumously. In the closing lyrics, Collins sings lines from "Think", which shows that this song was one of the few adaptations of the 5 Royales song that Brown loved to do. "Think (About It)" is among the most sampled songs of all time.
Vicki Anderson was an American soul singer best known for her performances with the James Brown Revue. She recorded a number of singles under both her birth and stage names. She was the widow of Bobby Byrd and mother of musician Carleen Anderson.
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DJ Pari, born Markus Schmidt, is a German-American DJ, producer and journalist. He is mostly known for his collaborations with Soul legends like Marva Whitney, Gwen McCrae, Lyn Collins, The Impressions and James Brown amongst others.
The Think break is a drum break that has been widely sampled in popular music. It comes from the 1972 song "Think " by the American soul singer Lyn Collins, written and produced by James Brown. The drum break was performed by John "Jabo" Starks.
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