Lyn Collins

Lyn Collins
Background information
Birth name	Gloria Lavern Collins
Also known as	"Female Preacher"
Born	(1948-06-12)June 12, 1948 Lexington, Texas, U.S.
Died	March 13, 2005(2005-03-13) (aged 56) Pasadena, California, U.S.
Genres	Funk Soul R&B
Occupation(s)	Vocalist
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1962–2005
Labels	Polydor People
Associated acts	James Brown The J.B.'s

Gloria Lavern Collins, better known as Lyn Collins (June 12, 1948 – March 13, 2005), was an African-American soul singer best known for working with James Brown in the 1970s and for the influential 1972 funk single "Think (About It)". Contrary to some reports, she is not related to Bootsy and Catfish Collins.

Early life and career

Born in Lexington, Texas, she began her recording career aged 14. 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. The song contains five breaks which have been widely sampled 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" which is composed almost completely from samples of Think including a few lines of Collins' vocals.

Furthermore, it was used in the early sociocritical eurodance classic I Can't Stand It by Twenty 4 Seven, and in the 2013 EDM/House song "Everything You Never Had (We Had It All)" by Breach. Another album followed in 1975 Check Me Out If You Don't Know Me by Now. After the release of this album, she returned to performing mainly as a back-up vocalist.

In the late 1980s and early '90s, Collins attempted a comeback as a dance/club diva, recording the house single "Shout" for Belgium's ARS label. 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. Collins continued to tour and perform, most notably at the European Jazz/Funk Festival (in both 1998 and 1999) and the Montreux Jazz Festival.

In February 2005, Collins embarked on her first ever solo tour. For three weeks, she performed in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The tour was produced by the Soulpower organization.

Death

Shortly after returning from her European tour, Collins died aged 56 in Pasadena, California from cardiac arrhythmia.

Legacy

In 2006, Paris-based Hi&Fly Records released a live album entitled Mama Feelgood, which included recordings from her European tour and some interview clips. This release was produced by German-born DJ Pari, who has also produced for Marva Whitney and who has managed Collins' last tour. An official anthology CD, also called Mama Feelgood, was released on Universal Music that same year.

Reflecting on her time working with James Brown, she reportedly said, "I would have preferred to sing more and scream less."^[1]

Legacy

• 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.
• "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."

Discography

Albums

• Think (About It), 1972
• Check Me Out If You Don't Know Me by Now, 1975

Singles

References

External links

• Lyn Collins biography at Allmusic
• Lyn Collins, 56, Singer with James Brown, Dies, nytimes.com; accessed March 11, 2016.