Albert Collins

Albert Collins had a long recording career. There are a couple or three of albums that really stick out for me. (bet there is a bunch more). But for me it starts with Truckin…which Mike Brusha had back in 69. (he had more money than the rest of us at the time). Truckin  has a bunch of "Texas" hits (though some may be re recordings) including stuff JGeils redid…

Then there was Ice Pickin. When Hubert Sumlin stayed over, he played just one record, over and over, and it was this…Ice Pickin. What a great cover! This won an award!

One more….in my pantheon…. With Johnny Copeland and Robert Cray… (both really great too!) was Showdown! Both this and Avalanche were topnotch hits in the blues scene of the day. Then the Kools got him (or maybe Salems), and Albert slipped away.

I saw him once. In Eureka Calif on the night Elvis Presley died. Robert Cray Band opened and backed him.  This was before the wireless guitar connections to amps. Albert had an I-don’t-know-say-200-ft-chord. And he was known to do he started wandering through the audience .. went out the front door of the club… and .. actually .. completely across the street on the sidewalk where he kept on playing … the club is going wild looking  out the front .. playing all the time..That's Entertainment. I can tell you about his advice to Robert Cray (heard this second and third hand) on how to deal with managers) but I cant put this down on "paper" ..