Lyn Collins

Nicknamed the "Female Preacher," Lyn Collins came to attention in the early 1970s when James Brown, then shifting into his most intense funk period, encountered her together with her relatives Bootsy and Catfish Collins. Born in Abilene, Texas, on June 12, 1948, she spent her childhood there and began performing as a teenager, cutting the track "Unlucky in Love" at fourteen. She wed a husband who doubled as her manager and as the area booker for the James Brown Revue. After mailing Brown a demo, she was placed on hold in 1970 following Marva Whitney’s departure from the Revue. When former singer Vicki Anderson chose to return instead, Brown summoned Collins to Georgia for a session in early 1971 that yielded the single "Wheel of Life." By year’s end Anderson stepped away once more, allowing Collins to become an official member of the Revue. Brown’s People Records imprint issued Collins’s self-penned "Think (About It)" in 1972; Brown produced the track, which marked her debut and greatest commercial success, established her as the top-selling female vocalist associated with Brown, and later supplied the central vocal sample for the party-rap staple "It Takes Two" by Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock. Her debut long-player, likewise titled Think (About It), appeared later that year. She kept issuing singles for Brown through 1973 while maintaining her demanding tour schedule with the Revue. Her sophomore album, Check It Out if You Don’t Know Me by Now, surfaced in 1975. Eventually she worked as a session backup singer and contributed to the soundtracks of the film Dr. Detroit and the television series Fame. In the late 1980s and early 1990s she pursued a dance-club comeback, cutting the house single "Shout" for Belgium’s ARS label and the self-written "Break Your Heart" for an Italian imprint. Her visibility rose again in 1993 when dancehall reggae artist Patra featured her on a hit revival of "Think (About It)"; the renewed attention prompted reissues of her two official albums in England and Holland. Her recordings also surfaced on Polydor anthologies such as James Brown’s Funky People and James Brown’s Original Funky Divas, plus the bootleg collection Female Preacher. She maintained an active performing career, appearing at the European Jazz/Funk Festival in both 1998 and 1999 as well as the Montreux Jazz Festival. After completing a European tour in February 2005, Lyn Collins died on March 13 at the age of fifty-six.