| Sam Collins | |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Date: | possibly 11 August 1887 |
| Birth Place: | possibly Louisiana, or possibly Kentucky, U.S. |
| Death Date: | possibly |
| Death Place: | possibly Chicago |
| Genre: | Blues |
| Occupation: | Musician |
| Label: | Gennett |
Sam Collins (possibly August 11, 1887possibly October 20, 1949),[1] sometimes known as Crying Sam Collins,[2] was an early American blues singer and guitarist.[3] His style has been described as "South Mississippi", rather than Delta blues and "The Jail House Blues" is his best-known recording.[3]
Collins was born in Louisiana and grew up in McComb, Mississippi, just across the state line.[4] By 1924, he was performing in local barrelhouses, often with King Solomon Hill; both of them sang falsetto parts and played slide guitar.[4] Collins's first recording in 1927 was "Yellow Dog Blues", made for Gennett Records and recorded in Richmond, Indiana. His bottleneck guitar was referred to as a "git-fiddle" on record labels of the time, and blues historian Robert Palmer noted that his guitar "seemed to literally weep".[2]
Collins recorded again in 1931; some of his later recordings appeared under different pseudonyms, such as Jim Foster,[3] Jelly Roll Hunter, Big Boy Woods, Bunny Carter, and Salty Dog Sam. His rural bottleneck guitar pieces were among the first to be compiled on LP.[3]
In the late 1930s, Collins relocated to Chicago, where he died from heart disease in October 1949, at the age of 62.[4]
1927, Richmond, Indiana
1931, New York City
. Deep Blues. Robert Palmer (American writer). Penguin Books. 123. 978-0-14-006223-6. 1981.