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| Lyn "The Female Preacher" Collins Born: 6-12-1948 Died: 3-13-2005 ...complications from a seizure. |
| Gloria Lavern Collins first discovered her talent at an early age. In fact she cut her first single in 1962 when she was only 14. The song, "Unlucky In Love" brought her to the attention of the godfather of soul, James Brown. Brown took the young singer under his wing and nurtured her talent. She appeared alongside Brown in his infamous "revue" shows during the early 1970's. She recorded "Wheel Of Life" for Brown's label People's Records in 1971 and was officially a member of his touring group the following year. That year she released her seminal classic "Think (About It)" to warm reviews. Throughout the years the song has taken on a life of it's own and holds the distincion as one of disco/rap's most sampled songs. Her career remained steady during the 1970's, between doing vocals for Brown and other labelmates recordings she also released her own product. She scored another major hit with "Rock Me Again & Again (Six Times)" in 1975. But oddly enough with the rise of disco her career never gravitated into a full blown disco career. As her own solo career seemed to wane she took to backing vocalist for many projects including the soundtracks to "Fame" and "Doctor Detroit." In the late 1980's and early 1990's she released two 12" singles for the Belgium label ARS Records. "Shout" and "Break Your Heart" were excellent dance songs but went largely unnoticed here in the U.S. A 1993 remake of "Think" (with Patra) did little to further her career. In early 2005 she hooked up with friend and fellow R&B/disco artist Martha High for a series of European concerts at top venues including London's Jazz Cafe. We lost Lyn at the young age of 56, when she suffered a seizure on 3-10-05 after choking on some food. She was brain dead when the paramedics arrived. Then on 3-13-05 she suffered a cardiac arrest. She will be forever dubbed the "female preacher," a moniker bestowed upon her by James Brown. |
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