Albert Collins (October 1, 1932 — November 24, 1993) was a blues guitarist,… Read Full Bio ↴Albert Collins (October 1, 1932 — November 24, 1993) was a blues guitarist, singer and musician. He had many nicknames, such as "The Ice Man", "The Master of the Telecaster" and "The Razor Blade".

Born in Leona, Texas, Collins was a distant relative of Lightnin' Hopkins and grew up learning about music and playing guitar. His family moved to Houston, Texas when he was seven. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, he absorbed the blues sounds and styles from Texas, Mississippi and Chicago. His style would soon envelop these sounds.

He formed his first band in 1952 and two years later was the headliner at several blues clubs in Houston. By the late 1950s Collins began using Fender Telecasters. He later chose a "maple-cap" 1966 Custom Fender Telecaster with a Gibson PAF humbucker in the neck position and a 100 watt RMS silverfaced 1970s Fender Quad Reverb combo as his main equipment, and developed a unique sound featuring minor tunings, sustained notes and an "attack" fingerstyle. He also frequently used a capo on his guitar, particularly on the 5th, 7th, and 9th frets. He primarily favored an "open F-minor" tuning (low to high: F-C-F-Ab-C-F).

Collins began recording in 1960 and released singles, including many instrumentals such as the million selling "Frosty". In the spring of 1965 he moved to Kansas City, Missouri and made a name for himself.

Many of Kansas City's recording studios had closed by the mid 1960s. Unable to record, Collins moved to California in 1967. He settled in San Francisco and played many of the venues popular with the counter-culture. In early 1969 after playing a concert with Canned Heat, members of this band introduced him to Liberty Records. In appreciation, part of the title of Collins’ first record for United Artists - "Love Can Be Found Anywhere (Even In A Guitar)/Trash Talkin'" - was taken from the lyrics of "Refried Hockey Boogie". Collins signed and released his first album on Imperial Records, a sister label, in 1968.

Collins remained in California for another five years, and was popular on double-billed shows at The Fillmore and the Winterland. Collins moved back to Texas in 1973 and formed a new band. He was signed to Alligator Records in 1978 and recorded and released Ice Pickin'. He would record seven more albums with the label, before being signed to Point Blank Records in 1990.

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Collins toured the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan. He was becoming a popular blues musician and was an influence for Coco Montoya, Robert Cray, Gary Moore, Debbie Davies, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jonny Lang, Susan Tedeschi, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Mayer and Frank Zappa.

In 1983, when he won the W. C. Handy Award for his album Don't Lose Your Cool, which won the award for best blues album of the year. In 1985, he shared a Grammy for the album Showdown!, which he recorded with Robert Cray and Johnny Copeland. The following year his solo release Cold Snap was also nominated for a Grammy. In 1987, John Zorn enlisted him to play lead guitar in a suite he had composed especially for him, entitled "Two-Lane Highway," on Zorn's album Spillane.

Alongside George Thorogood and the Destroyers and Bo Diddley, Collins performed at Live Aid in 1985, playing "Who Do You Love?", "The Sky Is Crying" and "Madison Blues", at Philadelphia's JFK Stadium. He was the only black blues artist to appear.

Collins was invited to play at the 'Legends Of Guitar Festival' concerts in Seville, Spain at the Expo in 1992, where amongst others, he played "Iceman", the title track from his final studio album.

He made his last visit to London, England in March 1993.

After falling ill at a show in Switzerland in late July 1993, he was diagnosed in mid August with lung cancer which had metastasized to his liver, with an expected survival time of four months. Parts of his last album, Live '92/'93, were recorded at shows that September; he died shortly afterwards, in November at the age of 61. He was survived by his wife, Gwendolyn and father, Andy Thomas. He is interred at the Davis Memorial Park, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Collins will be remembered not only for the quantity of quality blues music that he put out throughout his career that has inspired so many other blues musicians, but also for his legendary live performances, where he would frequently come down from the stage and mingle with the audience whilst still playing. This practice was illustrated in Collins' uncredited cameo appearance in the film Adventures in Babysitting. He insisted to Elisabeth Shue that "nobody leaves here without singin' the blues", forcing the children to improvise a song before escaping.

Another instance of Collins' humorous stage presence was recounted in the film documentary, Antones: Austin's Home of the Blues. Collins left the building, still plugged in and playing. Several minutes after Collins returned to the stage, a pizza delivery man came in and gave Collins the pizza he had just ordered when he left the building. Collins had gone to Milto's Pizza & Pasta through an adjoining alley and ordered while he was still playing.

If You Love Me
Albert Collins Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

If you love me like you say
Why you treat me like you do?
If you love me like you say, baby
Why you treat me like you do?
Well I ain't no fool
I'm cool, I know the rule

Said ya'd never run around

Said ya'd never stay out late
Said ya'd never run around, baby
Said ya'd never stay out late
Let me tell ya pretty baby
I've got to set ya straight

If you love me like ya say
Why you treat me like ya do?
If you love me like ya say, baby
Why you treat me like ya do?
Well I ain't no fool
I'm cool, I know the rule

Hey!

Said ya'd never run around
Said ya'd never stay out late
Said ya'd never run around, baby
Said ya'd never stay out late
Let me tell ya pretty baby
I've got to set ya straight

Why-yi-yi-yi
Oh let ya, set ya straight

Why-yi-yi-yi
I'm cool, I know the rule

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Albert Collins's song "If You Love Me Like You Say" speak to a person who is feeling neglected, despite their partner's claims of love. The singer's frustration with their partner's behavior is evident, as they ask why they are being mistreated if their partner truly loves them. Though they mention that they "ain't no fool," they are still hurt by their neglectful actions. The repetition of the line "If you love me like you say" emphasizes the singer's confusion and frustration, as they try to make sense of their partner's behavior.

The song is a classic blues tune, with Collins's soulful guitar playing and distinctive vocal stylings leading the way. With its catchy hooks and memorable lyrics, "If You Love Me Like You Say" has become one of Collins's most popular songs, and is widely regarded as a blues classic. The song was originally released on Collins's 1983 album "Frozen Alive," which was recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

Line by Line Meaning

If you love me like you say
If your feelings for me are true and as intense as you claim,

Why you treat me like you do?
Then why do you behave towards me in a way that does not demonstrate love?

If you love me like you say, baby
If you really feel for me the way you declare, my dear,

Why you treat me like you do?
Why don't your actions reflect your feelings?

Well I ain't no fool
I am aware and intelligent enough to understand the way things are.

I'm cool, I know the rule
I am composed and aware of the principles and standards that govern relationships.

Said ya'd never run around
You vowed that you would never go behind my back or cheat.

Said ya'd never stay out late
You pledged never to be out of the house during ungodly hours.

Let me tell ya pretty baby
Allow me to express my thoughts and feelings, my dear.

I've got to set ya straight
I must inform you of the truth and rectify any misconceptions you may have.

Hey!

Why-yi-yi-yi

Oh let ya, set ya straight

Why-yi-yi-yi

I'm cool, I know the rule
I am composed and aware of the principles and standards that govern relationships.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LITTLE JOHNNY TAYLOR

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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