Albert Collins, Once Called `The Most Powerful Blues Guitarist In The World'

LAS VEGAS - Blues guitarist Albert Collins, "the master of the Telecaster" and a Grammy Award winner for his distinctive guitar tone, died yesterday after a three-month fight against cancer. He was 61.

One of the first blues stars to appeal to a rock 'n' roll audience, he died at his Las Vegas home after three days in a coma, said Bruce Iglauer, president and founder of Alligator Records.

Blues legend B.B. King was among those who went to his bedside Tuesday, Iglauer said.

As a vocalist and guitarist, Mr. Collins was one of the world's best-known and respected bluesmen. Musician magazine called him "the most powerful blues guitarist in the world."

"He was one of the most exciting and dynamic live performing artists I've ever seen in any field of music," Iglauer said. "He put out more energy on the bandstand than anyone I've ever seen. He was a powerhouse on stage and one of the most gentle people I know offstage."

Mr. Collins got his nickname - "the master of the Telecaster" (a kind of guitar) - because of his razor-sharp guitar style combined with fierce percussion.

Among his biggest hits was "Get Your Business Straight," released in 1972.

Born Oct. 1, 1932, in Leona, Texas, Mr. Collins learned piano at school in Houston. But he also learned guitar from his cousin, Lightnin' Hopkins, who taught him to tune it in a minor key. This later became a Collins trademark, according to The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music.

Mr. Collins began performing in Houston nightclubs in 1952 and soon recorded his first rhythm and blues instrumental hit, "The Freeze" (1958), followed by "Frosty" and "Sno-Cone" (1962).

He continued to play blues with younger bands, including the Robert Cray Band in the 1970s.

"Showdown," a 1985 recording with Collins, Cray and Johnny Copeland - an all-star guitar showdown - earned a Grammy.

In 1989, Mr. Collins was honored with the W.C. Handy Award as male blues artist of the year and blues instrumentalist of the year. His group, the Icebreakers, was also named the blues band of the year, and "Showdown" was voted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

"I was taken with Albert Collins the first time I heard him, in 1969 at an outdoor festival in southern Washington state," Cray said in a 1989 interview. "He got my attention playing guitar behind his back and walking out into the audience with a long guitar cable."

Mr. Collins toured Europe, Australia and Japan, as well as the United States. He appeared at the Live Aid Concert with George Thorogood in Philadelphia.

He made a 1987 appearance on David Letterman's old NBC show and appeared in the film "Adventures in Babysitting," and recorded for the film "Labyrinth."

Mr. Collins was credited by the late, legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix in a 1962 interview with being one of his primary influences in music.

"There's one cat I'm still trying to get across to people. His name is Albert Collins. He's buried in a road band somewhere. He's good. Really good," Hendrix said.

Hendrix said one of his songs, "Drivin' South" is a tribute to Collins.

Mr. Collins is survived by his wife, Gwendolyn, and his father, Andy Thomas.