Charles Collins - The Second Baddest Philly Drummer

[Disco Funk]

Usually when we talk about TSOP and the best of the philly musicians, there's always mention of the best disco drummer (for me anyway), Mr Earl Young. He's the guy who was pretty much the drummer of choice in Sigma Studios and the various other philly studios in the late 60s through to the late 70s.

But when Earl Young was busy or unavailable, there was another guy who took up the sticks in a very competent and funky manner: Charles Collins. While Earl and Charles both liked to syncopate the beat, and ghost on the snare drum, Earl's sound was a little looser, especially on the hi-hat, whereas Charles tended to play really tightly tuned drums, and a higher pitched (probably smaller) hi-hat. While Earl tended to ride the hi-hat on a steady groove, Charles tended to syncopate open and close the hi-hat. You can really hear it on MFSB's The Zip. And while Earl seemed to move away from the snare-tom drum combination he popularized in the early disco years starting with I'll Be Around, Charles still liked to use the tom drum augmentation a lot well into '77, which gave the snare's upbeat an even heavier sound that the four-on-the-floor kick drum didn't seem to deliver.

I'm not sure where Mr Collins got started, if he was drumming at Sigma in the late 60s or early 70s for artists like the Delfonics, or those early PIR recordings. The earliest philly-related album I've found him on was something by Duke Williams & The Extremes. It was on the follow-up album to 1973's Monkey In a Silk Suit, on which Earl Young was the drummer, and featured the breakbeat anthem Chinese Chicken. Fantastic Fedora was the name of the LP, and it was slightly less blues funky, and more experimental jazz-rock sounding, and it was put out in '74. Perhaps that LP was how he got introduced to the philly music scene.

In '75, things really picked up for Collins. He was the drummer all over the Brazil LP by the Ritchie Family, with the exception of the title track, which had Earl Young on drums. In fact, I think Collins drummed on all of the Richard Rome/Jacques Morali related philly projects. He was also co-drummer on the Salsoul Orchestra's debut LP. I believe that's him on Salsoul Hustle. Earl played on most of that LP.

And over at Philly International, you can hear the change in sound of MFSB. Universal Love was the last LP that had Earl Young. I think after that record, Baker Harris Young and Vince Montana left MFSB to form Salsoul Orchestra. Collins distinctive funky drumming can be heard on PIR LPs from late 75 to probably 76. He's all over MFSB's Philadelphia Freedom, Wake Up Everybody by Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes, and Don Covay's Travellin In Heavy Traffic, to mention a few LPs.

By '76, he had taken up permanent residence in John Davis' monster orchestra as well. He's on the Philly Devotions records, the Monday After records, not to mention Arthur Prysock's All My Life LP.

I think he stuck to playing with John Davis by '77, although he was the drummer on Van McCoy's Movie Machine LP from that year, if I'm not mistaken. His name seems to appear less and less on philly disco LPs by that time. His drumming also changed to become less distinctive as the decade rounded out. One of the last records I see his name appear on is the Black Light Orchestra LP from 1979.

Here are some of my favourite tracks that feature this under-rated drummer of the philly disco sound:

Ritchie Family - Peanut Vendor/Frenesi
MFSB - Get Down With the Philly Sound; Philadelphia Freedom
Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes - Tell The World How I Feel About 'Cha Baby
Salsoul Orchestra - Salsoul Hustle
Monday After - Everybody's Doin It
Jay & The Techniques - Number Onederful
Arthur Prysock - All I Need Is You Tonight
Touch Of Class - Anything
John Davis Monster Orchestra - I Can't Stop
La Pregunta - Shangri-La

and here are some audio recordings from youtube featuring Collins on drums:

Harold Melvin & Bluenotes - Don't Leave Me This Way

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bslLEvJDMJo] Ritchie Family - Dance With You-Life Is Fascination-Lady Champagne[/url]

John Davis Monster Orchestra - Charles Collins


That's my little tribute to the philly drummer who is probably heard more often on record than people realize, but is not as well-known or recognized like the godfather of disco drumming, Earl Young. And as most of us know, with disco music, it's 95% about the drums! ;)

Disco Funk