ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, November 26, 1993                   TAG: 9311260060
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LAS VEGAS                                LENGTH: Short


BLUESMAN ALBERT COLLINS DIES AT 61

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

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

Born Oct. 1, 1932, in Leona, Texas, 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.

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.



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