Collins
» From 1A
He began playing music with high school friends, which led him to work at local venues such as the Party Center in the 1970s, Snoopys and Cotton Eye Joe’s. He began touring Texas as a performer and in the 1990s, settled in Dallas.
But it was in Dallas where he said he felt his career had plateaued, and it was his wife who encouraged him to head to Tennessee.
“Most people band around Nashville for years before anything happens,” Collins said in a distinct Texas drawl of which he’s proud. “The first song I wrote was a hit, and I thought, ‘Wow, this is easy.’” He boasts a number of popular country tunes to his name — “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” “I Don’t Feel Like Loving You Today,” “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven,” and “Hands of a Working Man.”
But there was a time he was nearly ready to give up. Collins has recorded a handful of albums, but he said he struggled with the music-industry politics in the business and getting on the same page with what recording companies wanted him to be.
“I lost my record deal because (the record company and I) couldn’t get on the same page,” he said. “It was heartbreaking.”
He was planning to move back to Texas and get back on the road doing shows when he got a call from Craig Wiseman, a fellow songwriter who was named “Songwriter of the Decade” in 2009 by the Nashville Songwriters Association International.
“I was ready to move home to play honky-tonks in Texas until Craig called and said, ‘You’re a songwriter.’I got serious about song-writing after that.”
Kenny Chesney recording of “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” which reached No. 11 among tracks on the Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, was a game-changer for him, although the tune was written as a joke.
On average, Collins said he writes around 130 songs a year. But he’s slowed down in recent years.
“The music business has changed some,” he said. “I’m writing less, but I think I’m writing better.”
The Show
Collins will bring fellow songwriter Wendell Mobley along with him for the Nashville Songwriters Night at Banita Creek Hall.
“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to bring someone better than me along,” Collins joked about his fellow performer. “(He’s) the most talented songwriter and musician I’ve ever met.” Mobley played with Jack Green and Alabama, and is credited with writing tunes such as “How Forever Feels” and “There Goes My Life” recorded by Chesney, “Fast Cars and Freedom,” by Rascall Flats, and Alabama’s “We Can’t Love Like This Anymore,” among others. Kenny Rogers, Randy Houser and Joe Diffie have also recorded his songs.
Collins said he’s looking forward to playing his hometown again for a good cause, and he hopes people will take advantage of the opportunity to get a glimpse behind the scenes of the music business.
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Most people band around Nashville for years before anything happens. The first song I wrote was a hit, and I thought, ‘Wow, this is easy.’”
JIM COLLINS
SINGER-SONGWRITER