Mr. Bo

Louis “Mr. Bo” Collins was fixture in the Detroit blues scene from the 1950s through the 1970s. His best known composition “If Trouble Was Money” was recorded by Albert King and Charlie Musselwhite, among many others. Born April 7, 1932 in Indianola, MS Died September 19, 1995 in Detroit, MI Born in Indianola, Mississippi in 1932, Collins, like his brother the bandleader Mac Collins, became a stalwart of the Detroit blues scene during the barren days of the 1960s, but made few appearances on record, save for a handful of rare 45s. Collins left Mississippi in 1946, first moving to Chicago, then to Baldwin, Michigan in 1951 before settling in Detroit. Once in Detroit he played gigs with John Lee Hooker, Eddie Burns, Little Sonny Willis and Boogie Woogie Red. He did not make it onto wax, however, until 1959, when he signed with Johnnie Mae Matthews' Northern label, cutting 'I'm leaving This Town' / 'Times Hard' (Northern 3731) supported by his brother Mac on bass. Four sides that were originally waxed (but un-issued) for Lu Pine Productions at the turn of the decade eventually turned up on the vinyl album Three Shades of Blues (Relic Records 8003), which also featured material by Eddie Kirkland and [a3184636] & The Ohio Untouchables. It is also rumored that Collins may have recorded with Little Joe Blue and Bobo Jenkins around this time. He also waxed one 45 for Reel Records (4), Heartache And Trouble/Calipso Blues (Reel 222). By the mid Sixties he had signed to Big D (2) Records, a record label owned by local businessman Diamond Jim Riley, which issued three 45s, while further sides followed on the Diamond Jim label. This association ended in 1971 when Riley was killed outside a Detroit bar. Collins issued a 45 in 1972 on his own Gold Top Records (3) label (co-founded with Lee Rogers) which was sold at his gigs. He appeared with Mac Collins' band as part of a Detroit blues package show at the 1973 Ann Arbor Blues And Jazz Festival. There was talk of Blues Factory Records cutting an album with Mr. Bo, but so far nothing has surfaced. Sadly under recorded, Mr. Bo was one of the blues artists who kept the blues scene alive in the Motor City for over three decades. Collins succumbed to pneumonia at the age of 63 on September 19, 1995.