Front Page

In the News

Across Georgia
Business News & Directory
Church News & Directory
Educational News
Election News
Entertainment News
Health & Medical News
Monthly Archives

Special Features

Black History

Highest Paid Employees

Influential People

Letter from Publisher

Lottery News & Statistics

Social issues - Addiction, Domestic Abuse & More

Sports

Wake Up Macon

Subscribe to Georgia Informer today!!!

Jammin' Again: Newton Collier's Comeback

                                                             

On a fateful night in 1976, Newton Collier was driving down the street in Boston when he noticed a car following closely behind him.  "The next thing I knew, they were beside me.  I heard two shots and felt something WHAM, hit me in my face."  Two bullets had been fired into the car, one ricocheting off the headrest, entering his face and shattering his jaw.  The tragedy ended the career of one of the best R&B trumpet players of his era.

Collier actually began his career as a child the way most greats do.  At ten years old, he was taking piano lessons from Ms. Gladys Williams in Macon, GA.  One day when he arrived for his lesson, he noticed a silver Rolls Royce in Ms. Williams driveway.  When he walked in, there was a skinny little man sitting at the table with a patch over his eye.  Thus, a lifetime dream and a fascination with the horn began thanks to Sammy Davis, Jr.

Young Newt worked his way onto the music scene by doing whatever it took to be close to those coming up in their careers. Robert Scott and Harold Smith (aka Shang-a-lang) took him under his wing and taught him the complicated changes of the horn.  Before long, he had learned so much from emulating others that he could play alongside anyone.  He accompanied bands like the Eldorados, The Flintstones, and the Bossa Nova Band, playing in places like Club 15, the Elks Lodge, and the VFW.  It was a night such as this that he was approached by Leroy Lloyd and the Swingin' Dukes, an Augusta band who needed a good horn player.

It was while playing with the Dukes that he was noticed by Sam and Dave, part of Phil Walden's roster, and was signed on as their second horn when he was only seventeen years old.  At the time, "You Don't Know Like I Know" was their only hit, but after hitting the road for awhile, the gang ended up in Memphis, where a relationship with Isaac Hayes and David Porter produced such hits as "Soul Man" and "Hold On, I'm Coming."  Before long, Newt was playing clubs like the Filmore in San Francisco and The Uptown in Philadelphia.  This success was followed by appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, Merv Griffin and even the famed Apollo Theater.

Sam and Dave broke up in 1970 and Newt moved to Boston, married, and settled down.  Before long though, he was back on the scene, working with different clubs and musicians, eventually forming a new band and preparing to hit the road again.  It was while working with the famed Sugar Shack that the fateful gunshots occurred, prematurely ending an awesome career.  "I was devastated;  I thought it was the worst thing in the world at the time," remembers Newt.  He spent a month in the hospital and his shattered jaw required removal of bone from his hip and leg to reconstruct his face.

Collier remained in Boston until the late '80s when he moved back to Macon to escape the cold winters.  With his record collection of more than 2000 albums, he opened Collier's Corner, a tiny store specializing in used jazz, R&B, and gospel albums.  Until the Georgia Music Hall of Fame opened its doors in 1996, Collier's Corner was the closest thing to a music museum in Macon.  Collier kept the store open for 10 years.

Since that time, Collier has been driving a taxi for Radio Cab, but you can't keep a good man down.  He is currently working on a documentary detailing Macon's contribution to soul music during the 1960-70 decade.  The film highlights some 60 soul musicians hailing from Macon, as well as others from Memphis and Muscle Shoals, AL.  The documentary is entitled "Soulmakers presents:  For Those That Played, But Didn't Get Paid."  The film's release date is unknown at this time.

Newton Collier is a prime example of the spirit within the man.  Despite his tragedy, he is determined to make his own contribution to rebuilding the music scene in Macon.  Expect to hear more from this R&B great in the future.

You are Visitor #  Hit Counter   Updated Wednesday April 05, 2006 12:40:42

 

 

© Copyright 2004 by Georgia Informer, Inc.

P.O. Box 564, Macon, * GA 31201 * Ofc:  (478) 745-7265   *  Email:  georgiainformer@prodigy.net

Web-Design by http://www.eodgraphics.com/