Clarence Collins :
Founder / Singer / Producer / Writer

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My name is Clarence Collins, now living in Morgan Hill, California with my wife Brenda (twin sister to Linda, Anthony's wife). I am the founder of The Imperials and trademarked the name back when the group first began.

I was born in 1942 in Brooklyn, New York where I grew up with my ten brothers and sisters and was raised by my father. I am the second to the youngest, where at the age of two, my mother passed away. My father worked at the Brooklyn Navy Shipyard during the Second World War. We all lived in the Fort Green Project Complex run by the United States Government for its Navy yard workers. My father worked along with Anthony's father, so Anthony and I have known each other since the age of 3. I attended Public School 67 Elementary School and during my high school years attend Boys High. My father played the piano with a jazz band, and this is where my interest for music started. My sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Ethel Mannix, was a major influence on my music knowledge of all forms of music.

At the age of 13, I decided to form a group called The Chesters. Anthony became the lead singer, Tracey Lord sang tenor, Ernest Wright sang second tenor, Glouster Rogers sang bass, and I sang baritone. In early 1958, Richard Barrette, an A&R man for End records spotted our group and signed us to a contract and changed the name to the Imperials. Our first record for End was a double-sided ballad smash. The A side, "Tears On My Pillow," instantly launched our careers into musical history. This would be one of our biggest selling hits, selling over one million copies. The flip side hit, "Two People in the World" made this one of the most popular double-sided records in vocal group history. In 1969, the group released a Doo Wop novelty tune, "Shimmy, Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop." The group dissolved for a brief period but reformed, minus Tracey Lord and Glouster Rogers, adding Sammy Strain.

Our manager at the time Ernie Martinelli took us to meet a long time friend of his, Teddy Randazzo, who loved our sound. He put together a perfect song for Anthony and the group, "I'm On The Outside Looking In," which became another million seller.

The group was signed to a record contract in the summer of 1964 to Don Costa Productions. It was during the years of 1964 through 1967 that many of our successful songs were released. Songs like "I'm On The Outside Looking In," "Goin' Out Of My Head," "Hurt So Bad," "Take Me Back," "Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko Bop," and many others were very successful. We did many appearances on TV, such as, your Hit Parade, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, Shindig, Hullabaloo, Kraft Theater and numerous Dick Clark Specials. We performed at many of the major casinos in Las Vegas, Reno, and Miami Beach circuit, the Caribbean Islands, the famed Copacabana and the National night club and concert circuit.

In 1969, Ernest Wright left the group to pursue his own career, followed by Sammy Strain in 1972. I replaced them with Bobby Wade and Harold Jenkins. Anthony remained with the group until 1975, when he also decided to try other ventures. As founder of the group, I continued with Bobby and Harold performing as The Imperials.

In 1991, I received a phone call from Anthony who informed me that a gentleman by the name of Dick Fox was interested in reuniting the original members of the group to do a concert at Madison Square Gardens in New York. All of the original members were contacted and agreed to do the concert. At our first rehearsal, it appeared as if we had never been apart. The sound was bigger and better than ever. Following the concert, which was a tremendous success, we decided to reform the original group of Anthony, Ernest, Sammy, and myself, Clarence. The rest is history. The group is now officially known as, Little Anthony and the Original Imperials. We are one of a few remaining R&B groups today consisting of all the original members of the group. That's something we are very proud of.

Although, I have been a believer most of my life, I gave my life totally to the Lord in 1998. Today I give Christ all the credit for the many successes in my career and life. In addition to singing with Little Anthony and the Imperials, I enjoy singing with the praise band and choir of my church. Anthony has appeared on the Praise the Lord television show several times on numerous occasions and I will be joining him soon as well. We hope to produce and write Christian music as well as continue to write and produce new tunes for the group.

I was married twice before my present wife and have eight children. I have five sons, Mark, David, Kevin, Jeffery, and Chris. I have three daughters, Robin, Danielle, and Amy. My present wife, Brenda has a son, Richard and a daughter, Wendy. Together we have ten children and eight grandchildren. I first met Brenda in 1974, but we did not get married until 1996. 1974 is also when Anthony met Brenda's twin sister Linda. They were soon married. I was working in Las Vegas and Brenda was working in Los Angeles, so it wasn't until the Imperials reunion that my wife and I got together.

Now, when I'm not touring with Little Anthony and the Imperials, I also work at AdForce, an Internet company along with my wife Brenda. Brenda is the Development/Operations Executive Administrator and I work as an Administrative Facility Engineer. I have produced a new CD titled "Up Close and Personal" for the group and I am working with Anthony on a new CD, which Anthony produced. My dream is to continue in the music industry as a producer/writer/performer and touch and many lives with the sounds of music for many years to come.