Leonard Raymond Sipes (September 28, 1930 – March 14, 2000), better known as Tommy Collins, was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer and songwriter. Active primarily during the 1950s through the 1970s, Collins was instrumental in helping create the Bakersfield sound of the country music genre. He enjoyed a string of hits during the mid-1950s including "It Tickles" and "Watcha Gonna Do Now". He also wrote several songs for other artists, including " If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')", which was a top 10 hit for

Faron Young Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and "Live Fast, Love Hard, Di ...

in 1954 and a No. 1 hit by George Strait in 1988. After several years in the ministry, Collins returned to recording. In 1965, he had a comeback hit with "If You Can't Bite, Don't Growl". In the 1970s, he wrote several hits for

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

and The Strangers, including the No. 1 hits " Carolyn" and "

The Roots of My Raising ''The Roots of My Raising'' is the 21st studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1976. It was his third release in 1976 and his last on the Capitol label until his return in 2004. It reached number 8 o ...

". In June 1980, Haggard recorded a biographical tribute to Collins called "

Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek Λέων ("lion") through the Latin '' L ...

". Collins was the inspiration and character talked about in

Craig Morgan Craig Morgan Greer (born July 17, 1964) is an American country music artist. A veteran of the United States Army as a forward observer, Morgan began his musical career in 2000 on Atlantic Records, releasing his self-titled debut album for th ...

's song, "I Wish I Could See Bakersfield". Collins remained active in the songwriting business. He died March 14, 2000, at his home in

Ashland City, Tennessee Ashland City is a town in and the county seat of Cheatham County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 4,767 as of the 2020 census. History Ashland City was created in 1856 as a county seat for the newly established Cheatham County. Th ...

Discography

Albums

Singles

*^A"If You Can't Bite, Don't Growl" also peaked at number 5 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.

References

External links

* Tommy Collinsat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

.
Tommy Collins
at CMT.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Tommy 1930 births 2000 deaths People from Bethany, Oklahoma American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Country musicians from Oklahoma Bakersfield sound 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma People from Ashland City, Tennessee Country musicians from Tennessee 20th-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from Tennessee