EP 2: Take the Money and Run!

Eddie Collins is a multi-instrumentalist and longtime disc jockey from Northeastern Pennsylvania. At age thirteen in 1970, Eddie was performing on Saturday nights with a variety trio, The Key 3, and also as a percussionist with the Hazleton Philharmonic Orchestra. Notable local NEPA acts Eddie performed with over the past few decades include 3zz a Crowd, The Collins Bunch, The Golden Age Of Rock & Roll Road Show, Tammany Hall, Jet, Sheriff Jones, Ryze, Ruff Boy, The Fat Cats, The Mojo Dogs, and The Mudflaps. As lead vocalist / bass guitarist / producer for The Rocket 88’s, he appeared in concert with Jay & The Techniques, The Coasters, and Bill Haley’s Comets, and internationally on the Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Lines. Eddie has been privileged to have interviewed, emceed, and performed with many of rock and roll’s iconic artists, such as Ray Charles, The Guess Who, Tommy James, Pete Best, The Shangri-Las, and Chubby Checker, naming just a few from his extensive credit list of legendary celebrities. In Feb.1978, Eddie received a phone call from veteran songwriter/producer Billy Carlucci, (Lesley Gore, 1910 Fruitgum Co., The Pixies Three) asking Eddie to recruit a backup band to go on tour with Danny and The Juniors. After meeting with Carlucci, and Joe Terry of the act, rehearsals were begun, but the deal fell thru. Months later, Frank Zangari, keyboardist for The Orlons, had forwarded Eddie’s materials to Philadelphia theatrical agent, Norman Joyce, of The Jolly Joyce Agency, offering Eddie a slot as drummer and musical director for an upcoming tour with The Drifters. In this interview, Eddie gives a sneak-peak at a story from his upcoming memoir regarding his six months on tour with The Drifters. https://www.eddiecollinsmusic.com/