Memories Of "Crash" Collins Continue To Pour In

​Last Sunday's passing of longtime Houston radio personality "Crash" Collins and our subsequent blog about him brought in some interesting commentary from people who remembered Collins' long tenure at rock radio station KLOL-FM. Collins was one of the first disc jockeys to ditch the formalized diction and most of the other accepted disc jockey practices of the day. He literally dripped cool.

He, along with Pat Fant, who was recedntly inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame, developed the free-form, no-playlist format that set KLOL apart from other radio stations in the area. Collins and the other djs were the first in the area to stop playing hits and start playing deep cuts from albums.

One long-time Houstonian wrote: "Didn't he also sing w/ local psych band "FeverTree?" They cut a few cool tunes....sorry to hear Crash did his final crash...KFMK was awesome here in the late 60's."

Well, if Collins did play with Fever Tree, it was not in the original lineup. He may have been part of the lineup that surfaced briefly in 1978 when guitarist Michael Knust reformed the band. But Collins isn't listed as a member on any of the music information sites with articles on Fever Tree.

Another remembrance came from Miller Outdoor Theatre's Reg Burns.

"I remember listening to him back in the day (actually late night) one time. The long album cut suddenly made a loud noise and skipped. Crash then chimed in, "Oh, man, I dropped my donut."

Longtime barista and scenester Rich Hornbuckle recalls Collins indoctrinating and educating an entire generation about rock and how to be cool.

"That was back when the term "disc jockey" had a bit of creativity associated with it. First time I heard Lou Reed, Springsteen.....at 3 a.m. on 101 in the 70's you could damn near hear ANYTHING!"

A benefit for the family is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 13, 2 p.m. - 8 p.m. at the Concert Pub Galleria, 5636 Richmond Ave.