It's Phil Collins Birthday!
In 1970 he hit the music scene as the drummer for the Prog Rock giants Genesis at the age of 19. The band would become best known for their on stage theatrics embodied by their eclectic frontman Peter Gabriel. Their music music would become overly technical with each album and eventually Gabriel would leave the band in 1975.
Following the departure of Gabriel, Phil Collins would step out from behind the drums to take over as lead singer and Genesis would pivot into a massively successful pop rock band. Side by side with Phil's solo career, both he and Genesis would help reshape the sound of music in the 80's His single "In The Air Tonight" would be the sound copied by nearly all of music with it's bombastic drum sound. Collins himself would become one of the biggest artists of all time with his massive chart topping success, with seven number one singles, and more US top-40 singles than any other artist throughout the 1980s.
Collins would leave Genesis in 1996 to focus on his solo work, which would evolve into writing songs for Disney, which earned him the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He would later rejoin Genesis for their Turn It On Again Tour in 2007 and end his on stage career in 2020 with the band's second reunion tour in 2022.
Collins solo albums have sold 150 million worldwide, and he is one of only three recording artists, with Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, who have sold over 100 million records both as solo artists and as members of a band. Phil has won eight Grammys, six Brit Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, one Academy Award, and a Disney Legend Award.
Happy Birthday Phil.