Dennis Collins is an American singer/songwriter, who was born in Detroit, Michigan, a city known for producing great singers. His smooth, soulful, tenor voice goes to the hearts of everyone who hears him.
Raised in a musical family, Dennis started singing at the age of 5. “Our home was filled with all kinds of music” he says proudly. From an early age, he was surrounded by the music of Motown, and pop greats like Sam Cooke, Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughn, Tony Bennett, Roberta Flack, Judy Garland, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway. He attended his first Motown Review at age 5, with his family, and from that moment, he knew he wanted to be a singer.
He spent the next few years developing his craft, singing in school and church choirs, performing in plays, and listening to everything he could take in. After Junior High he enrolled in the prestigious public college preparatory, Cass Technical High School, where he majored in music. Then he attended Oakland University, where he majored in Music Education and Voice.
Being equally gifted singing Pop, R & B, Jazz and Classical; Dennis began to feel that he needed to make a choice between the Classical and Pop worlds. It was on a trip to New York, that his cousin, Krystal Davis, also a singer, took him to a rehearsal and recording session that would help make that decision. Krystal, at the time, was singing with the up and coming, Luther Vandross. Luther then invited Dennis to sing on a recording session at Atlantic Studios, and his career as a professional studio singer began.
Dennis soon made the move to New York City, and quickly established himself as an extremely talented and versatile singer for hire, who could adapt to many different genres of music. He began doing recording sessions and live back-ground singing with Felix Cavaliere, lead singer of the Young Rascals, Melba Moore, Jocelyn Brown, and the dance group, Inner Life. It was with the original studio created group, Change, that he solidified his reputation in the New York music scene. The group consisted of Jocelyn Brown, Krystal Davis, Yvonne Lewis, Zack Saunders, Luther Vandross, and Dennis. This project was called “The Glow of Love” and produced three #1 dance singles, “A Lover’s Holiday”, “The Glow of Love”, and “Searching”.
He soon caught the attention of one of his idols, Ms. Roberta Flack, who asked him to join her on her next World Tour as a featured vocalist, performing her duets. He has also recorded and performed with such artists as: Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Beyoncé, Luther Vandross, Billy Joel, Sting, Ralph MacDonald, Jimmy Buffet, Willie Nelson, Carly Simon, Marc Cohn, Patti LaBelle, Bette Midler, David Bowie, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Faith Hill, Jewel, Shania Twain, Nelly, Ja Rule, Sarah Brightman, Clay Aiken, The Blue Man Group, Lauryn Hill, Moby, Angelique Kidjo, Al Jarreau, Serge Gainsbourg, Patti Austin, Bernadette Peters, Donald Fagen and others.
Movie and television credits include the Academy Award winning, Chicago, Chicken Little, Look Who’s Talking, The Frankie Lymon Story, Autumn in New York, and Moscow on the Hudson The Tonight Show, Late Night with David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, The Mass in Central Park with Pope John Paul II, the Rosie O’Donnell Show, and the 43rd and 45th Annual Grammy Award Ceremonies. Advertisers also became aware that Dennis possessed a commercial, yet classic vocal style, and hired him to sing commercial jingles for Coca-Cola, AT&T, Pepsi, Visa, MasterCard, Burger King, Chevrolet, Hanes, and many others.
Dennis recently released his first single “Every Soldier Has One Prayer” to rave reviews. The song is dedicated to the men and women of the U.S. Military. Roberta Flack gave this song five stars, likening the power of its message to that of Bob Dylan’s,
“Blowing in the Wind”. Paul Shaffer, Musical Director, Late Show with David Letterman says, “Everything about this song is beautiful, the vocal, the music and especially the intent”. Dennis has recently been called the next great voice to join the ranks of legendary male singers like, Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, and Luther Vandross. With other solo projects in the works, he has stepped from the background into the foreground. Great anticipation abounds!