Phil Collins and Genesis Top 20 Hits
Singer, songwriter, drummer, keyboardist, and actor, Philip Collins was born in London, England, in 1951.
Before his music career took off, Phil was a child actor who appeared as the Artful Dodger in the London production of Oliver. He also appeared as an extra in the Beatles’ 1964 film “A Hard Day’s Night” and also appeared in the Dick Van Dyke film “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”
Phil also knew, at a young age, that music was going to be a part of his life, when he received a drum set for Christmas at age five. He played with several bands in high school, but recorded his first album in 1969, when he signed on as the drummer for the group Flaming Youth. After a year, and with little success, Flaming Youth disbanded.
In 1970, Phil answered a classified ad for a drummer and won the audition, held at Peter Gabriel’s parents’ home, for the band Genesis. Gabriel left the group in 1975 to pursue a solo career and Phil took over lead vocals.
Genesis didn’t have their first Top 40 hit until 1978 with “Follow You, Follow Me.” Phil recorded his first solo album in 1981 while still singing as the leader of Genesis and would continue to do so until 1987. Phil’s solo efforts produced many hits, including “In The Air Tonight” in 1981, which was used on the television show “Miami Vice”. and in the Tom Cruise film “Risky Business.”
On the charts, as a solo artist and with Genesis, Phil has had 37 Top 40 hits on Billboard’s weekly charts, seven of which reached number one. Here’s a look at Phil Collins’ twenty biggest hits, according to Billboard’s Weekly Top 40 charts.
1. Another Day In Paradise – 1989 – Phil’s biggest album went to No. 1 for four weeks and featured backing vocals by David Crosby.
2. Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) – 1984 – originally titled “How Can You Just Sit There” this is the title song from the movie “Against All Odds”.
3. Groovy Kind Of Love – 1988 – a number 2 song by The Mindbenders in 1966, this is one of the 2 number one songs from the movie “Buster” starring Phil Collins.
4. Two Hearts – 1989 – the other number one song from “Buster”, won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song.
5. One More Night – 1985 – this song was used, for a time in the 1990s, by the American Red Cross, in their public service announcements promoting shelters.
6. Separate Lives – 1985 – plus film music. This time, Phil shares the microphone with vocalist Marilyn Martin and was featured as the love theme from the movie “White Nights.” Written by Stephen Bishop (“On And On”), it was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song.
7. Sussudio – 1985 – Phil says the word “sussudio” was an improvised lyric and has no meaning.
8. Invisible Touch – 1986 – the only number one single that Genesis ever had, a limited edition live version of this single was released in 1992.
9. Easy Lover – 1985 – a duet with Philip Bailey, was actually a Bailey song with Phil’s help and appeared on Bailey’s “China Wall” album.
10. On Too Deep – 1987 – from the Genesis album, “Invisible Touch”, Phil was asked to write a song for the soundtrack of the movie “Mona Lisa”.
11. I Wish It Would Rain Down – 1990 – from the album “…But Seriously”, the guitar work on this song comes from the legendary Eric Clapton.
12. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight – 1987 – This Genesis single was featured in Michelob’s beer commercials.
13. Land Of Confusion – 1987 – Most Genesis fans remember this song for its music video that featured many celebrity puppets, from Ronald Regan to Mick Jagger.
14. Do you remember? – 1990 – with backing vocals by singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop.
15. Don’t Lose My Number – 1985 – Phil admits that even he doesn’t fully understand the meaning of the lyrics. The single was never released in the UK.
16. Throwing It All Away – 1986 – written by Genesis guitarist Mike Rutherford, who would later form the band “Mike and the Mechanics”.
17. Something Happened on the Way to Heaven – 1990 – Originally written for the movie “War Of The Roses” starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito.
18. That’s All – 1984 – the first top ten single from Genesis.
19. Take Me Home – 1986 – another single featured on the NBC-TV series “Miami Vice”, this single features backing vocals from Peter Gabriel and Sting.
20. You Can’t Hurry Love – 1983 – number one single for The Supremes in 1966 and Phil’s first top ten solo song.
Phil has also played in the jazz rock group, Brand X, and in 1996, he formed the Phil Collins Big Band.
Phil has been married three times and has five children. He currently resides in Switzerland to be close to his children.
In 2009, he dislocated some vertebrae in his neck while on tour with Genesis. The operation on his neck left him so that his hands could not function normally, which hampered his ability to play the drums or piano.
Phil still records and released an album in 2010 called “Going Back”.