Song:In The Air Tonight
Album:Hits
Not only did Phil Collins lead Genesis to great success after Peter Gabriel left but he launched his own solo career simultaneously. In The Air Tonight was his breakthrough hit in 1981 and is considered to be his signature song. He was born Jan. 30, 1951 in London, England. He acted as a child most significantly as The Artful Dodger in the London production of Oliver!. He joined Genesis in 1970 after answering an ad in Melody Maker. When Gabriel left in 1975, the band auditioned many singers but ultimately settled on Collins as lead singer. He still played drums in the studio but Chester Thompson was brought in to play drums for tours. Collins also played in the jazz rock group Brand X. Collins was going through a divorce in 1980 and wrote some songs that he preferred recording as a solo act. I assume this was because they were more personal than the usual Genesis songs. Atlantic Records offered him a solo contract. Face Value was released in 1981 and reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 200. In The Air Tonight was the debut single and it reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. He went on to bigger hits but the song established Collins as a star and he just built on that through the 80s. There is an urban myth that In The Air Tonight is about a drowning that Collins witnessed. But Collins has debunked that. The song is about his divorce. Phil Collins went on to have a total of seven number one hits. The first of these was the theme to the 1984 film Against All Odds. Collins continued to record as a solo act and with Genesis but both faded by the early 90s and Collins left Genesis in 1996. He retired in Mar. 2011 due to back problems. Here's the video for In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins.
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