Bo Collier:
I was born in Meridian, Mississippi, October 5, 1946, to Florence and Bill Collier. My proper name is William Everett Collier; my daddy had a habit of nick naming people, so he called me Bo. From then on everyone has called me Bo. There are some people who don't think I have any other name!
I live in Union, Ms with my lovely wife, Sue; we have one daughter, Suzanne, one son, Mickey and six grandchildren. Daddy has gone on to be with the Lord, mamma and my nephew Frankie live in Meridian and sisters, Marie and Tootsie still live in Meridian and have families of their own.
I have always had a great love for gospel, old country and bluegrass music. Back when I was a child my mother's brothers and uncles would gather at my grandparent’s home in Meridian and pick and sing all night long, sometimes several nights in a row. At the time we lived in Mesquite, Texas and every time we would visit, there was always music in the old home place, where Tootsie lives today.
My first guitar was a Gibson J50, then a Silvertone electric, but it didn't take my parents long to find that the acoustic was softer to their ears! One night, Tootsie and I went to a local singing in Mesquite and there were two men, Mitchell Land and Kenny Latherwood playing bluegrass. Mitchell played the mandolin and Kenny played the banjo. Right then and there I decided that was for me! My parents saved up some money and bought my first Martin guitar, I fell right into bluegrass and I knew that one day I would play on stage. Jimmy Martin's "G" run became mine! I would put on his records and lie in the middle of the living room floor and play it over and over again until I had it where I wanted it. We joined up with Mitchell and Kenny and played a few local venues, live radio shows and every now and then a festival. I had the fever and after a few years I started playing with Salt Creek Express, out of Garland, TX. After the death of Ron Hall, the leader of the group, I moved to Meridian where I married my lovely bride Sue.
Some of my strongest influences were Jim and Jessie McReynolds, Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, The Osborn Brothers, Jimmy Martin, Chubby Wise, The Louvin Brothers, Ralph Stanley, Earl Gardner, Pam Gramer, Doyle Lawson and so many more.
Over the past 50 or so years that I have been playing, I have had the honor and blessing of helping to form and play guitar with several groups. One such group wasTexas Winds, consisting of my sister, son, two very special friends and me. We were honored to be the winners of Southeastern Pizza Hut International Bluegrass Show Down in 1993, we traveled and made friends all over the United States and enjoyed our time together. I have performed on stage shows, contest, live radio shows, and recorded several times in the studio. I have played my music in church, on street corners, at festivals and just about anywhere there has been someone who would listen. I have been a member of several bluegrass associations, served as president of the Southwest Bluegrass Associations, in Dallas, TX, written songs with my family and sometimes, even done a little singing.
I suppose I will, in some form, always be involved in music until the day GOD calls me home. I love the music, the fans, the excitement of performing and always embrace the chance to pick with my friends.
It is an honor and pleasure to be a member of Leipers Fork Bluegrass and to pick with others who love the music and all it stands for as much as I do.
I thank GOD for the gift He has given me so that I can call it "playing" not "working"!
All that I am and ever will be I owe to my family, fans and most of a GOD, to whom I owe everything!