During his storied career, Phil Collins, the famed drummer and lead singer of Genesis, has immensely succeeded in the music industry.

He is among three artists who have sold more than 100 million records in solo and collaborative endeavors, joining Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney in this select group. Born on January 30th, 1951, in London, England, to artistic parents, Collins was exposed to music at a young age.

When he was 5, he obtained a handmade drum kit from his uncle, which featured tambourines, triangles, cymbals, and small drums – a move that would form his distinct sound.

The English beat scene began to emerge, with essential bands such as The Shadows leading the way. Collins would go on to be at the vanguard of this movement, as well as performing at social gatherings hosted by his parents’ boating club regularly.

Collins was inspired to purchase a record player and Please Please Me by The Beatles at the tender age of fourteen after being introduced to rock and roll. In order that he could avoid having to look at what he was doing while playing the drums, he would turn up the record player’s volume and set his drums in front of a mirror.

Collins chose to take drum lessons from a tutor to learn how to read drum music, which was required if one wanted to work in a dance band or orchestra pit. Collins quickly knew, however, that playing intuitively was considerably superior to reading sheet music.

In the 1970s, Collin’s life took an astonishing turn when he saw an advertisement for a drummer who belonged to Genesis. When Collins contacted them, they welcomed him aboard, marking the beginning of his remarkable music career.

Throughout their five albums as The Beatles, they had a variety of songs that became iconic masterpieces that we still adore today. It was only a short time before Collins took over as the band’s main singer due to a lack of qualified candidates.

It took him some time to acclimate to being both a vocalist and a drummer, but he persevered and eventually established himself as one of the best musicians of our day.

Collins was a hugely successful musician when he was member of the iconic band Genesis and a solo artist. Hits like ‘In The Air Tonight,’ ‘You Can’t Hurry Love,’ and ‘I Don’t Care Anymore’ catapulted him to the music industry’s top.