Born in Medora, Indiana, United States,[2] Collins first played the mandolin professionally as a bluegrass musician in the early 1950s.
[2] After service in the Army, he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and switched to jazz guitar[1][3] after hearing swing guitarists Charlie Christian, Irving Ashby, and Oscar Moore.
One side features a Jazzed version of Duane Eddy's "40 Miles of Bad Road", the other side of the recording features a version of the Santo & Johnny hit, "Sleepwalk" combined into a medley with "Peg of My Heart".
As a leader and sideman, he worked with Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache, Rosemary Clooney, Ross Tompkins, Woody Herman, John Bunch, and Marshal Royal.
He joined the Masters of the Steel String Guitar Tour in 1993 with Jerry Douglas and Doc Watson and recorded his last album in 1998.