Phil Collins

To me, Fess Parker was the “Davy Crockett” who started this journey off for me. Full stop.

My basement has my Alamo stuff and my studio. Also my boys’ playroom. They all seem to live together nicely!

Eric Clapton seemed very impressed with the depth of my new Alamo book. UK comedian Peter Kay also seemed overwhelmed. I’m not suggesting that either of them have become “history” fans, but I think they, and more friends like them, are a bit more aware of what the Alamo means.

If I really had to pick between the big three Alamo movies, I’d pick the last, as it has a little more of the true story. But Wayne’s has such stirring music….

My biggest influences have been the Beatles, the Alamo, Texas history and watching life through the eyes of my kids.

History has taught me people like a good story. That’s not history; that’s re-writing history for audiences to enjoy. Real history is rarely the way we’ve been taught it.

My daddy always told me, “Never hold on to the lady’s leg!”

On the set of A Hard Day’s Night, I got to scream at the Beatles, although I actually resisted that and just listened. Check out The Making of… DVD. I narrate it, and you can see me in the crowd, but not in the movie.

Don’t tell anybody, but Robert Plant is a lovely, warm, great friend of mine.

The one historical writer I am in awe of is Steve Hardin, a great person and writer. I’m very proud to know him and to have him involved in my book.

My only regret is that I don’t live with any of my five children. This upsets me more than you’ll ever know.

With every book that gets written about the Alamo, something new comes out. We’ll never know, no one was there and, for some reason, the Mexican accounts are generally overlooked as being “unreliable.” All that we know is that it wasn’t the way we think it was.

The secret to a happy marriage is: I wish I knew…I wish I knew.

The trick to getting your kids hooked on history is to let it happen. Mathew has my collection of lead Alamo soldiers. He treats them very carefully. I occasionally have to fix a bayonet for him, but he loves them. He went to Napoleon from there!

Wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve been asked what “Sussudio” means!

My mother always told me, “It’s okay to hold the lady’s leg!”

 

Phil Collins, Rock Star
Best known as the drummer and vocalist for the British rock group Genesis, Phil Collins is one of three recording artists who have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide as both a solo artist and a principal member of a band. The rock star also has an intellectual side to him; he has been a student of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution since boyhood. In his first book, The Alamo and Beyond: A Collector’s Journey (State House Press), he shares his story of the Alamo through artifacts and documents from his private collection. His first Alamo collectible was a receipt for a saddle purchased by John W. Smith. The San Antonio resident rode his mount out of the besieged Alamo to deliver what would be Lt. Col. William B. Travis’s last letter.