ARTIST BIO

Felicia Collins is best known around the world as the guitarist and vocalist in the CBS Orchestra on the LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN. It was at the close of Cyndi Lauper’s Hat Full of Stars tour in the summer of 1993 that Paul Shaffer called to ask Collins if she would be interested in joining the band for Letterman’s highly publicized forthcoming show on CBS. along with fellow new recruit, Bernie Worrell. Collins would become The World’s Most Dangerous Recruit along with Bernie Worrell, joining the original quartet for its premiere broadcast where she has remained a constant presence nightly on network television performing live with virtually every name in the entertainment business – be they “royalty” or up-and-coming stars. Aside from being recognized as a versatile guitarist, she is also known for her extraordinary voice. Because her World’s Most Dangerous Band mates can KILL ANYTHING upon request, Late Show audiences witness her effortlessly leap from one style to the next, owning wherever she lands. Even the show’s host appears truly sincere in his frequent on-air praise following her performance. With Paul Shaffer at the helm, Felicia has held it down, alongside her tv bandmates, on guitar,vocals and congas in the official broadcast band for every annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony since she joined CBS Orchestra. Once her feet were planted in the daily routine of playing everything handed to her for millions of viewers she wrote and performed all of the music on her first EP titled Felicia Collins’ 360 and formed a power trio of the same name with long-time friends & Bronx monsters, drummer Dwayne Purdue and bass player Teddy Williams. In 2006, Dave Matos came on board adding a second guitar and thus was the creation of B!tchslapp – a four-piece heavy rock band with its emphasis on groove-laden melodic material. Felicia’s band emerged from the NYC underground rock scene as Felicia Collins & the Life releasing  “Strings Attached” in the summer 2007.
Felicia just dropped her third self-produced solo album titled Felicia Collins Discovers The Blues, available  on iTunes, CD Baby, etc..  For this one she traveled to Shreveport, Louisiana to record the majority of the cuts with Ivan Neville on keys, Brady Blade on drums and Tony Hall on bass. Of course, she called on home base pals, Paul Shaffer and the rest of the CBS Orchestra to play. Also throwing down on the joint is Mickey Raphael, long-time harmoniica-player with Wille Nelson, A-list piano player Bette Sussman and SNL keyboardist, Leon Pendarvis. In 2014, Collins created FEEVA MEDIA. Its first official project included mixing by Harvey J. Goldberg ( broadcast music mixer for Late Show With David Letterman and Late Show with Steve Colbert ) and mastering of Felicia Collins Discovers The Blues. Collaborations with Valerie Simpson ( of Ashford & Simpson, legendary hit composers and recording artist ), Nona Hendryx , Jan Pulsford  and Nile Rodgers are a few examples of where Collins’ songwriting talent has led her.
She has recorded with such artists as Whitney Houston, Billy Bob Thornton, George Clinton and P-Funk, Cyndi Lauper, Terri Lyne Carrington, N’Dea Davenport , Wille Nelson and Queen Latifah. She recorded and toured the world many times with singer Al Jarreau as his guitarist and featured vocalist. During that time, she took several months off to form OUTLOUD with Nile Rodgers and Philippe Saisse, the trio co-producing their CD  for Warner Bros titled Out Loud.
Felicia Collins continues to be the Go-To guitarist of top-gun music directors like Greg Philinganes, Narada Michael Walden and Ray Chew for their all-star ensembles. Recent auspicious occasions include commemorative concert at Carnegie Hall honoring Bill Withers as well as the John Lennon 75th Birthday Celebration concert. Collins’ reputation as a pure talent and consummate professional is long-standing and widely-acknowledged.