HENRY ROLLINS

Henry Rollins is a bit of a Renaissance man. He started out as the lead singer of the legendary punk band Black Flag, but over the years he's evolved into a singer / song writer / actor / spoken word artist / author / activist / television host / radio personality. . .and so on.

If you aren't already familiar with him, don't let the picture fool you. Though he looks like an intense and angry fellow, he's actually a very introspective and intelligent individual. Though, he is pretty intense sometimes.

Since the eighties, Rollins has been releasing albums as a solo artist, with Black Flag, and with Rollins Band. So, there's quite a bit out there for you to get a hold of if you're a fan. Some of the things that might slip through the cracks, though, are the many collaborations he's done.

Here's some of those:

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Mike Watt with Henry Rollins - "Sexual Military Dynamics" Watt was the bass player in The Minutemen and firehose, and later The Stooges. His first "solo" album had guest appearances from just about every alternative band ever. This is from that album, Ball Hog or Tugboat.
Henry Rollins - "Purple Heart" (Charles Mingus cover) This is from the tribute album Weird Nightmare: Meditations on Mingus.(buy) The album features interpretations of Mingus' music, and sometimes pieces of unpublished portions of his autobiography, Beneath the Underdog (buy), read over the music. Here, Rollins reads "Groovy" over the Mingus composition "Purple Heart".

Henry Rollins & Goldie - "T-4 Strain" From the Spawn soundtrack.(buy)
William Shatner with Henry Rollins - "I Can't Get Behind That" Shatner is God. That's all you need to know. This is from His album Has Been. (buy)
Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel with Henry Rollins - "Delicate Tendrils" From Les's album Highball with the Devil. (buy)
Henry Rollins and the Hard-Ons - "Let There Be Rock" (AC/DC cover) A one-off single collaboration.
Tony Iommi with Henry Rollins - "Laughing Man (In the Devil Mask)" From a self-titled solo album from the Black Sabbath guitarist.

And a bonus non-Rollins cut:
Chuck D - "Gunslinging Bird (or If Charlie Parker Were a Gunslinger, There'd Be a Whole Lot of Dead Copycats)" (Charles Mingus cover) Another track from Weird Nightmare. This one features Chuck reading "Fire at the Coconut Grove". I highly recommend this album.

Henry Rollins post-Black Flag music-only discography (unless otherwise noted, released as Rollins Band):

Hot Animal Machine, 1987 (as Henry Rollins)
Drive By Shooting, 1987 (ep) (as Henrietta Collins and the Wifebeating Childhaters)
Life Time, 1987 (buy)
Hard Volume, 1989
The End of Silence, 1992 (buy)
Weight, 1994 (buy)
Come In and Burn, 1997 (buy)
Get Some Go Again, 2000 (buy) (Henry Rollins and Mother Superior)
Nice, 2001 (buy)

Get all of his books, dvds, other cds, etc. here.