Record producer Bernie Tom Collins was born in Knoxville and received the baccalaureate degree from UT in 1965. He was a Sigma Chi at UT. Collins had enjoyed music from his childhood—he began playing the piano at seven years old and the trumpet at thirteen.
He was a schoolteacher from 1968 to 1970 and then joined P1-Gem Publishing. He began to produce record two years later, and the first track that he produced was Ronnie Malsap’s “Where My Heart Is.” He became musical director for the Barbara Mandrell Show.
In 1982 he established Collins Music, and the company has received over one hundred BMI and ASCAP awards for its songs. In 1991 Collins Music acquired the Hallnote Music Catalog of Tom T. Hall, establishing itself as one of the major independent music publishers in the US.