"The Man With The Golden Voice," Ollie Collins, Jr., will be remembered for his distinct, impassioned, soulful, conversational and prophetic voice that has both transformed and given life to his listeners at WSEL (96.7) in Pontotoc, Mississippi, radio station into which he breathed life, connecting his voice with the gospel message and the lives of those who believed in the power of gospel music to bring about a change in their lives...seven days a week for over half a century. "I like to explain the songs as ministry," he said during his interview with the Daily Journal published in 2020.

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As a man of faith, Collins' invitation by "Wolfman Jack" turned into his deejaying a thirty-minute gospel segment...then to an hour, then to a three-hour, early-morning segment each day. His radio station is responsible for supporting and launching the careers of many of our gospel greats, giving them a platform prior to social media and big marketing budgets from record labels to be heard in and around the Mississippi market.

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A serendipitous meeting of "Wolfman Jack" in late 1967, while taking a trip to Rosarita Beach away from the job he had at a paper plant in Los Angeles, California at the time would be a major turning point in Ollie Collins, Jr. career. At the 150,000-megawatt frequency, border XERB radio station near Tijuana, Collins was invited to deejay on air by "Wolfman Jack"--initially aiming to have his latest gospel songs, "I'm Going Home" (A-side) and "This Is My Prayer (B-side) played over the megawatt airwaves--an invitation that would forever change his life. Collins saw the power of radio to promote gospel music as a deejay.

 

His improvisational style, when it comes to his funk-soul gospel sound recordings, touches the souls and hearts of those in search of the fruit of the spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). He used his voice in whatever capacity he could to encourage and uplift the spirits of mankind. That seemed to be his purpose, his mission on earth. A radio deejay, Father, Husband, songwriter, singer, grandfather, friend...beloved of his community, Ollie Collins, Jr. will be missed but never forgotten (January 31, 1940 -November 12, 2021).