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Phil Collins’ Priceless Collection Of Alamo Artifacts Goes On Display

Author Phil Harris
(Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images)

Long before he became a rock star, Phil Collins was a budding history buff. As a child growing up in England, Collins became fascinated by the Battle of the Alamo. The thirteen-day siege resulted in Mexican troops recapturing the Alamo mission in San Antonio during the Texas Revolution in 1836.

According to My San Antonio, Phil Collins fell in love with the story of the Alamo when he was just 5 years old after watching Disney’s 1955 film Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier. A news release issued by the Alamo reveals that “when other children were out playing cops and robbers or other childhood games, Collins says that he was re-enacting the Battle of the Alamo.”

When he started making rock star money, the Genesis singer and drummer began amassing the largest-known collection of Alamo and Texas Revolution artifacts. In 2014, Phil Collins donated his entire collection of weapons, relics, and original documents to the state of Texas. Nine years later, the priceless treasures are finally going on display to the public.

Beginning Friday, March 3rd, visitors will be able to see the artifacts at the Alamo Collections Center in San Antonio. The collection contains more than 400 items, including a rifle and fringed leather pouch owned by Davy Crockett, and an original Jim Bowie knife. The exhibit also features a Battle of the Alamo diorama narrated by Phil Collins. Eventually, the entire collection will be housed in the Alamo Visitor Center and Museum, which is expected to open in 2026.

Phil Harris is 50% of "Phil & Mel in the Afternoon" on K104.7. He has been with the station since 2013 and on the air in Charlotte since 2000. Before coming to the Queen City, Phil worked for radio stations in Pittsburgh, Austin, and Seattle. In addition to the weekly "Throwback Threesome" music video feature, Phil writes about things that matter to Charlotte sports fans and pet owners. He happens to be both.

Throwback Threesome - Genesis

Remember that rock band from your high school that you thought was so cool back in the day? Whatever happened to those kids? Chances are they’re not playing together anymore and all went into other careers. But every now and then, a band that got together in high school sticks with it and makes it big. Really big.

Genesis was formed in 1967 by classmates Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Anthony “Ant” Phillips, Mike Rutherford, and drummer Chris Stewart, at Charterhouse School in Godalming, England. The 1970s lineup, which also featured guitarist Steve Hackett, was among the pioneers of progressive rock.

Band members came and went. Phil Collins joined Genesis in 1970 as the group’s fourth drummer. He took over as the lead singer in 1975, following Peter Gabriel’s departure. The band’s most commercially successful lineup consisted of Collins on drums and vocals, keyboardist Tony Banks, and bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford.

With Phil Collins adding singing to his drumming duties, Genesis began to receive more radio airplay, which led to greater success on the charts. In 1978, the band released their ninth studio album, ...And Then There Were Three…, the title signifying that Genesis was now a trio. The first single from that album, “Follow You Follow Me,” charted in at least ten countries. The 1980s would prove to be an even more fruitful decade for Genesis.

  • Misunderstanding (1980)

    Released as the third single from the 1980 album Duke, “Misunderstanding” reached No. 42 in the UK, No. 14 in the U.S., and went all the way to No. 1 in Canada. The video features Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford playing their instruments on the back of a truck, with Phil Collins driving a 1950s model Ford convertible around Los Angeles looking for his girlfriend.

  • That's All (1983)

    Genesis released “That’s All” as the second single from their self-titled 1983 album. It became the band’s first Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 hit, reaching No. 6 in early 1984. The video shows the band as homeless men taking shelter outside an abandoned factory. They eat soup, play cards, and keep warm around an open fire all while performing the song. It was the first time Genesis worked with director Jim Yukich, who would direct the majority of their subsequent videos, as well as many of Phil Collins’ solo videos.

  • Land of Confusion (1986)

    “Land of Confusion” was the third single from Genesis’ monumental 1986 album Invisible Touch. The song climbed to No. 4 in the U.S., No. 8 in Canada, and No. 14 in the UK. The video is often remembered as “the one with the puppets.” After Phil Collins saw a caricature version of himself on the British television show Spitting Image, he commissioned the show’s creators to make puppets of the entire band, as well as the other characters in the video, which included numerous political and pop culture luminaries of the time. The video won the Grammy Award for Best Concept Music Video. It was also nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year in 1987 but lost to “Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel, the former lead singer of Genesis.

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