Digging into the history of John “Jammin'” Collins, you hear a history of Detroit and the potential of music to give back. The techno and progressive soul legend’s journey is also intertwined with health. It all lands as a challenge to do something meaningful with our sounds and to care for the people around us.
I wrote about John Collins’ passing already, below, linking to remembrances. But I think it’s worth looping back to these two.
First, WDET 101.9 FM Detroit has posted this program: Remembering the Ambassador of Techno John ‘Jammin’ Collins. They reprise the interview they did with their own audio engineer and producer, Conor Anderson. It’s a wealth of information on Collins’ biography and ideas.
Detroit-based production company PULSEBEAT has an extended series with Greg Dunmore, going deep into the community — celebrating John Collins as well as what’s coming next, about a “spiritual movement.” Collins himself speaks in this, too.
And separate of everything else, we should all listen in to what Bryce Detroit of Detroit Recordings Company has to say.
The Eternal Heartbeat of John E. Collins …
The NABJ “Salute to Excellence” Award-winning and Emmy-nominated TV show “PULSEBEAT WITH GREG DUNMORE” presents a powerful television tribute honoring the legendary John Collins, a “BEATastic” artist who moved the world through progressive soul and techno passion.
Watch what was televised Sunday morning, August 2, 2026, from 6:30 AM to 7:00 AM on Detroit’s ABC affiliate sister station TV20 WMYD, with encore airings on TV 15.2 WHPR Detroit Live– and global streaming immediately after on this steaming platform PULSEBEATGLOBAL.COM
Jammin’ John’s sound was a heartfelt fusion of both hard hitting and soothing sounds driven by a rhythm with reason that turned his turntable into an instrument for positive change.
With his fingers on the controls, John moved the global dance floor using the ultimate international language of love.
This extraordinary television salute is a “letter of our appreciation” to an exceptional, irreplaceable talent
May John Collins’ memory continue to inspire us to move in positive directions.
We’re great in music journalism at talking about people after they’re gone, and could do much better at talking about how to take care of one another. And I mean that on every level — the communities, where we’ve come from, how we enter other communities’ spaces and legacies, and how we care for ourselves and others in the music.
And then there is health. Obviously, health is the foundation on which music is built — not only our longevity, but our ability to access our tools and creativity.
So the WDET interview talks not just about techno and music, but Collins’ kidney transplant and his training as an epidemiologist. That comes at a critical moment in Michigan politics, because the winner of the Democratic primary and now candidate for the U.S. Senate, Abdul El-Sayed, has his own background in epidemiology and public health, including working on public policy in Detroit. (MedBound Times does a breakdown of El-Sayed’s history in medicine, in case you’re interested.)
The mention of a kidney transplant especially resonated, as I think of our friend Kevin Kennedy aka FBK — another techno legend, over in Ohio. After the first call to support Kevin’s health came in 2021 — see 5 Magazine — there is the ongoing Kevin Kennedy Kidney Fund. Following a kidney transplant and eye surgeries, FBK is back. And I know FBK made it to Detroit to play this summer.
So we don’t all become doctors or public health policy experts. But we can look out for one another, and the goal for all of us I know is to be blessed to get out and play as much as we can, working over any obstacles in our way.
I do hope that means we see talk of those true community efforts, and not just the commercial world that’s built on top of them. Committing ourselves to that a little harder seems a great way to remember John Collins.
That first interview did start with “Do Better.”
Also, good God, that’s a great track. RIP.
Previously: