Tommy Collins; Writer of Country Music Hits

Tommy Collins, 69, country music songwriter whose work was turned into hits by Merle Haggard, George Strait and Ferlin Husky. Born Leonard Sipes near Bakersfield, the songwriter was renamed by Husky in honor of the mixed cocktail called Tom Collins. He helped shape the “Bakersfield sound” of country music and became a major influence on other country stars, including Buck Owens, before relocating to Nashville. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Sept. 19, which he said was “one of the best thrills of my life.” Collins, who also sang and recorded, scored five Top 10 hits between 1954 and 1966 and wrote a total of 22 songs for Haggard. Among his best-known songs were Haggard’s “Carolyn” and “The Roots of My Raising,” and “If You Ain’t Lovin’ (You Ain’t Livin’)” first popularized in 1954 by Faron Young and again in 1988 by Strait. He also wrote “You’d Better Not Do That” and “If You Can’t Bite, Don’t Growl” and, with Haggard, “Mixed Up Mess of a Heart.” Haggard wrote his own 1981 hit “Leonard” as a tribute to Collins. On Tuesday in Ashland City, Tenn., of emphysema.