Following up my piece on the death of original Mothers of Invention singer Ray Collins, my Friday column is about his influence in downtown Claremont, which he called home. Ask almost anyone about him and they know who he was and have a story about him. I’d thought this might be worth a column and when I saw a bench outside Village Grille decorated in his memory, I knew I ought to pursue it.

* Update: An informal public tribute for Collins is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at Claremont’s Shelton Park, Bonita and Harvard avenues. Also, KSPC-FM (88.7) plans to air a tribute from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday.