Don Rollins is a 1983 graduate of Lamar University and a former saxophone student of President Emeritus Dr. James S. Simmons. Since then, he has built a long career as a teacher, performer, and songwriter.

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After graduating, Rollins spent 17 years as a successful music educator in Texas public schools. His bands consistently earned superior ratings in marching, concert, and sight-reading competitions, and his jazz ensembles won numerous festivals—including the University of Houston Jazz Festival in 2001.

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As a professional saxophonist, he has performed in horn sections behind major artists such as Joe Williams, Bob Crosby, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Martha and The Vandellas, Little Anthony and The Imperials, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Bobby Vinton, and Lawrence Welk.

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Rollins began his songwriting career in 1989 with a single recorded by Country Music Hall of Fame member Ray Price. He entered a 10-year partnership with Warner/Chappell Music in 1997 and moved to Nashville in 2001 to pursue songwriting full-time.

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His breakthrough came in 2003 when Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett recorded “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” written by Rollins and collaborator Jim “Moose” Brown. The song spent eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard and R&R charts and won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song. It appeared on Jackson’s Greatest Hits Volume 2, which sold over six million copies, and was later featured on multiple Buffett and Jackson live albums—including a collaborative live album with George Strait.

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In 2007, Rollins landed two cuts on Reba McEntire’s platinum album Duets, including tracks featuring Reba with Faith Hill, and Reba with Carole King.

Beginning in 2003, Rollins expanded his work into educational and songwriting outreach. He has taught songwriting classes and served as a guest speaker at the Berklee School of Music, the Renaissance Center in Dickson, Tennessee, and numerous workshops and industry events across the country.