In 1976, almost on a whim, I acquired second-row seats to see Genesis on their “Trick of the Tail” tour. Since lead singer Peter Gabriel had just left, drummer Phil Collins was at the mic, with Yes’s masterful Bill Bruford handling percussion.

This life-changing concert left me a Genesis junkie for decades; yet even as I emerged in a shell-shocked daze, I could never have guessed that these quirky prog-rockers would go on to one of the most successful careers in pop-music history.

Indeed, for the apparent crime of excessive fame, Collins himself has taken heat over the years, as exemplified by a comical quip in the recent movie “Sing Street” (“No woman can love a man who listens to Phil Collins”); but his preeminence and popularity are undeniable: More than 100 million sales with Genesis alone — not to mention 10 solo albums, five of which charted at No. 1 in England; plus 19 top-40 singles, including seven No. 1 hits in America. And then there’s his work as an actor (“Miami Vice,” “Hook”), as well as an Oscar-winning song-writer and Broadway composer (both for “Tarzan”), along with seven Grammys — and the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

To this impressive list you can add the entertaining new memoir “Not Dead Yet,” written by Collins himself with some help — but without a ghost-writer.

It’s interesting to compare this to Bruce Springsteen’s recent autobiography “Born to Run,” published around the same time last fall. Both are admirably transparent about various struggles, but Springsteen is dead serious most of the time, while Collins is often comically self-deprecating.

He recounts with chagrin the ill-deserved flack he got for supposedly ruining the Live Aid concert in 1985; and there’s a dandy tale of his early one-night-stint playing congas on George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” — a 13-page anecdote, with a priceless resolution.

Indeed, much of the fun in this chatty account lies in the many stories of Collins hobnobbing with an astounding array of cultural icons: Robert Plant, Eric Clapton, Tony Bennett, Dustin Hoffman, Sting, Robert Zemeckis, Queen Elizabeth, Quincy Jones, Glenn Close, Robin Williams, Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, Tina Turner, Adele and Princess Di.

The final third of the book is rough, as Collins’ personal life spins out of control, with three broken marriages, some reprehensible affairs and an alcohol problem that nearly killed him. Still, Collins pulls no punches about his failures as a husband and father, and he now seems to have a decent relationship with all five of his kids — some of whom also are pursuing a show-biz career. I had no idea he was the father of actress Lily Collins (“The Blind Side,” “Mirror Mirror,” “Rules Don’t Apply”). Nor did I know that his long years of fronting and drumming had taken such a toll on his health.

In spite of that, Collins’ hordes of fans can rejoice — not only in this revealing new book, but also in the recent announcement that he and Genesis bandmates Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford will reunite for another tour in the next year or so.

Not dead yet — indeed.