That's genuine rock 'n' roll, that is!
Lorrie and Larry Collins were a brother and sister act from Oklahoma. Lorrie (who would have been around 15 at the time of this appearance on Tex Ritter's Ranch Party) had one of the few really convincing female rockabilly voices. And her brother, Larry (13 here, I'm guessing) was a genuine guitar-shredding prodigy. Here he and his mentor, the great Joe Maphis, duet on "Hurricane" (both playing twin-necked Mosrite guitars):
Lorrie, who was Ricky Nelson's first steady girl-friend, was just as good at slower stuff, as she proved with the bluesy "Rock Boppin' Baby":
The Collins Kids were first signed to Columbia Records in 1955. You'd have thought the label would have been able to rustle up some hits for such an outstandingly talented semi-novelty act - but they never made the charts. Larry had more success in later life as a writer of country songs, including Tanya Tucker's big hit, "Delta Dawn".
I'm not a big fan of their recordings, which generally failed to capture the great rockabilly feel of their best TV performances, but I'll leave you with Larry's self-penned "Hop, Skip and Jump" (1957), which is pretty good:
May I commend you on a superb music blog. You will find many of the styles showcased in your blog on my Howdy Neighbor Howdy show at www.whistleradio.ca
ReplyDeleteAbout 20% of the material is rockabilly, and the very obscure onesl. Check it out very soon. Its 930 pm start should translate into around 2:30 or so London time.