Larry Collins, who penned a couple of country music's most memorable all-time hits, passed away at the age of 79.
Larry and his sister Lorrie, known as the Collins Kids, soared to rockabilly fame after they joined the cast of “Town Hall Party,” a popular TV show in Los Angeles back in '54. Larry was just a whipper-snapper at 10, and Lorrie was 12. They quickly became the talk of the town in the country music world and the budding rock-and-roll scene.
The show, hosted by cowboy singer Tex Ritter, had them rubbing elbows with big names like Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, and others, plus upcoming rockers like Gene Vincent. In '56, they even popped up on the first TV broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry.
Larry got some cool mentoring from Joe Maphis on the show and ended up playing this wicked double-neck Mosrite guitar that Maphis gave him for life. They even cut an album together in '58. And guess what? Surf-guitar legend Dick Dale picked up a thing or two from Larry's finger-picking style.
The Collins Kids’ records from the '50s, like “Hop, Skip and Jump,” are straight-up rockabilly treasures. They even caught the ears of folks like Bob Dylan and Lemmy Kilmister.
The duo hit the stage again for a rockabilly festival in Britain in '93 and kept playing until Lorrie hung up her guitar in 2012. She passed away in 2018 and got a spot in the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame the next year.
Larry was born on October 4, 1944. The Collins family shifted from Tulsa to Southern California in '53, after Lorrie won a talent contest. Leon McAuliffe, a steel player for Bob Wills' band, suggested they move.
Post-Collins Kids, Larry penned some big hits like Tanya Tucker’s “Delta Dawn” and the 1981 hit “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma,” which was a nod to his home turf. He also wrote tunes for the likes of Mac Davis, Nancy Sinatra, and Lou Rawls.
Larry left behind his daughter Larissa, two grandkids, and his sister Nicki.
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