Lawrence Collins (October 4, 1944 – January 5, 2024) was an American guitarist, best known for being a part of

The Collins Kids The Collins Kids were an American rockabilly duo featuring Lawrencine "Lorrie" Collins (May 7, 1942 – August 4, 2018) and her younger brother Lawrence "Larry" Collins (October 4, 1944 – January 5, 2024). Their hits in the 1950s as youngste ...

duo with his sister

Lorrie Lorrie is a usually feminine name which may refer to: Given name or shortened name * Lorrie Collins (1942–2018), American country music, rockabilly and rock-and-roll singer * Lorrie Cranor, American professor and director of the Carnegie Mellon ...

, being mentored by

Joe Maphis Otis Wilson "Joe" Maphis ( ; May 12, 1921 – June 27, 1986), was an American country music guitarist. He married singer Rose Lee Maphis in 1953 and they performed together. One of the flashiest country guitarists of the 1950s and 1960s, Joe ...

, and for his fast and energetic playing. When The Collins Kids initially split up in 1961, Collins continued to perform as a solo artist, and most notably co-wrote the 1972 hit "

Delta Dawn "Delta Dawn" is a song written by musician Larry Collins and country songwriter Alex Harvey. The first notable recording of the song was in 1971 by American singer and actress Bette Midler for her debut album '' The Divine Miss M''. However i ...

The Collins Kids

Collins was a member of The Collins Kids, with his sister Lorrie (1942-2018). Their hits in the 1950s included "Hop, Skip and Jump", "Beetle Bug Bop", and "Hoy Hoy". The Collins Kids became regular performers on ''

Town Hall Party ''Town Hall Party'' is an American country music and rockabilly entertainment program originating in Southern California. It was initially broadcast on radio in 1951 and then on television beginning in 1953. The first radio broadcast was in Autum ...

'' in 1954, appeared on the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

, and on the syndicated for television version of the show,

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a singer, and an actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s. He was the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John Ritter, grandso ...

's ''Ranch Party'' in the late 1950s. Collins and his mentor, country star Joe Maphis, recorded an album together for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

, titled ''Fire on the Strings'', released in 1957. The Collins siblings continued to perform together until 1961 when they separated. The duo reunited for a rockabilly revival concert in England in 1993 and performed together until Lorrie's death in 2018.

Later works

When he was not a part of The Collins Kids, Collins continued to perform as a solo artist. Collins went on to write and produce hits for many well known country music stars, and is most notable for co-writing the 1972 hit "

" with Alex Harvey and the 1981 country hit "

You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma" is a song from the film ''Any Which Way You Can'', performed by American country music artists David Frizzell and Shelly West. It was written by Larry Collins and Sandy Pinkard (of Pinkard & Bowden). The son ...

" with

Sandy Pinkard Pinkard & Bowden are an American country music duo composed of singer-songwriters James "Sandy" Pinkard and Richard Bowden (), who also play guitar and bass guitar. The duo's music comprises a mix of musical parody and original comedy songs. Pink ...

Equipment

Collins was known for playing a double-neck

Mosrite Mosrite was an American guitar manufacturing company, based in Bakersfield, California, from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. Founded by Semie Moseley, Mosrite guitars were played by many rock and roll and country artists. Mosrite guitars we ...

guitar like his mentor,

Personal life and death

Lawrence Collins was born in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, on October 4, 1944, and died of natural causes in

Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-most populous city in Los Angeles County, the 17th-most popul ...

, on January 5, 2024, at the age of 79.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Larry 1944 births 2024 deaths American male television actors Musicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma