The Collins Kids

The Collins Kids were a juvenile rockabilly duo featuring sister Lawrencine "Lorrie" Collins (born May 7, 1942, Tahlequah, Oklahoma) and younger brother Lawrence "Larry" Collins (born October 4, 1944, Tulsa, Oklahoma). Their hits, such as "Hop, Skip and Jump," "Beetle Bug Bop" and "Hoy Hoy," were geared towards children, but their infectious singing and playing crossed over generations. Larry, a lightning-fingered guitar whiz at age 10, was known for playing a double-neck Mosrite guitar like his mentor, Joe Maphis. They were regular performers on Town Hall Party and Tex Ritter's Ranch Party television series from 1956 to 1959.

Lorrie Collins is notable as one of the first female rock and roll singers, as she and her brother performed versions of songs such as "Shake, Rattle and Roll," "High School Confidential" and "Chantilly Lace," as well as "Hoy Hoy" and other early rockabilly numbers. Many of their performances on Town Hall Party were released on DVD by Bear Family Records of Germany; a CD of their work on the show, Rockin' on T.V., was released in 1993 on the Krazy Kat label in Europe.

In an early 2000s interview for PBS, Lorrie stated that she sparked some controversy for her youthful sex appeal and torch song performances (most notably the hit "Rock Boppin' Baby"). When performing covers of songs such as "Shake Rattle and Roll" and Paul Anka's "Lonely Boy" for TV, Lorrie almost always retained the original, often male-oriented lyrics.

In the late 1950s, Lorrie was the first girlfriend of television star and teen idol Ricky Nelson, on both the Nelson family's top-rated show The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet and in private life. She made her debut on January 22, 1958 in an episode entitled "The Picture in Rick's Notebook" in which she played the dual role of twin sisters (one being Dave Nelson's girlfriend and the other Rick's potential paramour). In this first episode, Nelson and Lorrie duetted on "Just Because" which had been one of the Collins Kids' signature songs (Lorrie played her own guitar and covered the name "Collins" on the neck with her left hand). A month later, Larry made a guest appearance on the show in an episode entitled "Who is Betty?", which aired on February 19, 1958.

In 1959, when Lorrie was 17, she married Stu Carnall, who was Johnny Cash's manager and twice her age. She continued acting and singing with Ricky on the television show and recording and touring with her brother Larry until 1961, when she gave birth to her first child. The Collins continued to perform into the 1960s, appearing as regulars in the 1963 Canadian music series Star Route, and the duo later made appearances on The Jackie Gleason Show and The Hollywood Palace as late as 1967. Larry went on to produce many country music hits, and he wrote the hit "Delta Dawn," which became hits for both country singer Tanya Tucker and pop singer Helen Reddy. He also wrote the country hit "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma", which, in 1981, brought the popular country duo of David Frizzell and Shelly West into the limelight.

The Collins reunited for a rockabilly revival concert in England in 1993 and continue to perform. They appeared at Deke Dickerson's Guitar Geek Festival in Anaheim, California on January 19, 2008, with a new addition to the band, their nephew, Dakota Serge, playing the upright bass.