1958



The Collins Kids, Whistle Bait.
The Collins Kids, Rock Boppin' Baby.

Let's begin with 14-year old Larry Collins, who, while sounding as though he's yet to attain puberty, is evidently randy enough to leer and hoot at some poor girl on the street. "She's-a whistle bait!!" he squeaks in this freakish little voice which Morpheus could have used to overdub nightmares. That said, Larry could play guitar like a madman--that neat solo on the double-necked Mosrite is all his.

And on the flip side, his 16-year old sister, Lorrie, sings about her talented boyfriend.

The Collins Kids were from Pretty Water, Oklahoma, and in a story that seems written by MGM hacks, the Collins family literally sold the farm and moved to Hollywood in the hopes their two children would become famous. The Collins Kids appeared on an LA TV station's country music show in 1954, and, aided by the publicity generated when Lorrie began dating Ricky Nelson, soon made it to national shows like Steve Allen and Ed Sullivan.

You need to see this utterly fantastic performance of the Kids performing "Rockaway Rock," in which Tex Ritter adds some truly half-hearted backing vocals.

The Collins' stopped recording by the early '60s, though Larry went on to write a number of country standards (like "Delta Dawn"), while Lorrie, at age 17, married Johnny Cash's manager.

Released in August 1958 as Columbia 4-41225. Find on Rockin'est.