PROGRAM #10
Summertime
Blues
THE WEST COAST had its own brand of rockabilly, from artists whose families migrated to California from the dust bowl states during the Great Depression. They brought with them their country styles that were transplanted to rural California and helped create a left coast outpost of country music. Rose Maddox and her family got into music one afternoon when her brother Fred got fed up with picking cotton, put down his cotton sack and told everyone, "We're going into the music business…" They were country artists who were also forerunners to the rockabilly sound and influenced countless musicians, among them, The Collins Kids.
Larry and Lorrie Collins, The Collins Kids, truly were kids when they first performed on the TV show Town Hall Party in Los Angeles. Lorrie was 11 and Larry was 9. The dynamic duo from Oklahoma won talent contests that led to their music careers. (Publicity Photo)