Arthur Collins (singer)
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Arthur Collins | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Arthur Francis Collins |
Born | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | February 7, 1864
Died | August 2, 1933 Tice, Florida, U.S. | (aged 69)
Genres | Ragtime |
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Years active | 1898–1926 |
Labels | Victor, Edison |
Arthur Francis Collins (February 7, 1864 – August 2, 1933) was an American baritone who was one of the pioneer recording artists, regarded in his day as "King of the Ragtime Singers".
Biography
Collins was born in
Within a few years, Collins proved one of the most productive and successful singers in the record business, and in his long career between 1898 and 1926, he worked for every record company active in the United States. He specialized in what were then called
In 1909, Collins joined John H. Meyer, Henry Burr, and Albert Campbell in the Peerless Quartet, a successful barbershop music group which toured as the Record Makers, and later as the Eight Popular Victor Artists. However, by 1917, bass Frank Croxton began to replace Collins on some records, a situation that became permanent by mid-1919 as Collins did not get along with Burr, who also served as the group's manager.
During a personal appearance at the Princess Theater in Medina, Ohio on October 20, 1921, Collins was badly injured when he fell through an open trap door. While he recovered well enough to resume his singing and recording career, his health began to decline afterward and, in 1926, Collins retired, relocating to Florida with his wife. He died at the age of 69 in Tice, Florida on August 3, 1933.
Recordings and legacy
Arthur Collins recorded hundreds of songs, and in many cases he recorded the same song multiple times for various recording outfits. His signature song was
Collins lived up to his reputation as the "King of Ragtime Singers" and recorded more ragtime songs than any other singer during the era when ragtime was at its peak of popularity. Collins recorded some of Bert Williams's songs before Williams did, and even recorded some numbers associated with Williams that the latter never waxed. Collins and Harlan also made best-selling records of tunes such as "
His song "Steamboat Bill" is referenced in both the movie
Some of his songs can be listened to online.[4][5]
Selected discography
1890s
1898
- "Happy Days in Dixie"
- "Zizzy ze zum zum"
1899
- "All Coons Look Alike to Me" (Edison 7317)
- "When You Ain't Got No More Money" †
- "Hello! Ma Baby"[6]†
- "I'd Leave My Happy Home For You" †[7]
- "I Guess I'll Have To Telegraph My Baby" †
- "Kiss Me, Honey Do" †
- "Mandy Lee"† – #5 song of 1900[8] †
- "My Josephine"
1900s
1900
- "Ma Tiger Lily" – #3 song of 1900[8] †
- "My Sunflower Sue" with The Metropolitan Orchestra, Victor's house orchestra
- "You're Talking Rag Time"
- "I Ain't Seen No Messenger Boy"
1901
- "Ain't Dat a Shame"
- "Coon, Coon, Coon"
- "Every Darky Had A Raglan On"
- "I Dreams About You"
1902
- "Any Old Place I Can Hang My Hat Is Home Sweet Home To Me"
- "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home" – #2 song of 1902[9]†
- "Down Where the Wurzburger Flows" †
- "Helen Gonne"
- "Just Kiss Yourself Goodbye"
- "Under the Bamboo Tree" †
1903
- "Any Rags?"– #4 song of 1903[10] †
- "Good-bye, Eliza Jane" †
- "I'm A Jonah Man"
- "I Wonder Why Bill Bailey Don't Come Home"
1904
- "The Preacher And The Bear"† – #1 song of 1905[11] and Collins' best-selling song[12]
- "Hannah, Won't You Open That Door"
- "Scissors to Grind"
1905
- "Have You Seen My Henry Brown?"
- "My Irish Molly O"
- "Nobody"
- "What You Goin' to Do When De Rent Comes 'Round?"
- "Who's There"[13]
- "Robinson Crusoe's Isle"
1906
- "Abraham Jefferson Washington Lee"
- "Bill Simmons"
- "The Ghost of a Banjo Coon"
- "Jessamine"
- "Pretty Desdamone"
- "What's the Use of Knocking When a Man is Down?"
- "When A Poor Relation Comes to Town"
1907
- "Dixie Dan"
- "If I'm Going to Die, I'm Going to Have Some Fun"
- "Moses Andrew Jackson Good Bye"
- ”Bake dat chicken pie”
1908
- "The Old-time Rag"[14]
- "I Think I See My Brother Coming Home"
- "Rag Babe"
1909
- "Abraham Lincoln Jones, or, The Christening"
- "Everybody's Pickin' on Me"
- "I Love, Love, Love My Wife, but Oh You Kid!"
- "Strawberries"
- "That's a Plenty"
1910s
1910
- "Moonlight in Jungle Land"
- "If He Comes In, I'm Goin' Out"
- "No One Loves A Fat Man"
- "Temptation Rag"
1911
- "Play That Barbershop Chord"[6]
- "Chicken Reel"
- "Railroad Rag"
- "Steamboat Bill"
1912
- "The Ragtime Goblin Man"
- "The Ragtime Soldier Man"
- "Row! Row! Row!"
- "Rum Tum Tiddle"
- "Somebody Else Is Getting It"
1913
- "That Baseball Rag"[15]
1916
- "If You've Got a Little Bit"
1918
- "When Tony Goes Over The Top"
1919
- "Climbing Up the Golden Stairs"
- "Suicide Blues"
1920s
1920
- "Old Man Jazz"
- "The Argentines, the Portuguese and the Greeks"
1924
- "Go 'Long, Mule"
† Indicates a recording that reached number one on sales charts.[12]
Notes
- ^ ISBN 978-1-136-59229-4.
- ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ Gracyk, Tim. "'Jass' in 1916–1917 and Tin Pan Alley". Tim's Phonographs and Old Records. Retrieved 2015-08-27.
- ^ "Collected Works of Arthur Collins part 1".
- ^ "Arthur Collins - Free Music Archive".
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7864-2946-2.
- ISBN 978-1-135-94719-4.
- ^ a b Drake, Howard (ed.). "Top Songs of 1900". Music VF. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
- ^ Drake, Howard (ed.). "Top Songs of 1902". Music VF. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
- ^ Drake, Howard (ed.). "Top Songs of 1903". Music VF. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
- ^ Drake, Howard (ed.). "Top Songs of 1905". Music VF. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
- ^ a b Drake, Howard (ed.). "Arthur Collins Top Songs". Music VF. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
- ^ "Comments on Edison Gold Moulded Records for August 1905". Edison Phonograph Monthly. III (5): 8. July 1905. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
- ^ "Advance List, New Edison Records for October 1908". Edison Phonograph Monthly. VI (8): 15. August 1908. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
- ^ "That baseball rag". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
- Discography sources
- Arthur Collins cylinder recordings, from the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive at the University of California, Santa BarbaraLibrary.
- "Arthur Collins". Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California, Santa Barbara Library. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
External links
- Arthur Collins at Find a Grave
- Arthur Collins at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Virtual Museum
- Arthur Collins recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.
- Arthur Collins discography at Discogs
- Discography at 45worlds.com/78rpm/
- Rare Arthur Collins Recordings, from the Archive.org
- Arthur Collins cylinder recordings, from the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive at the University of California, Santa BarbaraLibrary.