Arthur Francis Collins (February 7, 1864 – August 3, 1933) was an American singer who recorded a significant number of early records. With tenor singer Byron G. Harlan

Byron G. Harlan

Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...

, Collins recorded the first song to refer to "jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

": "That Funny Jas Band from Dixieland," copyrighted on November 8, 1916, recorded on January 12, 1917, and issued on Victor 18235.

On October 20, 1921, Collins was seriously injured during an Edison Tone Test demonstration. Collins exited the stage in the dark so the audience could guess whether the singing heard came from the singer himself or an Edison Diamond Disc machine, and he fell through a trap-door accidentally left open.

After a recovery period, he made a solo recording for Gennett—"I Ain't Got Enough For To Pass Around" (4866), issued in June 1922—and more recordings with Harlan for Edison, but heart ailments coupled with lingering effects from the fall prompted him to retire to Florida in 1926.

1890s

1899

• "I'd Leave Ma Happy Home For You"
• "All Coons Look Alike To Me"
• "I Guess I'll Have To Telegraph My Baby"
• "Kiss Me, Honey Do"
• "Mandy Lee"
• "Hello! Ma Baby
  Hello! Ma Baby
  "Hello! Ma Baby" is a Tin Pan Alley song written in 1899 by the team of Joseph E. Howard and Ida Emerson . Its subject is a man who has a girlfriend he knows only through the telephone...
  
  "

1900s

1900

• "My Sunflower Sue" with The Metropolitan Orchestra, Victor's house orchestra
• "You're Talking Rag Time"

1901

• "Every Darky Had A Raglan On"
• "Ain't Dat a Shame"
• "I Dreams About You"
• "Coon, Coon, Coon"

1902

• "All Coons Look Alike To Me" (w.m. Vess L. Ossman)
• "Any Old Place I Can Hang My Hat Is Home Sweet Home To Me"
• "Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home"
• "Drill Ye Tarriers, Drill"
• "Helen Gonne"
• "Just Kiss Yourself Goodbye"

1903

• "Any Rags?" (w.m. Thomas S. Allen
  Thomas S. Allen
  Thomas S. Allen , an early figure in Tin Pan Alley, was an American vaudeville composer, manager, and violinist.-Popular songs:...
  
  ) - on Edison Records
  Edison Records
  Edison Records was one of the earliest record labels which pioneered recorded sound and was an important player in the early recording industry.- Early phonographs before commercial mass produced records :...
  
  
• "Good-bye, Eliza Jane" (w. Andrew B. Sterling
  Andrew B. Sterling
  Andrew B. Sterling was an American lyricist.Born in New York City, after he graduated from high school, he began writing songs and vaudevilles. An important event was his meeting with the composer Harry Von Tilzer in 1898...
  
   m. Harry Von Tilzer) - on Edison Records
  Edison Records
  Edison Records was one of the earliest record labels which pioneered recorded sound and was an important player in the early recording industry.- Early phonographs before commercial mass produced records :...
  
  
• "I'm A Jonah Man" (w.m. Alex Rogers
  Alex Rogers
  Alex Rogers born 16 December, 1986 in England is a rugby union player for Harlequins in the Guinness Premiership. He plays as a prop.-External links:*...
  
  ) - on Edison & Victor
• "I Wonder Why Bill Bailey Don't Come Home" (w.m. Frank Fogerty, Matt C. Woodward & William Jerome
  William Jerome
  William Jerome was an American songwriter, born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York of Irish immigrant parents, Mary Donnellan and Patrick Flannery...
  
  ) - on Victor Records & Edison Records
  Edison Records
  Edison Records was one of the earliest record labels which pioneered recorded sound and was an important player in the early recording industry.- Early phonographs before commercial mass produced records :...
  
  

1904

• "The Preacher And The Bear"
• "Have You Seen My Henry Brown?"

1905

• "Johnny Morgan"
• "Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown"
• "My Irish Molly O"
• "Nobody"
• "What You Going To Do When The Rent Come's 'Round"

1906

• "Abraham Washington Jefferson Lee"
• "Bill Simmons"
• "Jessamine"
• "Pretty Desdamone"
• "Won't You Fondle Me"
• "When A Poor Relation Comes To Town"

1907

• "Bake Dat Chicken Pie" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Whats The Use Of Knocking When A Man Is Down"
• "Dixie Dan"
• "Scissors to Grind"
• "Rag Babe"
• "If I'm Going to Die, I'm going to Have Some Fun"

1908

• "The Meanest Man in Town"
• "I Think I See My Brother Coming Home"
• "Rag Babe"
• "The Ghost of the Banjo Coon"

1909

• "Abraham Lincoln Jone's Or The Christening"
• "A Possum Supper At The Darktown Church"
• "Down At The Huskin' Bee" (w.m. Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Everybody's Picken' On Me"
• "Strawberries"
• ""That's A Plenty""

1910s

1910

• "Casey Jones" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Contribution Box"
• "Temptation Rag"

1911

• "Alexander's Ragtime Band
  Alexander's Ragtime Band
  "Alexander's Ragtime Band" is the name of a song by Irving Berlin. It was his first major hit, in 1911. There is some evidence, although inconclusive, that Berlin borrowed the melody from a draft of "A Real Slow Drag" submitted by Scott Joplin that had been submitted to a...
  
  " #1 for 10 weeks
• "Play That Barbershop Chord"
• "Chicken Reel
  Chicken Reel
  "Chicken Reel" is a dance tune. It was composed by Joseph M. Daly in 1910. Joseph Mittenthal added lyrics in 1911.Along with "Turkey in the Straw," "Chicken Reel" is probably best known for its use in early animated cartoons as a catchy tune used to represent animal activity. Originally composed...
  
  "
• "Railroad Rag"
• "Steamboat Bill"
• 'The Barn Dance" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )

1912

• "I'm Goin' Back to Dixie" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "In Ragtime Land"
• "Rum Tum Tiddle"
• "Somebody Else Is Getting It"
• "The Ragtime Goblin Man"

1913

• "Row! Row! Row!"
• "Minstrel"
• "On the Old Fall River Line
  On the Old Fall River Line
  On the Old Fall River Line is a song composed in 1913 by William Jerome , Andrew B. Sterling and Harry Von Tilzer set on a steamship of the Fall River Line of steamships between New York and Newport, Rhode Island, which connected with trains from Newport to Boston...
  
  "

1914

• "Ragtime Dreams" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Aba Daba Honeymoon" (co-written with Walter Donovon)
  • Used in the film King of Jazz
    King of Jazz
    King of Jazz is a 1930 motion picture starring Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra. The film's title was taken from Whiteman's controversial, self-conferred appellation...
    
    

1915

• "Auntie Skinner's Chicken Dinner" (w.m. Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Cotton Blossom Time" (w.m. Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Kentucky Home" (w.m. Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )

1916

• "The Kid Is Clever" (w.m. Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Pretty Baby" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Emancipation Handicap" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Honest Injun" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Two Key Rag" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "If You've Got a Little Bit"
• "That Funny Jas from Dixieland" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "In Huneysuckle Time" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "On the Hoko Moko Isle" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "My Lovin' Lou" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "All Aboard for Chinatown" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Johnny Get A Girl" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "When I'm a Sargent Man" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "At the Old Plantation Ball" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "I'm Savin' Up the Means to Get to New Orleans" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )

1917

• "Oh Lady" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Buzzin' the Bee" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Everybody's Jazzin' It (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Night Time in Little Italy" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "They're Wearing 'em Higher in Hawaii" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Come Along to Caroline" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "The Ghost of Saxophone" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Lily of the Valley" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Three Pickaninnies" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Mammy Blossom's possum Party (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )

1918

• "The Old Grey Mare" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Everybody's Crazy 'bout the Doggone Blues" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "If You Saw All That I Saw in Arkansas" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Darktown Strutters' Ball
  Darktown Strutters' Ball
  "Darktown Strutters' Ball" is a popular song by Shelton Brooks, published in 1917. The song has been recorded many times and is considered a popular and jazz standard....
  
  " (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Sweet n' Pretty" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "I've Got Em'" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "When Tony Goes Over The Top"
• "Down in the Jungle Land" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Everything is Hunky Dory" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )

1919

• "On the Ozark Trail" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Climbing Up the Golden Stairs"
• "Sipping Cider Through a Straw
  Sipping Cider Through a Straw
  Sipping Cider Through a Straw is a 1919 song composed by Byron G. Harlan. The tune is identical to "Princess Pat" and "The Other Day I Met a Bear"....
  
  " (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Every Day's A Holiday in Dixie" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "Suicide Blues"

1920s

1920

• "The Argentines, the Portuguese and the Greeks"

1922

• "Ham & Eggs" (w.m. Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )
• "I Want a Jazzy Kiss" (w.m Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan
  Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
  
  )

Resources

• Arthur Collins cylinder recordings, from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project
  Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project
  The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project is a free digital collection maintained by the University of California, Santa Barbara Libraries with streaming and downloadable versions of over 10,000 phonograph cylinders manufactured between 1893 and the mid 1920s.- History :The project began...
  
   at the University of California, Santa Barbara
  University of California, Santa Barbara
  The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
  
   Library.
• Rare Arthur Collins Recordings, from [Archive.org]
• http://wfmu.org/Playlists/TE/collinsE6630TAEAPRT21.jpg
• The Frances G. Spencer Collection of American Sheet Music at Baylor University

External links

• Discography of Arthur Collins on Victor Records
  Victor Talking Machine Company
  The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
  
  from the Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings (EDVR)