# Larry Collins: the 13-year-old who created a surf-punk song in 1958

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/larry-collins-the-13-year-old-who-created-a-surf-punk-song-in-1958/
- Published: 2026-11-06T23:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-07T00:38:12+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/larry-collins-13-year-old-created-punk-song-1958/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Larry Collins recorded “Whistle Bait” at 13.
- The 1958 track’s wild sound anticipated later punk and surf styles.
- The Collins Kids’ early success was disrupted when Lorrie married in 1959.

## Summary

Larry Collins, the 13-year-old guitarist and singer in the sibling duo the Collins Kids, recorded “Whistle Bait” in 1958. Its frantic guitar riff and raw vocal have led listeners to hear it as a precursor to surf-punk, showing how early rockabilly could anticipate later styles.

Raised in Oklahoma, Larry had taught himself banjo as a young child and was playing guitar on radio and television by nine. The Collins Kids became regulars on Los Angeles’s “Town Hall Party” and drew praise from Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran; they also toured with Johnny Cash in 1959. Their career was interrupted when Lorrie married Cash’s road manager that year, and although the pair reunited in later decades, Larry went on to work mainly as a country songwriter. He died in 2024, aged 79.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.