Collins & Harlan

Collins & Harlan

Collins & Harlan, the team of Arthur Collins and Byron G. Harlan formed a popular comic duet between 1903 and 1926. They sang ragtime standards as well as what were known as "Coon songs" - music sung by white performers in a black dialect. Their material also employed many other stereotypes of the time including Irishmen and farmers. Fellow recording artist Billy Murray nicknamed them "The Half-Ton Duo" as both men were rather overweight. Collins and Harlan produced many number one hits with recordings of minstrel songs such as "My Gal Irene," "I Know Dat I'll be Happy Til I Die," "Who Do You Love," and "Down Among the Sugarcane." Their song "That Funny Jas Band from Dixieland," recorded November 8 of 1916, is among first recorded uses of the word "Jas," which eventually evolved from "jas," to "jass," to the current spelling "jazz."