Arthur Collins

Born: February 7, 1864
Died: August 3, 1933

Baritone Arthur Collins deserves a title like Ragtime King since he made more discs with "rag" or "ragtime" in the title than any other singer, bringing the upbeat music into middle class parlors where the Victrola stood. He recorded on different occasions in the 1890s the Ernest Hogan song "All Coons Look Alike To Me," a song that is important since its 1896 sheet music has the first known use of "rag" as a musical term. Many of Collins' recordings are identified as a "coon song" or "darky song," which may be one reason scholars avoid crediting this white singer with popularizing ragtime.