Joseph Russel Robinson (July 8, 1892 – September 30, 1963) was an American

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

, and blues pianist and composer. He was a member of the

Original Dixieland Jass Band The Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB) was a Dixieland jazz band that made the first jazz recordings in early 1917. Their "Livery Stable Blues" became the first jazz record ever issued. The group composed and recorded many jazz standards, the ...

Career

Robinson was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. In his teens he worked as a pianist in theaters to provide music for silent movies. With a right arm that was damaged by polio, he formed unusual techniques with his left hand. With his brother John, a drummer, he toured the southern United States in the early 1910s with an extended stay in New Orleans. He started publishing compositions in his teens; his early hits included "Sapho Rag" and "Eccentric". His compositions were published as piano rolls by Imperial, the United Music Company, and QRS. He signed a contract with QRS to record blues songs from 1918 to 1921. He worked as a manager for the publishing company owned by W.C. Handy. Robinson became a member of the

in 1919, replacing on piano

Henry Ragas Henry Walter Ragas (November 2, 1890 – February 18, 1919) was a jazz pianist who was a member of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the first jazz band to record commercially. Background He played piano with the Original Dixieland Jass Ba ...

, who died on February 18, 1919, in the flu epidemic. Aside from the band, in the early to middle 1920s he played piano for vocalists such as Lizzie Miles and

Lucille Hegamin Lucille Nelson Hegamin (November 29, 1894 – March 1, 1970) was an American singer and entertainer and an early African-American blues recording artist. Life and career Lucille Nelson was born in Macon, Georgia, the daughter of John and Minnie ...

. In the 1930s he became the head of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

Radio's music department and was a major factor in reuniting the now scattered band. The reunion in 1936 yielded six

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

recordings as "The Original Dixieland Five," several network radio appearances (one with

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

), and an appearance in a " March of Time" movie short, with J. Russel Robinson speaking on-camera. At the end of the decade Robinson moved to California and continued to write songs. He was the composer of the title song, "Portrait of Jennie," for the 1948 film of the same name. The song subsequently became a hit for Nat King Cole. Aggravatin Papa

Selected Discography

Source: *

Original Dixieland Jazz Band The Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB) was a Dixieland jazz band that made the first jazz recordings in early 1917. Their "Livery Stable Blues" became the first jazz record ever issued. The group composed and recorded many jazz standards, the m ...

- ''Margie'' (1920), Victor * Original Dixieland Jazz Band- ''Palesteena'' (1920), Victor *

Aileen Stanley Aileen Stanley, born Maude Elsie Aileen Muggeridge (March 21, 1893 – March 24, 1982), was one of the most popular American singers of the early 1920s. Early life Born in Chicago, Illinois, Stanley was the youngest of four children of English ...

- ''Singin' the Blues'' (1920), Victor *

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1892 – September 26, 1937) was an African-American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Empress of the Blues" and formerly Queen of the Blues, she was t ...

and the Down Home Trio- ''Aggravatin' Papa'' (1923), Victor * Bessie Smith and the Down Home Trio- ''Beale Street Mamma'' (1923), Columbia *

Ted Weems Wilfred Theodore Wemyes (September 26, 1901 – May 6, 1963), known professionally as Ted Weems, was an American bandleader and musician. Weems's work in music was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Biography Born in Pitcai ...

Orchestra- ''Blue Eyed Sally'' (1924), Victor * Ted Lewis Jazz Band- ''Eccentric'' (1924), Victor * Joe Candullo and His Orchestra & Irving Kaufman- ''Go Wash an Elephant (If You Want to Do Something Big)'' (1927), Columbia * Seger Ellis- ''Memories of France'' (1928), Columbia * Claude Jones, Harlan Lattimore, & Connie's Inn Orchestra- ''Reefer Man'' (1932), Columbia * Benny Goodman Orchestra- ''Margie'' (1938), Victor

Awards and honors

"Singin' the Blues" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in a 1927 recording by

Frankie Trumbauer Orie Frank Trumbauer (May 30, 1901 – June 11, 1956) was an American jazz saxophonist of the 1920s and 1930s. His main instrument was the C melody saxophone, a now-uncommon instrument between an alto and tenor saxophone in size and pitch. He al ...

and His Orchestra featuring

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke ( ; March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical a ...

on cornet.

References

External links

Biography
*
J. Russel Robinson recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, J. Russell 1892 births 1963 deaths 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians American jazz pianists American jazz songwriters American male jazz pianists American male songwriters Dixieland jazz musicians Musicians from Indiana Original Dixieland Jass Band members Ragtime composers

Career

Selected Discography

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links