Editing J. Russel Robinson

{{short description|American pianist and composer (1892–1963)}}

{{Infobox musical artist
| name                =J. Russel Robinson
| image               =JRussellRobinsonStandingHatInHand.jpg
| caption             = J. Russel Robinson
| background       = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name       = Joseph Russel Robinson
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1892|7|8}}
| birth_place       = [[Indianapolis]], Indiana, U.S.
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1963|2|24 |1892|7|8 |mf=yes}}
| death_place      = [[Palmdale, California|Palmdale]], California
| genre               = {{hlist|[[Jazz]]|[[dixieland]]|[[ragtime]]|blues|traditional pop|classical}}
| occupation        = Musician, composer, lyricist
| instrument        = Piano
| years_active     =1908–1950
| associated_acts =[[Original Dixieland Jazz Band]]
}}

'''Joseph Russel Robinson''' (July 8, 1892 – September 30, 1963) was an American [[ragtime]], [[dixieland]], and blues pianist and composer. He was a member of the [[Original Dixieland Jass Band]].

==Career==
Robinson was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. In his teens he worked as a pianist in theaters to provide music for silent movies.<ref name="Feather">{{cite book |last1=Feather |first1=Leonard |last2=Gitler |first2=Ira |title=The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz |date=2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-507418-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/biographicalency00feat/page/563 563] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/biographicalency00feat/page/563 }}</ref><ref name="New Grove">{{cite book |last1=Hasse |first1=John Edward |editor1-last=Kernfeld |editor1-first=Barry |title=The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz |date=2002 |publisher=Grove's Dictionaries |location=New York |isbn=1-56159-284-6 |page=433 |volume=3 |edition=2 }}</ref> With a right arm that was damaged by polio, he formed unusual techniques with his left hand.<ref name="New Grove" /> 
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".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jasen |first=David A. |author2=Trebor Jay Tichenor |title=Rags and Ragtime: A Musical History |publisher=Dover Publications, Inc. |year=1978 |location=New York, NY |isbn=0-486-25922-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ragsragtimemusic00jasen/page/150 150] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/ragsragtimemusic00jasen/page/150 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="New Grove" /> He worked as a manager for the publishing company owned by [[W.C. Handy]].

Robinson became a member of the [[Original Dixieland Jass Band]] in 1919, replacing on piano [[Henry Ragas]], who died on February 18, 1919, in the flu epidemic.<ref name="Feather" /> Aside from the band, in the early to middle 1920s he played piano for vocalists such as [[Lizzie Miles]] and [[Lucille Hegamin]].<ref name="New Grove" /> In the 1930s he became the head of [[NBC]] Radio's music department and was a major factor in reuniting the now scattered band. The reunion in 1936 yielded six [[RCA Victor]] recordings as "The Original Dixieland Five," several network radio appearances (one with [[Benny Goodman]]), 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. <ref name="New Grove" />[[File:Aggravatin Papa.jpg|thumb|right|200px|J. Russel Robinson/Roy Turk ''Aggravatin' Papa (Don't you try to two-time me)'', sheet music cover, 1922]]

== Selected Discography ==

Source:<ref>{{Cite web |title=J. Russel Robinson |url=https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/mastertalent/detail/106805/Robinson_J._Russel?Matrix_page=100000 |access-date=2023-12-14 |website=Discography of American Historical Recordings}}</ref>

* [[Original Dixieland Jass Band|Original Dixieland Jazz Band]]- ''Margie'' (1920), [[Victor Talking Machine Company|Victor]] 
* Original Dixieland Jazz Band- ''Palesteena'' (1920), Victor
* [[Aileen Stanley]]- ''Singin' the Blues'' (1920), Victor
* [[Bessie Smith]] and the Down Home Trio- ''Aggravatin' Papa'' (1923), Victor
* Bessie Smith and the Down Home Trio- ''Beale Street Mamma'' (1923), [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] 
* [[Ted Weems]] Orchestra- ''Blue Eyed Sally'' (1924), Victor
* [[Ted Lewis (musician)|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]] and His Orchestra featuring [[Bix Beiderbecke]] on cornet.<ref name="hall">{{cite web |title=Grammy Hall of Fame |url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/hall-of-fame#s |website=Grammy.com |access-date=10 July 2019 |date=18 October 2010}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of ragtime composers]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.perfessorbill.com/comps/robinson.shtml Biography]
* {{ChoralWiki}}
* [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106805 J. Russel Robinson recordings] at the [[Discography of American Historical Recordings]].
{{Original Dixieland Jass Band|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

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