Biography
J. Russel Robinson, whose surname contained just one “L,” worked as both pianist and songwriter after growing up in Indianapolis. He entered vaudeville near 1908 in a duo billed as the Robinson Brothers, and his debut published piece, “Dynamite Rag,” reached print in 1910. His initial commercial success arrived in 1912 via “That Eccentric Rag”; four years later he shared composer credit with W.C. Handy on “Ole Miss Rag.” Though he was white, Robinson maintained extensive partnerships with African-American artists across his entire career—Noble Sissle, Jo Trent, James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, and Cab Calloway among them—and served as accompanist for blues vocalists Lucille Hegamin and Lizzie Miles. An unusually productive writer able to supply both words and melody, he amassed more than two dozen hits across four decades in popular song. Beginning roughly in 1916 he also held a staff-arranger post at the QRS Company, for which he eventually produced an immense quantity of piano rolls.
When Original Dixieland Jazz Band pianist Henry Ragas succumbed to influenza in early 1919 just before the group’s inaugural European tour, Robinson stepped in and remained with the ODJB until its contentious dissolution in 1923. That same year the band cut a two-sided Victor release pairing “Margie,” which incorporated “Singin’ the Blues” at its center, with “Palesteena” on the reverse; Robinson wrote all three numbers, and the disc became the year’s biggest seller, moving close to a million copies. Prior to the ODJB’s breakup he had already recorded alongside Rudy Wiedoeft in the Wiedoeft-Wadsworth Quartet; afterward he partnered with vocalist Al Bernard, issuing most of their joint sides for Pathé under the name the Dixie Stars. Although Robinson supplied material for London revues, his Broadway efforts proved less rewarding—one of his major successes, “Aggravatin’ Papa (Don’t You Try to Two-Time Me),” debuted in the all-Black-cast Plantation Revue, which closed after barely a month during the summer of 1922.
Robinson achieved his greatest popularity working with lyricist Roy Turk, yet he also collaborated with Bernard, Sissle, Con Conrad, and additional writers. Two of his 1920s compositions, “Margie” and “Mary Lou,” later supplied the titles and thematic seeds for a pair of sentimental feature films released in the years immediately following World War II. Throughout the 1930s he found employment in radio and, in 1932, composed the controversial “Reefer Man” for Cab Calloway. His final chart success came in 1944 with “Meet Me at No Special Place (And I’ll Be There at No Particular Time).” He also returned to the Original Dixieland Jazz Band for its short-lived 1936 reunion attempt. Never heading a session under his own name, Robinson did record eight ragtime piano solos for Rudi Blesh’s Circle label in 1947.
When Original Dixieland Jazz Band pianist Henry Ragas succumbed to influenza in early 1919 just before the group’s inaugural European tour, Robinson stepped in and remained with the ODJB until its contentious dissolution in 1923. That same year the band cut a two-sided Victor release pairing “Margie,” which incorporated “Singin’ the Blues” at its center, with “Palesteena” on the reverse; Robinson wrote all three numbers, and the disc became the year’s biggest seller, moving close to a million copies. Prior to the ODJB’s breakup he had already recorded alongside Rudy Wiedoeft in the Wiedoeft-Wadsworth Quartet; afterward he partnered with vocalist Al Bernard, issuing most of their joint sides for Pathé under the name the Dixie Stars. Although Robinson supplied material for London revues, his Broadway efforts proved less rewarding—one of his major successes, “Aggravatin’ Papa (Don’t You Try to Two-Time Me),” debuted in the all-Black-cast Plantation Revue, which closed after barely a month during the summer of 1922.
Robinson achieved his greatest popularity working with lyricist Roy Turk, yet he also collaborated with Bernard, Sissle, Con Conrad, and additional writers. Two of his 1920s compositions, “Margie” and “Mary Lou,” later supplied the titles and thematic seeds for a pair of sentimental feature films released in the years immediately following World War II. Throughout the 1930s he found employment in radio and, in 1932, composed the controversial “Reefer Man” for Cab Calloway. His final chart success came in 1944 with “Meet Me at No Special Place (And I’ll Be There at No Particular Time).” He also returned to the Original Dixieland Jazz Band for its short-lived 1936 reunion attempt. Never heading a session under his own name, Robinson did record eight ragtime piano solos for Rudi Blesh’s Circle label in 1947.