Willard Robison
Willard Robison ( born September 18, 1894 in Shelbina, Shelby County, Missouri, † June 24, 1968 in Peekskill, New York) was an American singer, pianist, bandleader and composer of popular songs.
Life and work
Willard Robison worked in the early 1920s with various territory bands in the Southwest United States. During this time he met Jack Teagarden, with whom he was friends for life. End of 1920, he organized his Robison Deep River Orchestra, which later in the early 30s in a radio show called The Deep River Hour.
Even during the 1920s, Robison took a variety of records for Perfect records on both vocal recordings in which he accompanied himself on the piano, as well as with his " Deep River Orchestra", with whom he recorded mostly standardized floor arrangements. Known titles of this period were " The Lonesome Road ", " Just the Same" or " My Melancholy Baby" (1927 ). In 1926/27 resulted in a series of six titles with the collective name of " American Suite "; this included the composition " Tampico ", the American suite was no 5. Between 1928 and 1930 he recorded for Columbia, Harmony and Victor; In 1937 he had a Aufmahmesession for Master Records.
Jack Teagarden took in 1962 a widely acclaimed album with Robison's songs, Think Well of Me Robison died at the age of 73 years.
The numerous compositions by Willard Robison were often compared with Hoagy Carmichael. Many of his songs such as " A Cottage for Sale" (1930 ), " 'Round My Old Deserted Farm", " Do not Smoke in Bed " and " Old Folks " (1938 ) became jazz standards and were by artists such as Peggy Lee, Nina Simone, Nat King Cole, Billy Eckstine, Chris Connor, Miles Davis and Mildred Bailey recorded, alone of " A Cottage for Sale", there are over a hundred shots. For the Breast Cancer Benefit album "Is not nuthin ' but a she thing" Patti Smith recorded his song "Do not smoke in bed " on.
Known compositions
- 'Round My Old Deserted Farm
- ' Tain't So, Honey, ' Tain't So
- A Cottage for Sale
- Do not Smoke in Bed
- Down to Steamboat, Tennessee
- Guess I'll Go Back Home ( This Summer )
- Harlem Lullaby
- I'm a Fool About My Mama
- It's Never Too Late to Pray
- Old Folks
- The Devil is Afraid of Music