Carson Robison
Carson Jay Robison (born August 4, 1890 in Oswego , Labette County , Kansas , † March 24, 1957 in Pleasant Valley , New York ) was an American old-time and country musician . Robison can be heard on numerous recordings by other musicians as a guitarist , harmonica player and whistler ("Whistler") - but at the same time he recorded an equally large number of his own records.
Robison started his recording career in the mid-1920s as an accompanist for Vernon Dalhart and from the end of the 1920s he also made solo recordings, but above all as a duet partner with Frank Luther . Robison then founded his first band in the 1930s, but it was only during the Second World War that he recorded national hits such as Turkey In the Straw , Remember Pearl Harbor and Mussolini's Letter to Hitler .
Life
Childhood and youth
Carson Robison was born in Oswego, Kansas, in 1890; his family later moved to Chetopa , where Robison spent most of his childhood. His father worked as a cowboy and was an award-winning fiddler - Carson's mother was a singer and pianist . His uncle also played the fiddle, sometimes with his father at Barn Dances . Robison himself played guitar professionally at the age of 14 and learned other instruments in his youth. At the same time he wrote his first song of his own, which he called Anthem . A year later he started playing in bands and made his living with music.
Career
Beginnings
In 1920 Robison moved to Kansas City to try his hand at a professional entertainer. He played in various bands and established himself there as a fixture in the entertainment sector; especially in vaudeville and minstrel shows. Robison also began as one of the first old-time musicians to use the medium of radio for himself and was regularly heard on the WDAF in Kansas City. His whistling, called "whistling", was pronounced at the time; in a special way he could whistle two notes in harmony.
Success as an old timer
As his popularity continued to rise in the Midwest, Robison moved to New York City in 1924 . Shortly before, he had lived in Chicago for some time , where he was staying at Wendell Hall . Just two days after his arrival in New York, Robison played for the directors of the major label Victor Records and immediately received a recording contract. In the same year he met the ex-operetta singer Vernon Dalhart , with whom he formed a professional duo that joined the emerging trend of old-time music. Robison accompanied Dalhart on the recording of Henry Whitter's The Wreck of the '97 on guitar. The single was a great success and is considered the first million seller in country music. In November 1924 Robison was a guest on Wendell Hall's radio show Everyday Hour and began to record duets with Hall. Their first single, Song Birds of Georgia , was released that same year.
Robison experienced great success as a musician and above all as a songwriter through the musical partnerships with Dalhart and Hall. While Hall and Robison were talented composers, Dalhart relied on the titles of others and recorded Robison's compositions by the hundreds. Robison also toured with Hall and Dalhart during the years of their partnership. Victor also often used him as a background musician at sessions with other artists such as Gene Austin , Frank Crumit , Roy Smeck , Henry Burr , Aileen Stanley , Fiddlin 'Powers and Family , Kelly Harrell , Buell Kazee and later Gene Autry .
Robison played just as important a role as a composer as he did as an interpreter or background musician. Many of the popular 1920s hillbill songs such as Blue Ridge Mountain Blues , Wreck of the Number Nine , Little Green Valley or Carry Me Back to the Lone Prairie came from his pen. Robison wrote his first popular song with Way Out West in Kansas . Similar to Blind Andy Jenkins, Charlie Oaks and Bob Miller, he specialized in so-called "event songs" that reported and commented on current events. Mostly it was about train accidents, mine explosions, murders or robberies that Robison read in the newspapers. When composing, he always followed a certain scheme. The song started in a happy mood, then ended in tragedy. The final stanza then drew a conclusion and the moral - but it is unclear whether these really reflected Robison's thoughts or were adapted to the tastes of the audience.
In 1928 Robison left Dalhart's band with one last collective hit, My Blue Ridge Mountain Home . Robison himself later commented on the breakup: “[Dalhart was] a very difficult to get along with. From the time I knew him until we split up, he had a continual chip on his shoulder. “According to Robison, he had two reasons to end the successful collaboration with Dalhart. For one thing, he didn't want Dalhart to continue receiving a generous portion of the royalties. On the other hand, Dalhart simply replaced the Fiddler Murray Kellner with Adeline Hood in his band, without informing Robison or Kellner about it.
Although neither Dalhart nor Robison did the breakup commercially good, both continued to make records. Robison formed the Carson Robison Trio in 1928 , which in addition to Robison consisted of the brothers Frank Luther (Crow) and Phil Crow. Numerous records were recorded for the American Record Corporation and a few other major labels, but none of them became a million seller due to the global economic crisis from 1929 onwards. Nonetheless, Robison had a number of hits during this time, worth mentioning here is When The Bloom is on the Sage for Victor from 1930. Robison also made records with Luther under the pseudonym Bud & Joe Billings and appeared with him regularly on WOR New York City on. In contrast to other contemporary old-time musicians, Robison operated music as a profession. His recording career was built on a professional basis, so that a huge number of "hillbilly-styled" recordings, some with stereotypes, came together.
With the pioneers
In 1931 Robison separated from Luther and founded the Pioneers , which consisted of John and Bill Mitchell, Frank Novak and Pearl Pickens. In 1932 Robison and the Pioneers traveled to Great Britain , where they toured and held numerous sessions for British labels. Robison and the Pioneers were the first old-time / country group to perform in the UK.
In 1933 Robison took a studio break, but a year later, on October 18, 1934, he recorded four new songs for Conqueror Records and Banner Records (ARC labels). Meanwhile, the Pioneers had renamed themselves The Buckaroos .
The 1930s were mainly characterized by tours and regular radio appearances - also on NBC radio - as the record business did not prove to be lucrative for records due to the depression and the resulting poor situation. Nevertheless, sessions were still recorded. Since the early 1930s, Robison had changed its sound; he had gone with the fashion trends within rural music and adapted the image of the “cowboy singer” with the typical costumes, but also in his music. The repertoire now determined Western music and romantically transfigured cowboy songs, double bass and accordion were added, which resulted in a fuller sound. The group achieved international success in 1936 with There Is a Bridle Hanging on the Wall .
In 1936 and 1939 Robison visited England, Scotland and Ireland again with the Buckeroos , where he recorded again in London . According to his son, on one of his visits to England, Robison gave the Queen a pair of cowboy boots, which she proudly put on and displayed after the concert. Robisons previously played for King George .
Hits
In 1942 Robison had another big hit in a long time. With the old novelty song Turkey in the Straw he achieved high sales and in the same year he had another hit with Frank Luther's Remember Pearl Harbor . The song dealt with the attack by the Japanese on the US air base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in December 1941, which led to the entry of the US into World War II.
In the following years Carson was able to celebrate successes with patriotic pieces that tended to nationalism, such as We're Gonna Slap the Dirty Little Jap and a number of letter songs such as Mussolini's Letter to Hitler (1942) and Herohito's Letter to Hitler .
Later career
In 1943 he had another hit with The Old Gray Mare Is Back Where She Used to Be on Bluebird Records . The 1940s were Robisons' most successful times, at least from a commercial point of view. In the mid-1940s, Robison formed his new background band, the Pleasant Valley Boys, and in 1947 signed a long-term, exclusive record deal with MGM Records .
The very next year Robison was able to enjoy tea jus, Don't It? occupy a spot on the new Billboard Country Charts . It was his last big hit. In the late 1940s and early 1950s Robison belonged to the ensemble of the Grand Ole Opry on WSM from Nashville to the most successful country music show in the United States. Although he continued to make records, he was granted hits.
In 1956 Robison recorded the rockabilly song Rockin 'and Rollin' with Grandmaw for MGM . Robison was one of the few musicians who started with old-time music and then finally came to rockabilly via country music.
Carson Robison died in Pleasant Valley, New York, in 1957 at the age of 67. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1971 and despite his tremendous contributions to country music, he still does not receive the great fame and recognition that his contemporaries from the 1920s, 1930s or 1940s did.
Discography
Discography is not exhaustive. ARC recordings have generally been released on a variety of labels, not all of which are listed.
Why Are The Young Folks So Thoughtless , Columbia 192?
When The Moon Shines Down Upon the Mountain , Brunswick 192?
The Runaway Train , Crown 192?
Red River Valley , Romeo 192?
| year | title | # | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| OKeh Records | |||
| Gennett Records | |||
| Nola / Whistle-Itis | 6070 | ||
| Conqueror Records as the Carson Robison Trio | |||
| My Blue Ridge Mountain Home / Golden Slippers | 7062 | ||
| Red River Valley / I'm Just a Black Sheep | 7492 | ||
| Little Sweetheart of the Prairie / Little Sweetheart of the Mountains | 7710 | ||
| They Cut Down the Old Pine Tree / She Was Bred in Old Kentucky | 7732 | ||
| When The Bloom Is on the Sage / Just Break the News to Mother | 7733 | ||
| Challenge Records as the Carson Robison Trio | |||
| Oklahoma Charlie /? | 783 | ||
| My Pretty Quadroon /? | 785 | ||
| ? / Frankie and Johnny | 875 | ||
| His Old Cornet /? | 883 | ||
| The Prison Fire /? | 895 | ||
| Moonlight on the Colorado / I'm Drifting Back to Dreamland | 897 | ||
| Columbia Records | |||
| Ohio Prison Fire / Why Are the Young Folks So Thoughtless | 15548-D | ||
| Abraham /? | 15627-D | A-side with Phil Crow | |
| ? / Carry Me Back to the Mountains | 15768-D | ||
| Old Familiar Tunes /? | 15773-D | ||
| Darling Nellie Gray / First Two Ladies Cross Over | 36018 | as Carson Robison Oldtimers | |
| Oh Susanna / Buffalo Boy Go 'Round the Outside | 36019 | as Carson Robison Oldtimers | |
| Dive for the Oyster / Dive for the Oyster, Part 2 | 36020 | as Carson Robison Oldtimers | |
| Possum in the Simmon Tree / Little Brown Jug | 36021 | as Carson Robison Oldtimers | |
| Brunswick Records | |||
| I Tore Up Your Picture When You Said Goodbye /? | 262 | ||
| Naw, I Don't Wanna Be Rich / So I Joined the Navy | 442 | ||
| Regal Records | |||
| Naw, I Don't Wanna Be Rich / Never Leave Your Gal Too Long | 10101 | as Carson Robison Trio | |
| Victor Records | |||
| Naw, I Don't Wanna Be Rich / Don't You Believe It | VI4040226 | ||
| Vocalion Records | |||
| That Old Swiss Charlet in the Rockies | 2952 | ||
| Tough Pickin '/ Twilight Echoes | with Roy Smeck | ||
| Bluebird Records | |||
| So I Joined the Navy / Sleepy Rio Grande Waltz | 8681 | ||
| Going Back to Texas / Naw, I Don't Wanna Be Rich | 8712 | ||
| Mussolini's Letter to Hitler / Hitler's Reply to Mussolini | B-11459 | ||
| The Old Gray Mare Is Back Where She Used to Be / I'm Goin 'Back to Where I Come From | 30-0808 | ||
| A Ramblin 'Cowboy / Just Wait and See | 33-0509 | ||
| RCA Victor | |||
| Herohito's Letter to Hitler / Hitler's Reply to Herohito | 20-1665 | ||
| A Hundred Years from Now / There's No More Feudin 'in the Mountains | 20-1694 | ||
| Irish Washerwoman / Spanish Cavallero | 20-1830 | ||
| Solomon Levi / Comin 'Round the Mountains | 20-1831 | ||
| Jingle Bells / Paddy Dear | 20-1832 | ||
| Turkey in the Straw / Golden Slippers | 20-1833 | ||
| MGM Records | |||
| 1948 | Life Gets Tea Jus, Don't It? / Wind in the Mountains | 10224 | |
| Store Bought Teeth / Life Is a Beautiful Thing | 11200 | ||
| I'm No Communist /? | 11293 | ||
| Awkward Situations / Kust Azy | 11837 | ||
| 1956 | Rockin 'and Rollin' with Grandma (On Saturday Night) / Hand Me Down My Walkin 'Cane | 12266 | |
Awards
- 1971: Induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame
- 1971: Induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
- 2001: Induction into the Western Music Association Hall of Fame
- Inducted into America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame
swell
- ^ Bill C. Malone: Country Music, USA University of Texas Press, 2002, ISBN 0-292-75262-8 , p. 46.
- ^ Bill C. Malone: Stars of Country Music. University of Illinois Press, 1975, ISBN 0-252-00527-9 , p. 80.
- ^ Bluegrass Messengers - Vernon Dalhart & Carson Robison
- ↑ Allmusic
Web links
- Carson Robison on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Robison, Carson |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Robison, Carson Jay (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American old-time and country musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th August 1890 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Oswego , Kansas |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 24, 1957 |
| Place of death | Pleasant Valley , New York |