J. Russel Robinson

(July 8, 1892-Sept. 30, 1963). A native of Indianapolis, Joseph Russell Robinson left Shortridge High School to begin his career as a pianist by accompanying silent films in local theaters. Between 1908 and 1912, his family lived in various southern cities where he and his brother John performed in movie houses. Possessing a distinctive playing style since his right arm was crippled by polio, Robinson became popular with piano-roll companies and obtained contracts to record dozens of rolls for Imperial and the United States Music Company in Chicago (1917-1918).

Later, he moved to New York where he recorded blues songs for the QRS Company (1918-1921). Robinson also served as a pianist for the Original Dixieland Jazz Band (1919-1921) and accompanied numerous jazz and blues singers in the 1930s before moving to California in the 1940s.

Robinson collaborated extensively with African American musicians, including W. C. Handy, Noble Sissle, and Spencer Williams, who praised Robinson as “the white man with the colored fingers.” Although he later developed a reputation for his blues-and jazz-influenced compositions, Robinson made his initial mark by composing rags, all of which were published in Indianapolis: “Sapho Rag” (1909), “Dynamite Rag,” “Minstrel Man,” and “Erratic Rag” (1911). His “Eccentric Rag” (1912) became a standard in the jazz repertory. Best-known for his popular song “Margie” (1920), Robinson also composed “Singiri the Blues (Til My Daddy Comes Home)” (1920), “Aggravatin Papa (Don’t You Try to Two-Time Me),” and “Beale Street Mama” (1923).

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