J. Russel Robinson Articles

Solo Recordings

“I Was True” (1932)

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“I Was True (That’s Why I’m Blue).” Words by Kate Smith, music by J. Russel Robinson (1931). Recorded by Elsie Carlisle with orchestral accompaniment in London on February 12, 1932. Decca F. 2827 mx. GB3954-2.

Elsie Carlisle – “I Was True” (1932)

The song “I Was True” was a creation of J. Russel Robinson (a former member of the Original Dixieland Jass Band who later wrote the music for two other songs that Elsie Carlisle recorded, “Stop the Sun, Stop the Moon” and “Hold Up Your Hands”) and a certain lyricist named Kate Smith. It is possible that the latter person was the well-known singer Kate Smith, who may have occasionally penned lyrics, but I am not certain of this.1 “I Was True” describes a relationship about to dissolve due to one party’s infidelity. One could not accuse it of being a very complex or deep song, but Elsie’s version holds a certain fascination for me. It has a languid, melancholy quality that makes the repetitive lyrics mesmerizing. The studio band adds a certain elegance to a simple arrangement.

Other British artists who recorded “I Was True” in 1931-1932 were Ray Noble and His New Mayfair Orchestra (v. Al Bowlly-The Three Ginx), The Savoy Hotel Orpheans (recording as The Masqueraders), Henry Hall and His Gleneagles Hotel Band (v. Maurice Elwin), and Harry Bidgood’s Broadcasters (recording as Lew Sylva and His Band; v. Sam Browne).

Notes:

  1. Robinson had accompanied the singer Kate Smith in vaudeville. See Ragtime: An Encyclopedia (2007) 222. ↩
Sam Browne

“Hold Up Your Hands (In the Name of the Law of Love)” (1933)

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“Hold Up Your Hands (In the Name of the Law of Love).” Words by Mercer Cook and Thomas Blandford, music by J. Russel Robinson (1932). Recorded by Elsie Carlisle and Sam Browne on March 3, 1933. Decca F. 3504 mx. GB5634-2.

Elsie Carlisle & Sam Browne – “Hold Up Your Hands (In the Name of the Law of Love)” (1933)

“Hold Up Your Hands (In the Name of the Law of Love)” was written by American songwriters Mercer Cook, Thomas Blandford, and J. Russel Robinson in 1932; that year they also wrote the very successful “Is I in Love? I Is,” as well as “Stop the Sun, Stop the Moon,” which Elsie Carlisle recorded with Ray Starita and His Ambassadors. This duet involves a fanciful metaphor in which it is not clear whether Sam Browne is an agent of “the law” he keeps invoking (viz. the law of love or of Cupid) or a robber carrying out a holdup; he seems to entertain both notions. At any rate, Elsie seems to acquiesce to his demands that she “put up [her]  lips, and hold up [her] hands” with little resistance. 1933 was the second year of Sam and Elsie’s recording duets together, and “Hold Up Your Hands” is fairly representative of their duetting style (when they are not bickering, of course).

“Hold Up Your Hands” had been recorded in America in September 1932 by Victor Arden, Phil Ohman, and Their Orchestra (with vocals by Frank Luther). It was also recorded in 1933 in Britain by Maurice Winnick and His Band (with vocalist Louis Spiro).

"Hold Up Your Hands" original sheet music

Ray Starita

“Stop the Sun, Stop the Moon” (1932)

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“Stop the Sun, Stop the Moon.” Words and music by Hartwell “Harty” Cook, W. Mercer Cook, and J. Russel Robinson. Recorded by Ray Starita and His Ambassadors with vocalist Elsie Carlisle on September 1, 1932. Four-in-One 6 mx. S2557-2.

Personnel: Ray Starita-reeds dir. Nat Gonella-t / tb / prob. Chester Smith-reeds / Nat Star-reeds / George Glover-reeds-vn / George Hurley-vn / George Oliver-g / Arthur Calkin-sb / Rudy Starita-d-vib-x1

Ray Starita and His Ambassadors (w. Elsie Carlisle) – “Stop the Sun, Stop the Moon” (1932)

“Stop the Sun, Stop the Moon (My Man’s Gone)”2 is a 1932 composition by Harty Cook, Mercer Cook, and J. Russel Robinson (the latter two also produced the popular “Is I in Love? I Is” that same year). In this song, the singer makes almost Biblical demands for the powers of nature — and technology, for that matter — to cease their usual operations, for she has lost her man. This sort of theme was suited to Elsie Carlisle’s dramatic manner of delivery, and in this recording her impassioned complaint serves as a fitting summation to the pulsating instrumental interpretation of the tune by Ray Starita and His Ambassadors’ Band. They would do another take of the song that day with Elsie, and it appears on Sterno 1028.

There were recordings of “Stop the Sun, Stop the Moon” in America that year by Joel Shaw and His Orchestra (with vocals by Dick Robertson), Dick Robertson and His Orchestra (with vocalist Chick Bullock), the Dorsey Brothers’ Orchestra (with the Boswell Sisters), Chick Bullock and His Levee Loungers (with Chick Bullock singing), the Ted Dahl Orchestra, and Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra (with vocalist Mildred Bailey).

In addition to the two record sides made by Ray Starita with Elsie Carlisle, there was a 1932 British version of “Stop the Sun, Stop the Moon” by Ambrose and His Orchestra (with vocalist Sam Browne).

Notes:

  1. According to Brian Rust and Sandy Forbes, British Dance Bands on Record (1911-1945) and Supplement (1989), p. 1021. ↩
  2. The subtitle of the song is also found as “My Gal’s Gone” when the singer is a man. ↩

"The Idol of the Radio." British dance band singer of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s.