[78-L] Carson Robison

[DAVID BURNHAM]

Mike wrote from Plovdiv:
Beecham may very well conducted 'an orchestra of Texans'.? He was in the US during
much of WW2,conducting the NYPSO and the Seattle SO.? I'd not be surprised to find
that he guested at Dallas or Houston.? He had a knack of taking 2nd rank orch's and raising them near the levvel of the LPO....

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When I wrote the "Beecham" comment, my tongue was firmly in my cheek;  I know that Sir Thomas conducted both the Houston and the Dallas Symphonies while he was in America.  I was actually expecting that Lennick would pounce on that post haste.

I have always admired the humour and range of Robison's talents - from the clever lyrics of "Life gets Tee-Jus..." to his Square Dances which we always played at our house parties in the '50s.  Incidentally, I think someone wrote that "Life gets Tee-Jus..." was his last recording;  it couldn't have been because "Tee-Jus and more Tee-Jus" has to have been recorded later, (my guide only goes up to 1942).  I must admit; however, that I was unaware of his sophisticated persona away from the microphone.  But just the same, the hayseed image that he portrayed on many of his recordings would seem a little out of place in the traditional British environs.  It would be like seeing Lucille Ball, (a very clever and sophisticated lady in real life), portraying a reserved chairperson of the board leading a conference or Red Skelton as a serious gangster.  (I understand that Lou Costello played the part of a down and out cowboy in a serious movie role but I've
 never seen that movie.)

Royal Pemberton asked:

What are the catalogue and matrix numbers of this Robison disc?


AX-6451-1 and AX-6452-1.  The catalogue number is DX365.  Recorded Friday June 24, 1932.

According to the guide, on the same day, he also recorded for English Regal, "A Hill Billy Mixture, Parts 1 & 2", with all different tunes.  Matrix AR-1314-1 and AR-1315-1, (I think Robison was a one take performer), and catalogue number of that record is MR645.  I've never seen this record and don't know if it's a 10 inch or 12 inch, but suspect it's 10 inch.

db