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Chanteur,
compositeur et pianiste US né Donald Irwin Robertson, le 5 Décembre 1922 à Pekin
(Chine). Don Robertson a composé de nombreuses chansons pour
Elvis Presley. Il est mort le 16 Mars
2015.
Donald
Irwin Robertson was born in Pejing, China on December 5, 1922, his father was
O.H. Robertson, a physician and medical scientist who was then head of the
Department of Medicine at Peking Union Medical College. His mother, Ruth, was a
talented pianist and poet/playwright who, upon noticing his interest in the
piano, insisted he began formal lessons at the age of four. He began composing
simple songs around seven years old. Moving back to the USA, he had to also
learn how to play brass instruments as the school band did not have a piano. He
joined the marching band, specializing in the trombone and tenor horn but did
not forget his piano training as he played with local dance orchestras in
Chicago. He was torn between following his father's medical career, as both his
brothers, or following a career in music and he dropped out of the University of
Chicago and landed a job as musical arranger at the radio station WGN, arranging
for a trio of girls, the Brandt Sisters. After the war, he accompanied another
girl trio, the
Dinning Sisters to Los Angeles as their accompanist and arranger, marrying
one of the trio, Lou Dinning. Along with his new wife, he made several demo
recordings for publishers and songwriters and worked at Capitol records as a
rehearsal pianist. His career as a song writer began with the collaboration with Hal
Blair about 1953, the following year, scoring his first major success when his
song, "I Really Don't Want to Know," was recorded by Eddy
Arnold. Also in 1954, Hank
Snow's version of Robertson's song, "I Don't Hurt Anymore," was a big hit on
the country charts and during this period, his songs were recorded by artists as
diverse as Faron
Young, the Chordettes, Les Paul & Mary Ford, and even Elvis
Presley who sang his "I'm Counting on You" for his debut album in 1956,
which led to Presley inviting him to
his house one evening, a meeting from which followed Robertson accompanying Presley on
the piano and organ on the soundtrack of It Happened at the World's Fair. Robertson was
interested in all genres of music from the symphonic recordings in his father's
collection to hymns he had sung in the Chicago church choir. He was also a
proficient whistler, although he did claim that he had been whistling all his
life but never expected to ever do it professionally. "I am not proficient at it
like some of the whistlers around who can whistle classical scores and bird
calls, etc. I just happened to hit on a little tune that caught on." That little
tune in question was "The Happy Whistler" which he took into the Top Ten of the
singles chart as a solo recording in 1956. One of the biggest hits of 1960 was
his song "Please Help Me I'm Falling," co-written by Hal Blair, which has since
become a country music standard. Several of his songs went all the way to number
one during the '60s including "Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger" by Charley
Pride on the country charts in 1967 and Lorne
Greene's recording of the cowboy song "Ringo" which hit the top of the pop
charts in 1964. In 1967, Robertson's name was added to the Walkway of Stars at
Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame, and in 1972 he was inducted into the
Nashville Songwriters Association's Songwriter's Hall of Fame. For many years he
could be heard as the voice of Gomer the bear singing and playing the piano in
the opening number of the Disneyland-Disneyworld Country Bear Jamboree
exhibition. In the latter years of the 20th century, he has appeared with and
accompanied Waylon
Jennings, Billy
Swan (of "I Can Help" fame), Johnny
Cash, and Kris
Kristofferson, and in 2003, EMI issued a CD of his songs, Songs for
Elvis/And Then I Wrote Songs for Elvis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Robertson_(songwriter)
Talents : Vocals, Songwriter, Piano
Style musical : Rock 'n' Roll, Pop, Contemporary Country
The
Happy Whistler
(1956)
 (Don
Robertson)
So
Long (1957)
Longing To Hold You Again
(1957)
Tennessee Waltz
(1961)
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Years in activity :
| 1910 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 2000 | 10 | 20 |
DISCOGRAPHY
Singles
| 03/1956 | SP CAPITOL F3391 (US) |
The Happy Whistler
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| 09/1956 | SP CAPITOL F3527 (US) |
Every Day That I Live (with Lou Dinning) / You |
| 01/1957 | SP CAPITOL F3625 (US) |
Rockaway / Fantasy |
| 03/1957 | SP CAPITOL F3675 (US) |
I Don't Know If I'll Ever Love Again (with Lou Dinning) / Remember You Belong Me |
| 07/1957 | SP DOT 45-15609 (US) | Don Robertson & Lou
Dinning -
So Long
/
Longing To Hold You Again
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| 09/1959 | SP CAPITOL 4282 (US) |
The Merry Men / A Fine Day |
| 05/1960 | SP DOLTON 635 (US) | ECHOES -
Born To Be With You
/
My Guiding Light
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| 03/1961 | SP RCA VICTOR 47-7862 (US) |
Buttons And Bows / Bobby-O |
| 03/1961 | SP 33 t. RCA VICTOR 37-7862 (US) (special edition) | Buttons And Bows / Bobby-O |
| 07/1961 | SP RCA VICTOR 47-7909 (US) |
Tennessee Waltz
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| 07/1962 | SP RCA VICTOR 47-8059 (US) | Stand In / You Don't Need Me Anymore |
| 04/1963 | SP RCA VICTOR 47-8177 (US) |
It's Hard For A King To Step Down / Life Goes On |
| 11/1963 | SP RCA VICTOR 47-8269 (US) |
What A Day / The Dictionary Song |
| 05/1965 | SP RCA VICTOR 47-8584 (US) |
Born To Be With You / Ninety-Nine Miles An Hour (Down A Dead End Street) |
| 08/1966 | SP MONUMENT 45-964 (US) |
I Dreamed I Lost You / Pianjo! |
| 08/1967 | SP RCA VICTOR 47-9289 (US) |
Don't Keep Me Lonely Too Lo / Jamaica Rum |
| 10/1968 | SP RCA VICTOR 47-9659 (US) |
Earl's Breakdown / You Still Turn Me On |
| 02/1969 | SP RCA VICTOR 47-9721 (US) |
Honey Eyed Girl / I'm Yours |
| 11/1975 | SP MONUMENT ZS8-8674 (US) |
Marguerita / Must Be A Better Way To Say Goodbye |
| 03/1976 | SP MONUMENT ZS8-8694 (US) |
When I Was With You / She Comes Home To Me |
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Albums
| 1965 | LP 12" RCA VICTOR LPM-3348 (mono) / LSP-3348 (stereo) (US) |
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Heart On My Sleeve - I Stepped Over The Line / Hummingbird / Not One Minute More / Please Help Me, I'm Falling / You're Free To Go / I Love You More And More Every Day / Ninety Miles An Hour (Down A Dead End Street) / I Really Don't Want To Know / Born To Be With You / I Don't Hurt Anymore / Anything That's Part Of You / The Happy Whistler |
| 09/2003 | CD Bear Family BCD-16654 (GER) |
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And Then I Wrote Songs for Elvis - Stand In / They Remind Me Too Much Of You / Anything's That's Part Of You / Hummingbird / You Don't Need Me Anymore / The Image Of Your Face / Here Comes Heartache Again / Starting Today / There's Always Me / Your Happiness Means Everything To Me / Love Me Tonight / Love Finds A Way / My Side Of The Story / Faithful Forever / Hi Lee Hi Lo / I Met Her Today / What Now, What Next, Where To / Not One Minute More / Road To Heartbreak / I Hurt / Darling, Let's Go Home / I'm Counting On You (Lou Dinning) / Does He Mean That Much To You / I've Come To Say Goodbye / Feather In The Wind / Road To Heartbreak (short version) |
© Rocky Productions 14/01/2018
