Willard Robison was an American composer of popular song. Born in Shelbina, Missouri

Shelbina, Missouri

Shelbina is a city in Shelby County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,704 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Shelbina is located at ....

, his songs reflect a rural, melancholy theme steeped in Americana

Americana

Americana refers to artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States. Many kinds of material fall within the definition of Americana: paintings, prints and drawings; license plates or entire vehicles, household objects,...

. Their warm style has drawn comparison to Hoagy Carmichael

Hoagy Carmichael

Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...

. Many of his songs, such as "A Cottage for Sale", "Round My Old Deserted Farm", "Don't Smoke in Bed", and "Old Folks", have become standards and have been recorded countless times by jazz and pop artists such as Peggy Lee

Peggy Lee

Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...

, Nina Simone

Nina Simone

Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...

, Nat King Cole

Nat King Cole

Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...

, Billy Eckstine

Billy Eckstine

William Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...

, and Mildred Bailey

Mildred Bailey

Mildred Bailey was a popular and influential American jazz singer during the 1930s, known as "The Rockin' Chair Lady" and "Mrs. Swing"...

. "A Cottage for Sale" alone has been recorded over 100 times.

In the early 1920s, Robison led and toured with several territory bands in the Southwest. He met Jack Teagarden

Jack Teagarden

Weldon Leo "Jack" Teagarden , known as "Big T" and "The Swingin' Gate", was an influential jazz trombonist, bandleader, composer, and vocalist, regarded as the "Father of Jazz Trombone".-Early life:...

 in this period, whom he befriended. In the late 1920s, Robison organized the Deep River Orchestra, later hosting a radio show entitled The Deep River Hour in the early 1930s.

During the 1920s, Robison recorded extensively for Perfect Records

Perfect Records

Perfect Records was a United States based record label of the 1920s and 1930s. It was a subsidiary of Pathé Records, producing standard lateral cut 78 rpm disc records for the US market....

, with scores of vocal recordings accompanying himself on piano (displaying his rather eccentric stride piano style), as well as "Deep River Orchestra" recordings using standard stock arrangements.

In 1926-1927, Robison recorded an interesting series of 8 moody fox trots with the umbrella name of "American Suite":

• After Hours (American Suite No. 1) (Perfect 14728/Pathe 36547) 10/1/26
• Piano Tuner's Dream (American Suite No. 2) (Perfect 14743/Pathe 36562) 10/22/26
• Darby Hicks (American Suite No. 3) (Perfect 14744/Pathe 36563) 10/22/26
• The Music Of A Mountain Stream (American Suite No. 4) (Perfect 14755/Pathe 36574) 11/22/26
• Tampico (American Suite No. 5) (Perfect 14755/Pathe 36574) 11/22/26
• Mobile Mud (American Suite No. 6) (Perfect 14756/Pathe 36575) 10/22/26
• Deep River (American Suite No. 7) (Perfect 14774/Pathe 36593) 11/22/26
• Harlem Blues (American Suite No. 8) (Perfect 14821/Pathe 36640) 4/20/27

He recorded for Perfect & Pathe from 1926-1928. Between 1928 and 1930, he recorded for Columbia, Harmony and Victor. He also recorded a session in 1937 for Master Records.

Jack Teagarden recorded a critically praised album of Robison's songs in 1962 entitled Think Well of Me. Robison died in Peekskill, New York

Peekskill, New York

Peekskill is a city in Westchester County, New York. It is situated on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across from Jones Point.This community was known to be an early American industrial center, primarily for its iron plow and stove products...

 in 1968, aged 73.

List of Notable Compositions

• 'Round My Old Deserted Farm
• 'Tain't So, Honey, 'Tain't So
• A Cottage for Sale
  A Cottage for Sale
  "A Cottage for Sale" is a popular song. The music was composed by Willard Robison, and the lyrics were written by . The song was first published in 1929, and over 100 performers have recorded versions of "A Cottage for Sale." The first versions of the song were released by The Revelers in January...
  
  
• Don't Smoke in Bed
• Down to Steamboat, Tennessee
• Guess I'll Go Back Home (This Summer)
• Harlem Lullaby
• I'm a Fool About My Mama
• In A Little Waterfront Cafe
• It's Never Too Late to Pray
• Old Folks
• The Devil is Afraid of Music
• Deep Elm (You Tell 'Em I'm Blue)