Tuesday, September 18, 2007

ROBISON not Robinson

Today is the birthday of noted American songwriter / singer-pianist Willard Robison (1894-1968). Nearly as much a mystery to me as "Who is Carole Creveling" is how she came to record such a relatively obscure and rarified repertoire as on her lone LP (now CD). This is typified by one of the few recordings ever of Robison's (with Ray Mayer) "Now We Know." Creveling's '55 recording contains songs that are still a bit recherche a half-century later, i.e. Rodgers and Harts' "You Have Cast Your Shadow on the Sea" and Berlin's "Better Luck Next Time" fr'example. Also included are TWO songs written by Milt Raskin who, I'm convinced, produced (uncredited) the album. But even a phone call to his physicist son, living in the midwest, was ultimately of no use in verifying this. But I obsessively digress. In tribute to Willard Robison. . . Hereeeeee's Carole!

1 comment:

David Federman said...

Both the song and the singer are great discoveries. Robison rarely wrote songs this affirmative. Thanks for posting it. Now I have to lay my hands on a copy of the album. I just bought the Bill Black. It is a masterpiece.