Don Robertson (songwriter)

Don Robertson
Robertson in 1966
Background information
Birth name	Donald Irwin Robertson
Born	(1922-12-05)December 5, 1922 Beijing, China
Died	March 16, 2015(2015-03-16) (aged 92) California, United States
Genres	Country music, pop music
Occupation(s)	Songwriter, musician
Instrument(s)	Piano
Labels	Capitol Records

Donald Irwin Robertson (December 5, 1922 – March 16, 2015) was an American songwriter and pianist, mostly in the country and popular music genres. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972. As a performer, he hit the US Top 10 with "The Happy Whistler" in 1956 (peaking at No. 6). The track reached No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart the same year.^[1] It sold more than one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[2]

Although contracted to Capitol at the time of his biggest selling hit single, Robertson subsequently signed a recording contract with RCA Victor. He composed or co-composed with Hal Blair (né Harold Keller Brown; 1915–2001), many hits for other musicians, including Elvis Presley, who recorded more than a dozen of Robertson's songs, five of which appeared in Presley's numerous films.^[2] He is also the inventor of the "slip note" piano style made famous by Floyd Cramer. Having resided in Lake Sherwood, California for 55 years, he died in 2015.^[3]

Best known published songs

• "Anything That's Part of You" (performed by Elvis Presley)
• "Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger" (with Doris Clement and John Crutchfield)
• "Born to Be with You" (performed by The Chordettes)
• "Hummingbird" (performed by Les Paul and Mary Ford and Frankie Laine)
• "I Can't Seem To Say Goodbye" (performed by Jerry Lee Lewis, Jean Shepard, Hawkshaw Hawkins)
• "I Don't Hurt Anymore" (with Walter E. Rollins), (performed by Hank Snow, Jerry Lee Lewis)
• "I Let Her Go" (with Hal Blair), (performed by Frankie Laine)
• "I Love You More and More Every Day" (performed by Al Martino)
• "I Met Her Today" (with Hal Blair), (performed by Elvis Presley)
• "I'm Counting On You" (performed by Elvis Presley)
• "I Really Don't Want to Know" (with Howard Barnes), (performed by Les Paul and Mary Ford, Tommy Edwards, and Elvis Presley)
• "Love Me Tonight" (performed by Elvis Presley)
• "Ninety Miles an Hour (Down a Dead End Street)" (with Hal Blair), (performed by Hank Snow)
• "No More" (based on the song "La Paloma", co-written with Hal Blair, (performed by Elvis Presley)
• "Not One Minute More" (with Hal Blair), (performed by Della Reese)
• "Please Help Me, I'm Falling" (with Hal Blair), (performed by Hank Locklin)
• "Ringo" (with Hal Blair), (performed by Lorne Greene)
• "Stand In" (with Hal Blair), (performed by Don Robertson himself and Jim Reeves)
• "Starting Today" (performed by Elvis Presley)
• "There's Always Me" (performed by Elvis Presley and Jim Reeves)
• "They Remind Me Too Much of You" (performed by Elvis Presley)
• "What Now, What Next, Where To (with Hal Blair), (performed by Elvis Presley)
• "You're Free to Go" (with Lou Herscher) (performed by Carl Smith)

Legacy

Notably, Robertson lent his piano-playing skills to the Disney theme park attraction Country Bear Jamboree. His instrumental song "Pianjo" is played by the audio-animatronic bear, Gomer as the attraction’s opening number.

References

External links

• Don Robertson site
• Nashville Songwriters' Foundation Biography of Don Robertson
• Obituary

This page was last edited on 4 November 2023, at 06:18