Willard Robison
We’re reaching back in time 85 years for today’s Song of the Day: Deep River Blues performed by the Willard Robison Orchestra in 1928. Robison, was born 40 miles west of Hannibal in Shelbina, Missouri; he formed a band in the 1920s that he called the Deep River Orchestra and even hosted a show called the Deep River Radio Hour in the 1930s. He apparently had a thing for deep rivers. The tune was written by Lucille Handy, daughter of the self-styled Father of the Blues, W.C. Handy. From what I’ve been able to learn so far, she composed the music in 1924 and Eddie Green added lyrics a couple of years later. Rose Henderson recorded a bluesier variation on this song in 1928 with slightly different lyrics.
