Everett "Happy" Robbins was a Chicago-based

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

,Frank Himpsl Archive "Everett Robbins"
Retrieved 15 May 2013.

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. Born in

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the thirteenth-largest city in Oklahoma and the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0 percent decrease ...

, he moved to Chicago in 1916 and studied at the

American Conservatory of Music The American Conservatory of Music (ACM) was a major American school of music founded in Chicago in 1886 by John James Hattstaedt (1851–1931). The conservatory was incorporated as an Illinois non-profit corporation. It developed the Conservato ...

. Lineups of his bands in the 1920s, such as Everett and his Syncopated Robins, included Eddie Vincent, Benney Fields, Jimmy Dudley, William Hoy, and Henry Johnson, while Everett Robbins' Jazz Screamers included Bob Shoffner. As well as leading his own bands, he also recorded, as a pianist, in 1922, with

Mamie Smith Mamie Smith (née Robinson; May 26, 1891 – September 16, 1946) was an American vaudeville singer, dancer, pianist, and actress. As a vaudeville singer she performed in multiple styles, including jazz and blues. In 1920, she entered blues histor ...

's Jazz Hounds, coinciding with

Garvin Bushell Garvin Bushell ''(né'' Garvin Lamont Payne; September 25, 1902 – October 31, 1991) was an American woodwind multi-instrumentalist. Biography Bushell was born in Springfield, Ohio, to Alexander Payne, Jr. (1875–1908) and Effie Penn ''( ...

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

Bubber Miley Bubber is a nickname and surname which may refer to: People: * Bubber or Bubba Brooks (1922-2002), American jazz tenor saxophonist * James Bubber Epps (born 1943), American politician * Clarence James Bubber Jonnard (1897-1977), American Major Leag ...

and

Herb Flemming Herb Flemming (April 5, 1898 – October 3, 1976) was an American jazz trombonist and vocalist who played extensively in Europe. Early life Flemming was born Nicolaiih El-Michelle, and was of North African descent. Flemming studied music an ...

. Robbins made piano rolls for the Capitol Roll & Record Company and is possibly most known for " Ain't Nobody's Business", a song he co-wrote with

Porter Grainger Porter Grainger ( Granger; October 22, 1891 − October 30, 1948) was an American pianist, songwriter, playwright, and music publisher. Biography When Grainger was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the Granger family name did not include an "i". A ...

in 1922. Both pianists played in Mamie Smith's Jazz Hounds around the same time, but as they played the same instrument, they are unlikely to have coincided.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

*1923: "Hard Luck Blues" *1991: ''Boogie Woogie Blues'' *2001: ''Jazz & Blues Piano, Vol. 2: 1924-1947''"Credits"

allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved 15 May 2013.

As sideman

*1922: with Mamie Smith's Jazz Hounds

References

External links

''They called him 'Happy' Everett Robbins''
article by

Len Kunstadt Leonard Richard "Len" Kunstadt (May 15, 1925 – April 23, 1996) was an American scholar of jazz and blues music, and a record label manager. Len Kunstadt was born and raised in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York City. He was the son of Morris Kun ...

in ''Record Research'' issue #61 (July 1964). {{authority control American jazz bandleaders