Finding aid for the Al Russ Papers

Biography of Al Russ

Al Russ (1918-1998) was a Cleveland, Ohio, orchestra leader, composer, arranger, string bass player, and producer. His career spanned from the 1940s into the 1990s.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Russ studied music formally at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and New York University in New York, New York. After touring with dance bands and freelancing in New York City, Russ returned to Cleveland in 1949.

Russ' music career in Cleveland was varied and extensive. Among his professional activities were conducting, arranging, and contracting performances featuring nationally renowned artists for the Front Row Theater; conducting Cain Park's summer music programs; composing polkas for polka band leader Frankie Yankovic; writing musical arrangements for nationally known performers such as Perry Como and Steve Lawrence; and writing commercials and jingles for local and national companies. Russ wrote Cleveland's best known commercial jingle, the Aluminum Siding Corporation's (now the Home Corporation) "Garfield one, two-three, two-three."

Much of Russ's work was conducting and playing single engagements, such as conventions where he backed national artists or performing in Cleveland nightclubs such as the Zephyr Room and the Theatrical Grill. His Al Russ Orchestra varied in size from about three to fifteen after its founding in 1949. The orchestra became famous for its interpretations of county and traditional dances. His last engagement was at the Nighttown restaurant in Cleveland Heights, Ohio in the 1990s. Russ died June 12, 1998.

Scope and Content

The Al Russ Papers, 1918-1998, consist of Russ' orchestral and vocal arrangements of popular music, his original compositions, newspaper clippings, correspondence, and Cleveland Federation of Musicians contracts between Russ and hired players.

This collection is of particular value to researchers studying popular American music of the latter two-thirds of the twentieth century in general, especially the instrumentation and musical form used by performing pop bands and orchestras. This collection is also of value to researchers studying Cleveland's entertainment history during those years and the musicians who were part of it, including Frankie Yankovic, Joe Jeffries, and Lenny Fiore. Business historians will find materials of interest relating to the use of music in commercial promotions through sponsored musical performing groups such as the Ohio Bell Telephone Chorus and Society National Bank. Further commercial usage of music is illustrated by advertisements in the form of the "jingle," both for national clients, such as A&P Grocery Stores, Burger King and Dow Products, and local, such as Addressograph Multigraph, Cedar Center, and disc jockey Larry Morrow. Also, the business and economics of commercial and popular music can be studied through the contractual relations between Russ as an employer and the musicians who played in his ensembles and the Cleveland Federation of Musicians union.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

All photographs have been removed to the photograph and print collection. All phonograph discs and audio cassettes have been removed to the audio-visual collection.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4825 Al Russ Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Rose Russ, 1999

Processing Information

Processed by Stanley Lasky in 2000

Detailed Description of The Collection