Everett Robbins
Everett "Happy" Robbins (1899 – April 16, 1926) was an influential American jazz and blues pianist, bandleader, and composer. Born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Robbins moved to Chicago in 1916 to study at the American Conservatory of Music. He began his professional music career in 1919 as a pianist for James Like's orchestra.
In the 1920s, Robbins led several bands, including Everett and his Syncopated Robins, which featured musicians such as Eddie Vincent, Benney Fields, Jimmy Dudley, William Hoy, and Henry Johnson. His band, Everett Robbins' Jazz Screamers, included notable musician Bob Shoffner. Robbins also recorded as a pianist with Mamie Smith's Jazz Hounds in 1922, alongside prominent figures like Garvin Bushell, Coleman Hawkins, Bubber Miley, and Herb Flemming.
Robbins was known for his work in creating piano rolls for the Capitol Roll & Record Company and is perhaps best remembered for co-writing the song "Ain't Nobody's Business" with Porter Grainger in 1922. Despite his brief career, Robbins made significant contributions to the jazz and blues genres before his untimely death at the age of 27, following a year of illness. His discography includes recordings such as "Hard Luck Blues" (1923) and posthumous collections like "Boogie Woogie Blues" (1991) and "Jazz & Blues Piano, Vol. 2: 1924-1947" (2001).