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| Al Robinson, late 1940s |
Elsa "Al" Robinson - The Friendly Hill Billy
My good friend Marshal pointed me towards another local Louisiana musician and sooner than later, I found myself researching the story of Elsa "Al" Robinson, the "friendly hill billy". He seems to have been one of those persons that were larger than life. Among his many occupations, he was an insurance salesman, a songwriter, singer, radio announcer, politician, and probably more. He worked on local radio in both Arkansas and Louisiana, although the latter became his adopted home. He is not to be confused with several showmen of the same name: he is neither blues singer Alvin "Al" Robinson from New Orleans, nor Jamaican reggae artist Al Robinson nor ventriloquist Al Robinson.
From the research I did, it seems to me that Robinson was not only quite a "talker" but also a very conservative man. Therefore, I'd like to point out that much information used here came from the liner notes of his sole album, which he wrote himself, or from newspaper advertisements or published political statements that also used his own words.
Born Elsa Boyd Robinson on November 30, 1910, in West Tennessee, he grew up on a farm learning about and working in live stock and farming at daytime and practicing on his guitar at night. In the late 1920s, he was intrigued by the music of America's blue yodeler, Jimmie Rodgers, who became his main influence. By his own account, he graduated from high school (although census documents indicate he left elementary school after completing the 7th grade) around the same time.
He moved to Alexandria, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, in 1931, and began broadcasting on KALB in Alexandria four years later. On those early shows, he appeared solo with his guitar but was not paid for his appearances. For some time, Robinson worked on a drag line on the banks of the Red River, where wrote many a song along the way. By 1940, he lived in a rented house in Alexandria with his first wife Jessie Edna and worked as an insurance salesman.
World War II interrupted his career. Robinson intended to join the US Navy in February 1942 but was rejected. A year later, he began serving in the US Army for a short time but was honorably discharged due to disability in September 1943. Robinson then became involved in local politics, running unsuccessfully for the Rapides Parish house of representatives. This setback ended his political ambitions or some years but he kept on supporting other local politicians if he considered them worth it. He continued his profession as an entertainer as well.
In 1944, it was reported that he performed on KTHS in Hot Springs, Arkansas, followed by a stint on KLCN in Blytheville, Arkansas. According to Robinson, he worked with such artists as Wayne Raney, Ray Duke, the Wilburn Brothers and Eddy Arnold while at KLCN. In 1945, Robinson returned to Louisiana and began singing over KALB in Alexandria from 1945 until 1946. At the same time, he revamped his act by founding a band, the Red River Ramblers. Robinson was then heard on KWKH in Shreveport from 1946 until 1948, again on KALB around 1950 and early 1951, and later that year, appeared on KVOB. Along the way, he also spent time on WNOE and WWL in New Orleans, WFAA in Dallas, and on WREC in Memphis. In those early years, he often appeared as "Elsa Robinson, the friendly hill billy" whereas he would later change his stage name to Elsa (Al) Robinson and finally to "Uncle Al" Robinson. He began a longtime association with KSYL in 1952, which would last until 1960 when the station's manager shortened Robinson's airtime, who in turn left the station.
By 1950, he had married his second wife Clara and was living with her and their three sons in Tangipahoa Parish. Apart from entertaining, Robinson remained active in politics throughout the years and in 1952, he ran for Congress. His political agenda was ultra-conservative, to say the least, and he supported racial segregation as much as he wanted to stop immigration and supported outlawing communism. He entered the race of the House of Representatives again in 1955 and for the Congress in 1958 but apparently success eluded him.
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| Billboard April 24, 1962 |
Instead, he concentrated on his music and radio work. By April 1962, he was manager of KWCL in Oak Grove, Louisiana, a small country station in the tri-state area of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. A year later, he had a show on KVOP in Bastrop, Louisiana, in the same region. In 1966, he purchased a small, "flat broke" station in Centreville, Mississippi, and "made it pay off within a short time" (as Robinson put it in his own words). However, "two years later the Civil Rights people, in rioting from Baton Rouge to Memphis, over the route I was on, I was wiped out, my station was completely destroyed. A thorough job was done, they wrecked all equipment and had it on fire when I reached there to open up in the early morning [...]."
After this incident, Robinson mostly concentrated on writing and performing music. In the 1970s, he released what seems to be his only commercial record, an album entitled "Funny Facts and Songs" on the Slidell, Louisiana, based independent One-Way Records. It seems it sold in good quantities around Alexandria as Marshal Martin found five copies of it in just one year.
Elsa "Al" Robinson passed away on September 3, 1993.
Sources
• Several newspapter items from the Alexandria News Talk
• Al Robinson: "Funny Facts and Songs" (One-Way Records), liner notes
• Al Robinson: "Funny Facts and Songs" (One-Way Records), liner notes
