Donald Irwin Robertson (December 5, 1922 – March 16, 2015) was an American songwriter and pianist, mostly in the
country and
popular music genres. He was inducted into the
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972. As a performer, he hit the US
Top 10 with "
The Happy Whistler" in 1956 (peaking at No. 6). The track reached No. 8 in the
UK Singles Chart the same year.[1] It sold more than one million copies, and was awarded a
gold disc.[2]
Although contracted to
Capitol at the time of his biggest selling
hit single, Robertson subsequently signed a recording contract with
RCA Victor. He composed or co-composed with
Hal Blair(né Harold Keller Brown; 1915–2001), many hits for other musicians, including
Elvis Presley, who recorded more than a dozen of Robertson's songs, five of which appeared in Presley's numerous films.[2] He is also the inventor of the "slip note" piano style made famous by
Floyd Cramer. Having resided in
Lake Sherwood, California for 55 years, he died in 2015.[3]