Dan A. Russo
Dan Russo (Chicago, 13 October 1885 — Hollywood, 5 September 1956) was an American violinist, songwriter, and big band leader during the 1920s and 1930s. Russo assembled his first orchestra in Chicago at the beginning of the 1920s, which had an engagement at the Oriole Terrace in Detroit. This group was conducted together with the pianist Ted Fiorito, and became known under the name of the Oriole Orchestra, also performing at the Chicago Edgewater Beach Hotel. These performances were also broadcast on the radio in 1924. In 1926 they opened an engagement at the Aragon Ballroom. The orchestra consisted of three saxophonists, two trumpets, a trombone, a piano, a tuba, a banjo, drums, and Russo on the violin. Russo's orchestra was a well-known territory band in Chicago and the Midwest; Some recordings were made for the labels Columbia and Brunswick under the band names The Oriole Terrace Orchestra and Russo & Fiorito's Oriole Orchestra. In 1927, Fiorito and Russo parted, and each continued his own band; Russo took over the old band name for recordings until 1932. Dan Russo also worked on the song "Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' Bye!)", which he wrote with Gus Kahn and Ernie Erdman. It was played by Al Jolson & the Vitaphone Orchestra and was used on the soundtrack of Woody Allen's Bullets over Broadway (1994). |
Birth and Death Data: Born Chicago (city and county seat of Cook County, and largest city in State of Illinois, United States of America), Died 1956 (Hollywood (neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1920 - 1949
Roles Represented in DAHR: leader, composer, violin, songwriter, lyricist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 53 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | B-26872 | 10-in. | 9/13/1922 | Toot, Toot, Tootsie! (Goo'bye) | Roy Bargy ; Benson Orchestra of Chicago | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
| Victor | B-27357 | 10-in. | 12/28/1922 | Toot, Toot, Tootsie (goo' bye) | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | composer | |
| Victor | B-27371 | 10-in. | 1/4/1923 | Toot, Toot, Tootsie (goo' bye) | Billy Murray ; Ed Smalle | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | composer | |
| Victor | B-29822 | 10-in. | 4/1/1924 | My dream moon | Benson Orchestra of Chicago ; Don Bestor | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
| Victor | B-29827 | 10-in. | 4/2/1924 | Back in Hackensack, New Jersey | Benson Orchestra of Chicago ; Don Bestor | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
| Victor | B-31153 | 10-in. | 11/9/1924 | Moonlight and you | Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet | composer | |
| Victor | BVE-34043 | 10-in. | 12/18/1925 | Lantern of love | Russo and Fiorito's Oriole Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
| Victor | BVE-34044 | 10-in. | 12/18/1925 | That certain party | Russo and Fiorito's Oriole Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal chorus | leader | |
| Victor | BVE-34045 | 10-in. | 12/18/1925 | I 'wanna' go where you go, do what you do, then I'll be happy | Russo and Fiorito's Oriole Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
| Victor | BVE-34046 | 10-in. | 12/18/1925 | Kentucky's way of sayin' good-mornin' | Russo and Fiorito's Oriole Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
| Victor | BVE-34051 | 10-in. | 12/19/1925 | I wish't I was in Peoria | Russo and Fiorito's Oriole Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal chorus | leader | |
| Victor | BVE-34052 | 10-in. | 12/19/1925 | Somebody's eyes | Russo and Fiorito's Oriole Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer, leader | |
| Victor | BVE-34053 | 10-in. | 12/19/1925 | We will meet again in Normandy | Russo and Fiorito's Oriole Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
| Victor | BVE-34590 | 10-in. | 3/4/1926 | I don't believe it, but say it again | Russo and Fiorito's Oriole Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, violin, leader | |
| Victor | BVE-34591 | 10-in. | 3/4/1926 | Sweet southern breeze | Russo and Fiorito's Oriole Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, violin, leader | |
| Victor | BVE-34592 | 10-in. | 3/4/1926 | Let's talk about my sweetie | Russo and Fiorito's Oriole Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, violin, leader | |
| Victor | BVE-35055 | 10-in. | 3/12/1926 | Nothing else to do but sit around and think about you | Russo and Fiorito's Oriole Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, violin, leader | |
| Victor | BVE-36253 | 10-in. | 9/27/1926 | The joker | Russo and Fiorito's Oriole Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
| Victor | BVE-36254 | 10-in. | 9/27/1926 | Meadow lark | Russo and Fiorito's Oriole Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with whistling | leader | |
| Victor | BVE-36292 | 10-in. | 9/23/1926 | Trying to forget | Russo and Fiorito's Oriole Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
| Victor | BVE-36430 | 10-in. | 9/29/1926 | Beside a garden wall | Russo and Fiorito's Oriole Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
| Victor | D9VB-0679 | 10-in. | 7/15/1949 | Toot toot tootsie goodbye | Tony Martin ; Skip Martin Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | songwriter | |
| Columbia | 80478 | 10-in. | 8/15/1922 | Toot, toot, Tootsie! (Goo'bye) | Frank Westphal Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
| Columbia | 80532 | 10-in. | 9/9/1922 | Toot, Toot, Tootsie! (Goo'bye) | Al Jolson | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
| Columbia | 141404 | 10-in. | 12/17/1925 | Somebody's eyes | Manhattan Dance Makers | Jazz/dance band | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Russo, Dan A.," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111149.
Russo, Dan A.. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111149.
"Russo, Dan A.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Russo, Dan A., 1885-1956 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no98102015
Wikidata: Dan Russo - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1159154
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/66894221
MusicBrainz: Dan Russo - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/bf04fd93-29ba-4d2d-a37e-5a02e9e71bd0
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