As his name implies, Texas Jim Robertson was a native of the Lone Star State, and he enjoyed success throughout the ’40s and early ’50s.

He started off singing when his aunt invited him out to North Carolina for a visit when he was about 16 years old. While there, he got a job singing the old western songs. It wasn’t too long before his fame spread and he was offered a stint with the NBC network. In New York, he was not only singing but also taking on drama roles on the radio. RCA Victor signed him to a recording contract. He made his first recordings in 1939, with a break of three years between sessions while he served in the Pacific during World War Two. He was honourably discharged in August 1946 and promptly headed home to New York to pick up his career with a run of country hits in the post-war years. He was a singer in the old-school cowboy style, with much of his repertoire redolent of Texan and western imagery, although he recorded several songs with interesting wartime reference points.

This 52-track collection includes selected A- and B-sides from his releases on the Bluebird, Victor, RCA and MGM labels from this era. Featuring all his career chart entries, such as the Top 10 country hits Filipino Baby, Rainbow At Midnight and Signed Sealed, Delivered, and the Top 20 hit Slipping Around, the collection comprises around half of the titles he released on singles during these years. We trust it provides a nicely representative overview of his output, and it certainly offers an entertaining showcase for his highly distinctive and evocative style of country.

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