The Romantic Styles of Brother & Sister Singers Russ Carlyle & Louise Carlyle
The Romantic Styles of Brother & Sister Singers Russ Carlyle & Louise Carlyle
What is Arab American music? How do we define it? Must there be singing in Arabic on a track or side? What about songs with English lyrics performed by a person of Arab descent? Does being second or third generation Arab American and speaking little or no Arabic make one less Arab? These are some of the questions we've wrestled with as we've seen 78 rpm records by the likes of Nick Anthony, Joseph Moshey, Virginia Atter, and Russ Carlyle & Louise Carlyle in a few of the collections we've acquired.
First we wondered whether the Carlyles were a power couple like Amer & Sana Kadaj or a brother/sister pair like Olga "Kahraman" Abgy and Naif Agby? It did not take long to determine the Carlyle's were more like the latter.
In November 2021, we highlighted the life and career of the Queen of Cleveland’s Arab American music scene - Laurice Peters. Peters, born in Lebanon in 1930, immigrated to the United States in 1947 but Cleveland’s Arabic-speaking immigrant community long preceded Peter’s arrival. The work of Mary Haddad Macron demonstrates the first wave of immigrants from Greater Syria to settle in Cleveland, Ohio, arrived between 1890 and 1910. They journeyed from Zahle, Aramoan, and Aitanite. By 1907, approximately 8400 Syrians lived in Ohio and some 700 resided in Cleveland. Additional families put down roots in cities like Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Toledo, and Youngstown and smaller towns like Sandusky, Zanesville, Jackson, and Massillon. Some immigrants peddled and sold dry goods, others worked in steel mills and later auto factories following a line of self-employment and employment seen in other big cities. Much to the surprise of some people, Peters was not the most popular singer of Arab descent with ties to Cleveland. That honor goes to Philip Gantose and Minerva Gantose the siblings who went by the stage names - Russ Carlyle and Louise Carlyle!
The community in Cleveland built businesses and churches before most other things. Jewelers, dry goods, cutlery, general imports, and other businesses opened on Broadway or Woodland Avenue and East 8th and East 9th streets. Immigrant families founded Saint Elias Melkite church as early as 1901. Saint Maron’s Maronite Church emerged around 1914-15, and Saint George Antiochian Orthodox Church was founded in 1928. Everything from the rights of Syrians to be United States citizens to the number of people from Bilad el Sham who could immigrate to the US in a year changed in the general time frame.
George Gantose appears to have arrived in the United States around 1903 from Aramoan, Lebanon, and he met and married his immigrant wife, Ruth Nasif, on 22 February 1914. The couple had become naturalized United States citizens two years prior to their marriage and they began having children almost immediately. Phillip was born on 3 December 1914, followed by Lillian in 1917, and Minerva in 1923. Meanwhile, George labored as a road and sewage system contractor. Eventually, all the children graduated from Glenville High School in Cleveland. Minerva, the youngest, graduated in 1938. Even before Minerva graduated from high school, Philip Grantose’s musical career had already begun. George remained a sewage contractor through 1950. Ruth passed in 1953 and George lived another eleven years by which time their oldest and youngest children were married and known more widely by their stage names - Louise Carlyle and Russ Carlyle.
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| From the 1940 US Census. You can see Phillip and Minerva and their parents birthplace as Syria. Phillip is listed a a musician. Courtesy of Ancestry.com |
Russ Carlyle began his radio entertainment career in the 1930s as Phillip Gantose. In 1933, Gantose aired in the 3:30pm slot on Cleveland’s WJAY radio. His was a fifteen minute show. Other times his show came on the air at 3:35 and lasted for a more brief ten minutes. The station originally launched in 1928 and broadcast from 6:00am to 7:30pm. Gantose appeared at least three or four times between April 11 and May 1, 1933, some sources note the series was the result of a contest with a 13-week contract as first prize. Next Philip Gantose performed on WCLE and won a radio talent competition beating out 499 other contestants. Then, Gantose played several Cleveland hotels, cafes, theaters, and night spots and was eventually hired as the lead singer for the Blue Barron Orchestra circa 1936 or 1937. The Blue Barron was, of course, the stage name for Harry Friedman. This was also the period when Philip Gantose transformed himself into Russ Carlyle. As Russ Carlyle, Gantose recorded on RCA/Victor’s Bluebird label with the Blue Barron Orchestra from 3 February 1938 until 18 December 1940. In all, they recorded fifty-one songs. The name Russ Carlyle came from Philip’s early efforts to imitate Russ Columbo and Bing Crosby.
Early Russ Carlyle discs from the Blue Barron era. "Who Are We to Say b/w Shadows on the Moon" from first recording session. Courtesy of Richard M. Breaux collection.
Blue Barron with Russ Carlyle Glee Club, "It's a Lonely Trail," https://youtu.be/QUcuUMXLjbM
Blue Barron with Russ Carlyle Glee Club, "Angels With Dirty Faces," https://youtu.be/NBbwwZKtnWM
Blue Barron with Russ Carlyle, "Who Are We to Say," https://youtu.be/ymPZMs-Zhpc
Blue Barron with Russ Carlyle, "Shadows on the Moon," https://youtu.be/QR1j2oUcFCw
With a plethora of recordings and radio appearances to his credit, Carlyle began to get increased press coverage both a lead singer of the Blue Barron’s Orchestra but also as a band leader. The whole outfit performed on NBC-Red and WBEN in June 1940. Soon, another member of the Gantose family gained attention in the music industry - Minerva Gantose a.k.a. Louise Carlyle.
Under her birth name, Minerva Gantose presented at recitals as early as 1934, performed operatic excerpts and roles as a part of the Symes Scholarship Guild in 1935 and 1938, and was featured singer on a music program in 1939. She was a natural soprano and often accompanied Nette Louise Symes. We can’t say with complete certainty but the name Louise Carlyle may have been a composite stage name borrowed from the combination of Netta Louise Symes and her brother’s stage name Russ Carlyle. By early 1941, Louise Carlyle headlined as guest vocalist of Phil Stalny’s All-Girl Ensemble on WTAM. Next up was the “Hour of Charm” on WCAE and WMAQ (Chicago) where Louise joined Vivien, Evelyn, and her Magic Violin and the Three Little Words. The press began to make note of the fact that Louise Carlyle was Russ Carlyle’s younger sister. Interestingly, Russ registered for the military on 16 October 1940 when he was still a member of the Blue Barron Orchestra. A few months later, a joint poll by Billboard, Variety, Downbeat, and Metronome, ranked Carlyle as the fourth most popular singer in the United States. By 1941, Russ started his own band known as the “Romantic Styles” and by 1943 his induction into the Army meant Louise took over the so-called Romantic Styles Orchestra.
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| World War II Draft card for Phillip Gantose. Notice it also says Russ Carlyle and shows employment with the Blue Barron Orchestra. Courtesy of Anestry.com |
Louise fronted and conducted her brother’s orchestra, traveled and worked as a soloist, and still performed operatic pieces on occasion. She had a brief stint at La Martinique with other Chicago entertainers in New York City in 1944 and continued to rack up appearances on radio programs. Meanwhile, Russ played in several Army Bands when stationed in Texas and eagerly pursued any opportunity to continue to sing and play music. With the end of World War II in the spring of 1945, Louise toured and appeared in a series of radio programs including one at year’s end with the Art Van Damme Quintet on KWG radio in Stockton, California (arguably the earliest commercial radio stations west of the Mississippi). From Stockton, Louise was on to Cincinnati, Ohio, to perform as one of a duo of vocalists for Norman Clouster’s Orchestra. She was joined by Willard Young for a week-long series called “To Cincinnati at Six” on WSAI.
At this moment, sheet music of songs popularized by Louise Carlyle and Russ Carlyle found its way into homes across the United States. The best selling of these were “You Won’t Be Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart),” and “I’m Gonna Make Believe” by Louise Carlyle and “If I Only Had A Match,” “Why Should I Cry Over You,” by Russ Carlyle.
Russ Carlyle & Louise Carlyle sheet music. Courtesy of Richard M. Breaux collection.
Although born and raised in Cleveland’s Syrian/Lebanese community, most of Russ and Louise Carlyle’s live performances were for non-Arabic speaking fans; this does not mean that they did not have a large and loyal Lebanese and Syrian American fan base many connected to the hafla, maharajan, and Federation circuit. On 12 - 14 August 1948, Russ Carlyle performed as the “American” entertainment at the Syrian-Lebanese Federation national convention in Chicago. This likely sparked greater demand for Russ Carlyle records. At the time, Carlyle had only recorded on the Bluebird label primarily with the Blue Barron, his continued popularity encouraged Decca Records to sign the Russ Carlyle Orchestra to a contract. Awareness that Russ Carlyle had Syrian/Lebanese ancestry, might explain the presence of 78 rpm records in three of the six collections we acquired. Most of Russ or Louise Carlyle’s discs in these collections were on the “X” label [a subsidiary of RCA], “Bullet,” [an independent hillbilly label in Memphis], or “Coral” [an independent off-shoot of Decca]. Louise recorded on the Cincinnati-based “King” label [later associated with r & b outfits, especially Earl Bostic, Bill Doggett, James Brown, and Lynn Hope]. Russ Carlyle recorded at least seventeen sides on Decca and Louise cut slightly more than a handful on King all in 1949. Over the years, Capitol, Tempus*, Re-Car*, ABC-Paramount, Mercury*, Fraternity*, USA*, Regis*, and Burgundy*. Fona Records was a label started by Russ Carlyle himself. The majority of these labels had Midwest origins.
Russ Carlyle released the song "Derbecki" as a single in 1950. Although Carlyle sings the verses in English, the song represents a rare instance in Carlyle's recorded career that he pays homage to his Arab ancestry. Although the derbecki and riqq/tambourine figure prominently in Carlyle's song the added xylophone, trumpets, electric guitar, and other instruments offer what a Cleveland Plaindealer reviewer, at the time, called a "catchy modernized tempo with romantic lyrics." Interestingly, the same reviewer took time out to briefly explain the history of the derbecki and the oud, but says nothing about Cleveland's Arab American community or Carlyle's Lebanese lineage. When it was covered ten years later by fellow Cleveland-based, Arab American group known as the Derbecki Ensemble, the lyrics, guitar, trumpets, and other brass instruments were dropped in favor of an oud, accordion, and violin. The group, made up of Henry George, George Khayat, Ed Hakal, Edward Shaheen, Jimmy Peters, and Laurice Peters, released its eight-song, debut album "Hafli: Echoes of the Middle East," on the London label and the first cut on Side one was "Derbecki - Written by Russ Carlyle."
Russ Carlyle's original "Derbecki" - https://archive.org/details/78_der-becki_russ-carlyle-carlyle_gbia0073538a
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| Cleveland's The Derbecki Ensemble covers Russ Carlyle's "Derbecki." https://youtu.be/Ot2DHri_km4 |
Few biographies of Russ Carlyle mentioned his first marriage to Virginia-born Charlotte N. Ratcliffe on 3 August 1941 in Covington, Kentucky. Charlotte was not Syrian, Lebanese, or of Arab ancestry. She was only sixteen when Russ/Phillip married her using a combination of his birth name and stage name. The couple had Phyllis in 1942, just a few weeks more than a year after their nuptials. With Russ/Phillip away during World War II, their second child, George Jeffrey was not born until August 1949. The record company and press largely kept Charlotte and the children hidden from the public. Being the spouse to a celebrity seemingly not in show business took its toll on the marriage. Russ/Phillip and Charlotte held onto their marriage for twenty-two years but in December 1963 Charlotte filed for divorce citing gross neglect and extreme cruelty - the judge ruled in her favor.
Three years prior to the end of his first marriage, Carlyle met and began working with Patricia “Patty Clayton” Zach. A native of Missouri, and of German American ancestry, Clayton had just started in show business as a singer. Russ met Patty while she performed in Saint Louis and Russ made her co-lead vocalist. Patty was one year younger than Carlyle’s daughter Phyllis and brought a new level of energy and youth to Carlyle’s orchestra. Although Russ and Patty already worked together when Russ and Charlotte divorce, Patty and Russ did not wed until 1970.
Louise Carlyle married Dr. John G. O’Brien on 25 June 1955 at the Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola in New York. John O’Brien was an Ohio-born physician who received his medical degree from Cincinnati University College of Medicine in 1944. He served in the Korean War as an Air Force flight surgeon and the family settled in Jersey City where he had a private practice and worked as a senior attendant physician at Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital. Together they had John David and Panella.
Louise Carlyle & The Tony Mottola Trio, "Why Should I Worry." https://youtu.be/-c2DSivlUt0
Most of Louise’s recorded work had been released prior to her marriage and once again the type of performing she did required a pivot of sorts toward interpretive opera and Broadway show tunes. In 1952, Louise recorded “Girl Crazy” on Columbia with Mary Martin, “Lyrics by Ira Gershwin” also in 1952 with Nancy Walker and David Craig. “Cole Porter Songs” and “Rogers & Hart” appeared on Walden Records in 1953 with Carlyle and Bob Shaver. Then, as noted above, there were a host of singles on various labels, performances with symphonies in Chicago, Saint Louis, and Cleveland, and roles in local productions of “The Music Man,” “Me and My Girl,” Lee & Lawrence’s “Mame,” and Masteroff’s “Cabaret,” the latter for which she won awards.
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| Ad for Russ Case and Louise Carlyle on a WCBS radio program. Daily News 4 July 1954. Courtesy of Newspapers.com |
Russ teamed up with his wife Patty more frequently and the couple performed in hotel lounges and smaller music venues in the Southwest and Midwest regularly. Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, El Paso, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City constituted stops for Russ and his Orchestra or Russ and Patty. Then there was Russ and Patty’s residency at the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas four months of the year between 1972 and 1978. This resulted in a duo vinyl album set “Russ Carlyle & Patty Clayton at the Fabulous Dunes Hotel.” Radio appearances on stations like WRHU FM kept both singers at the forefront of audiences’ minds in the early 1980s. By 1985, Russ Carlyle and his Patty Clayton Carlyle sang at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix from “Monday through Sunday” evenings. The Gold Room remained on Carlyle’s regular rotation from 1985 to 1989. The 1980s meant a bit of a re-boost of Louise Carlyle’s career as she appeared on local television in Montclair, New Jersey, and her albums of Rogers & Hart, Cole Porter, Harold Allen, and the Gershwin’s was re-released in 1986.
Russ Carlyle retired from the music scene and live performances in 1990, Louise, too, had slowed down considerably but continued to take on theater roles until 1996, when showed signs of illness. Although the youngest sibling, Louise died 10 October 1997 in Upper Montclair, New Jersey. Her husband, John, died seventeen years before she passed away. Her two children and both her siblings survived her. Her’s was a life well-celebrated.
After retirement, Russ continued to write and compose music but not to perform and settled down with Patty in Breezy Point, Minnesota, an extremely minuscule town in the northwest portion of the state. Like his sister Louise, Russ left behind a spouse, two children, and his older sister when he died 3 May 2011.
Richard M. Breaux
© Midwest Mahjar
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