Russ Darr
Posted By thecircusblog on May 19, 2010
A great friend. We spent a season together On the Hubert Castle circus. What a musician this man was! He never missed a show nor rested during one. I gave him the nic name “Leather Lips.” Not to long ago I found out that he is no longer with us, I bet he is giving Gabriel a run for his money.
Read the Comment from Casey Gibbs.
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thecircusblog
My name is Ivan M. Henry and I am the 4th generation of a circus/show business dynasty. I hope you enjoy the blog.Comments
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You are right about 2 great Circus Musicians. I had the pleasure of touring with them on the Castle show also. That year we played the Dayton Shrine Date and had Russ ,BoBo, and Dougie Ashton on the same lot. They had a big jam session on Sat between shows You could not have ask for any more. Casey
Russ and I became great friends once he learned of my love for circus music. To the extent he could, considering the 1970s era, he charted heavily on pure circus works. He worked with me to create the chart I wanted for the mixed act I worked on the Castle show, and both Hubert and his wife took me to task for $8 in sheet music. Russ had very keen observations that he and I shared throughout our 2 long seasons together there. Then, in 1980 and ’81, he had the Beatty-Cole band, and we renewed our wry visits for the last time. I was saddened to learn Russ died of a heart attack, which evidently no one saw coming. God rest him. He was among the greatest leaders to take the bandstand.