Vocalist and bandleader Russ Carlyle got his professional start after winning an amateur singing contest in 1935. After engagements at local Cleveland nightclubs, he went to work for radio station WJAY. In 1936 fellow Clevelander Blue Barron hired him as featured vocalist of his new orchestra. Carlyle was well-received by audiences, being voted one of the top four male vocalists by Billboard magazine in 1939.
Carlyle formed his own orchestra in 1940. When he fell victim to the draft in 1943 his sister, Louise Carlyle, took over leadership of the group under her own name. In the service Carlyle worked at a chemical warfare facility. On the side he formed an orchestra to entertain his fellow soldiers. It was during Carlyle's military stay that he met and became good friends with comedian Joey Bishop.
In 1946 Carlyle was discharged and took over leadership of his orchestra once again. He ran into Bishop in New York, who asked him to become his partner. Carlyle turned him down. The following year, though, Carlyle helped Bishop land a job at the Blackhawk Restaurant in Chicago, where Carlyle was broadcasting a national radio program. Carlyle's connection with Bishop eventually brought him into the Rat Pack circle of friends. Frank Sinatra recorded several Carlyle numbers during his career.
In 1951 Carlyle's orchestra was signed by the ABC/Paramount label, where they recorded three albums. The group continued performing and touring throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s. Dorothy Ferguson was female vocalist, eventually replaced by Patty Clayton, who later became Carlyle's wife.
Popular among ballroom dancers, Carlyle's orchestra consistently found work during the 1970s, playing regularly in Las Vegas, at the Breezy Point resort in Minnesota, and in Tulsa, Oklahoma. During this period he formed his own label, FONA, and released several albums of music. In the 1980s Carlyle played winters in Arizona. He retired before the end of the decade. He and his wife currently reside winters in Phoenix and summers in Minnesota.