Russ Conway (born Trevor Herbert Stanford, 2 September 1925 – 16 November 2000), was a popular music pianist. Conway's piano instrumentals dominated the UK Singles Chart during 1959, including two number one hits.

Conway was born in Bristol, England. He learned to play piano as a child, in the 1930s.  He joined the navy as a teenager during World War II, and won a Distinguished Service Medal.  He decided to stay in the services after the war, and continued developing his naval career until 1955.

When he left the navy, he decided to make piano playing his profession, and soon found employment in various London night-clubs, and as a rehearsal pianist for the stars.  He subsequently became a pianist for top artists like Dennis Lotis, Gracie Fields and Joan Regan. However, the commercial potential of Conway's unique percussive piano style (which he attributed to a missing fingertip he had severed many years previously with a bread slicer) was too great for him to remain in the background for long. Conway recorded his first solo single in 1957, a novelty instrumental medley of pop standards in a honky-tonk style (Party Pops), which was a hit at Christmas that year. 

He started to appear on tv at this time, in particular, the Billy Cotton Band Show, one of the top tv shows of the time.  As a result, he became immensely popular with his toe-tapping piano style and his charming boyish grin.  He even had his own tv series.

1959 was Conway's annus mirabilis, with a cumulative total of 83 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. This included two self-penned number one instrumentals, "Side Saddle" and "Roulette", the latter deposing Elvis Presley's "A Fool Such As I". In addition to pop package tours, he starred at the London Palladium several times.  He continued producing hit singles between 1960 and 1962, but only one, Toy Balloons, made the Top 10 in that period. He recorded a vast number of albums which always contained some slower tracks which demonstrated his true musical talents.  In 1960, he made the Top 20 with a slow piece, Passing Breeze.

In the late sixties he suffered a nervous breakdown and a mild stroke, which prevented him from performing.  By the late 1970's, however, he was back at his piano performing to his legions of loyal fans both at home and abroad.

In 1990 after being diagnose with stomach cancer, he founded, along with his friend writer and broadcaster Richard Hope-Hawkins, the Russ Conway Cancer Fund and they staged in major theatre's charity gala shows that raised thousands of pounds and was donated to numerous cancer charities. His health began to fail in the late 1990s, but he still performed a final concert during the spring of 2000 in his home town of Eastbourne, Sussex.  He was suffering from cancer at that time, and died on 16th November 2000.

Richard Hope Hawkins gave the main address at Russ's funeral held at the historic St Mary Redcliffe Church, Bristol (where as a child, Russ secretly crept in to play the organ, and a stones throw from where life for Trevor Herbert Stanford began.) Amongst the many who sent floral tributes was Elton John. In 2001 Richard devised, staged and directed a tribute to Russ at the Colston Hall, Bristol with an all-star cast. The money raised which was £18,000 was donated to St Peter's Hospice, Bristol.

(info mainly from Onlineweb.com)