Russell performed as bilingual vocalist and swing drummer with Arnheim for 4 years. During this period, he received offers from Paul Whiteman, Jimmy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Charlie Spivak, and such bands as Johnny Richards, Sonny Dunham, Alvino Rey and Vido Musso. Russell's popularity grew to the point that acclaimed band leader Tommy Dorsey made him a lucrative offer to play only the drums, as he already had a singer, a young Frank Sinatra. Russell declined because "he decided he could make more of a name if he concentrated on his singing," so he chose to join Alvino Rey. Some of the venues in the Los Angeles area where he played were the Cocoanut Grove at the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard, the old Follies Theater on Main Street, the Orpheum Theater on Broadway, the Santa Monica Pier, and Joe Zucca's Show Case in Hermosa Beach.