Lester Lanin

Lester Lanin
Lester Lanin portrait Lester Lanin
Background information
Birth name	Nathaniel Lester Lanin
Born	(1907-08-26)August 26, 1907 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Genres	Dance music
Occupation(s)	Bandleader
Years active	1927-1990s
Website	www.lesterlanin.com

Nathaniel Lester Lanin (August 26, 1907 – October 27, 2004) was an American jazz and pop music bandleader. Famous for long, smoothly arranged medleys, Lanin's career began in the late 1920s and his popularity increased through the advent of the LP era. Starting with Epic Records in the middle of the 1950s, he recorded a string of albums for several labels, many of which hit the US Billboard 200.

Biography

Lanin's brothers, Sam and Howard, were also both bandleaders; they came from a family of ten (of which Lester was the youngest) born to a family of Russian Jewish immigrants. He originally attended South Philadelphia High School but quit at the age of 15 to play music with his brothers abandoning his plans to be an attorney. Beginning in 1927, he led ensembles that were paid to play at the houses of wealthy socialites in Philadelphia and New York, continuing after the 1929 stock market crash.

In 1930, Lanin was hired to play at a gala for Barbara Hutton, and the event garnered so much press in New York newspapers that it made Lanin a star as well as the young heiress. Lanin became a major star of the dance music world, and was hired worldwide to play for dignitaries and monarchs, in addition to a recurring invitation to play at White House inaugural balls from the Eisenhower administration to the Carter administration. Lanin was managed for much of his career by New York socialite music promoter Al Madison.

According to Lanin, one of his most unusual engagements was playing at a party for avant-garde rock musician Frank Zappa. This was reported by Billboard magazine in 1974. At the time Mr. Zappa was in New York City to play two Halloween concerts at the Felt Forum (now known as The Theater at Madison Square Garden.)

Lanin also played for other celebrities, including a wedding for Billy Joel. Lanin continued performing well into the 1990s. In 1999 he played himself in the black-and-white film comedy Man of the Century, where he was the favorite musician of lead character Johnny Twennies.

Lester Lanin died at age 97 in 2004.

Selected discography

• Dance to the Music of Lester Lanin (1957) US #7
• Lester Lanin and His Orchestra (1958) US #18
• Cocktail Dancing
• Have Band, Will Travel (1958) US #12
• Lester Lanin at the Tiffany Ball (1958) US #17
• Lester Lanin Goes to College (1958) US #19
• Dancing on the Continent
• Christmas Dance Party
• High Society Volume II (1961)
• The Madison Avenue Beat
• Twistin' in High Society! (1962) US #37
• More Twistin' in High Society
• Dancing Theatre Party (Featuring the Dancing Pianos)
• For Dancing Lester Lanin Play 23 Richard Rodgers Hits (1964)
• 40 Beatles Hits (1966)
• Narrowing the Generation Gap (1969)

External links

• Official website
• Lester Lanin discography at Discogs
• Lester Lanin at Find a Grave