Gene Leis (April 19, 1920 – March 15, 1993) was an American jazz guitarist, teacher, bandleader, composer, producer, and entrepreneur.

Early life

Leis was born into a musical family in Sedgwick, Kansas, near Wichita. His parents had a family band and played at local dances, weddings, and other events. When he was nine, he joined the family group on mandolin, an instrument whose neck was small enough for him to play comfortably. In his early teens he took up tenor guitar and began playing with other small groups. His father wanted him to play cello, and Leis negotiated a series of banjo lessons in exchange. During the late 1930s Leis listened to the swing bands of Goodman and to guitarists

Charlie Christian Charles Henry Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942) was an American swing and jazz guitarist. Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar and a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained nati ...

and

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

. The introduction of the electric guitar changed the nature of the guitar player in dance bands so that they could play loud enough to be heard over the other instruments. He decided to focus on guitar.

War years

In early 1941, Leis enlisted in the

U.S. Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

, and was sent to

Muroc Army Air Field Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is Ed ...

in the desert north of

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 173,51 ...

. Later this airfield would become known as

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...

, but in 1941 it was an airfield used to teach maneuvers in bombing and gunnery. While at the base, he took lessons from Dave Saunders, a student of

George M. Smith George M. Smith (May 18, 1912 – October 21, 1962) was a Wisconsin politician. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1912 and attended college in Winnipeg. He emigrated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States in 1941, and became a U ...

, a studio and performing guitarist and author of ''George M. Smith Modern Guitar Method''. These lessons formed the core of Leis's teaching system. Smith's method focused on teaching players the chord techniques for rhythm playing and improvising in contemporary jazz. Promoted to staff sergeant, Leis formed Gene and his Jive Bombers. The band was composed of GIs and civilians and toured the area for the next three years. Leis arranged, directed, produced, and emceed at these appearances. Leis was sent to India to organize entertainment for airbases in the

China-Burma-India Theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was officia ...

of the war, playing in many different kinds of bands and at one time touring camps for several months with movie star and singer Tony Martin. Discharged in December 1945, Technical Sergeant returned to Lancaster and started a dance band.

Preston Foster

In 1948 Leis met actor/singer

Preston Foster Preston Stratton Foster (August 24, 1900 – July 14, 1970), was an American actor of stage, film, radio, and television, whose career spanned nearly four decades. He also had a career as a vocalist. Early life Born in Ocean City, New Jersey ...

and taught him some guitar. He was in a trio with Foster and Foster's wife, actress

Sheila Darcy Sheila Darcy (born Rebecca Benedict Heffener August 8, 1914 – February 24, 2004), also known as "Rebecca Wassem", was an American film actress of the 1930s and the 1940s. Biography Born Rebecca Benedict Heffener in York, Pennsylvania, D ...

. Leis wrote the arrangements, and the trio performed on radio and in clubs, appearing with

Orrin Tucker ORiN (Open Robot/Resource interface for the Network) is a standard network interface for FA (factory automation) systems. The Japan Robot Association proposed ORiN in 2002, and the ORiN Forum develops and maintains the ORiN standard. Background ...

Peggy Ann Garner Peggy Ann Garner (February 3, 1932 – October 16, 1984) was an American child actress. As a child actress, Garner had her first film role in 1938. At the 18th Academy Awards, Garner won the Academy Juvenile Award, recognizing her body of c ...

and

Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...

. He learned about performing from watching professionals. erris (October, 1971), p. 32/ref> Foster broke up the trio and acted in the television series ''Waterfront''. Tired of touring, Leis returned to Lancaster and sold real estate.

The Nexsus Recorded Course

At night he worked on creating a self-taught guitar course on record that he would sell through the mail. The brittleness of the 78s meant they sometimes broke in the mail, and their weight increased the cost of shipping. After Columbia Records was successful with its mail order program, armorstein, Gary (2007). ''The Label: The Story of Columbia Records''. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, p.221/ref> Leis decided his idea could work. He enrolled in a school of broadcasting to develop his narration skills, studied writing, photography, and print layout and composition. He used a Varitype machine to lay out and print pages. He called his course the Nexus Course and bought ads in ''Esquire'', ''Playboy'', ''True'', and ''Diner's Club'' magazine. The Complete Nexus Method Course included records, an instruction book, chord book, and chord maps. Tom Scanlan, jazz critic for the ''Army Times'' and ''DownBeart'' magazine, gave the course a favorable review. canlan, Tom (1963). "Any Interest in Guitar?" In "Beautiful Guitar" [Album Insert Manhattan Beach: Gene Leis Studios, Inc.] Leis quit his job selling real estate to work on his mail order program. He moved to Manhattan Beach, California and in 1961 built a recording studio. In the first several years he sold 7000 courses and began selling chord books separately. With the encouragement and assistance of Jessy Stidham, one of his students, he introduced ''Play Guitar: Sounds of Today'', designed to teach younger students how to play single string melody without going into complicated chords. eis, Gene (1962). ''Play Guitar: Sounds of Today, Volume1''. Liner notes./ref> He recorded the album ''Beautiful Guitar'' with a multitrack approach pioneered by Les Paul. In 1963 Leis got his first distributor, in Boston. Within 10 years he had over 30 distributors and was distributing the books himself as well. erris, Leonard (1971), p. 32/ref> In 1964, he incorporated Gene Leis Distributing with the aim of offering a full range of accessories and instruments. He designed or created a line of guitar amplifiers, which appeared under the names Rodeo Music or Gene Leis, guitars, and accessories, which were distributed by

White Front White Front was a chain of discount department stores in California and the western United States from 1959 through the mid-1970s. The stores were noted for the architecture of their store fronts which was an enormous, sweeping archway with the st ...

Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curren ...

, and other retail stores. He sold over 8,000 amplifiers before leaving the crowded amp market. erris (1971), p. 32/ref> In 1964 he revised the chord book, incorporating many more instructional elements, and called it the ''Instructional Chord Book for Guitar''. He wrote ''Teacher's Pet Manuscript'' and ''Chord Diagram (Primary and Advanced)'' for students to write their own arrangements. By 1965, the ''Instruction Chord Book'' had sold over 250,000 copies. erris (1971), p. 32/ref> In 1966 he introduced ''Guitar for Two'' and ''Guitar for Fun''. To promote his courses, books and accessories, Leis toured the west coast with his sons, playing rock and roll and ballads. After the concerts, he hosted question and answer sessions that helped him determine the interests of guitar students. He considered comments and letters to be one of his greatest assets in developing courses and method books. In 1965,

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

started a division known as Decca Home Entertainment Products, which for several years imported Japanese acoustic and solid-body electric guitars aimed primarily at the beginner market. Leis acted as an advisor to Decca, which sold over 30,000 of his chord books a year. Columbia Record Club bought 50,000 of his courses to pair with a line of guitars that it sold. erris (1971), p. 32/ref> In 1966, Leis collaborated on the book ''A Guitar Manual'' with Daniel Mari and Peter Huyn. Published by E&O Mari, the manufacturer of La Bella guitar strings, the book focused on the history, anatomy, and use of the guitar. A year later he produced the albums ''Let's Duet'' and ''Learn to Play Guitar'' for

Music Minus One Music Minus One (MMO) is a music production and recording company in Westchester, New York. Their recordings are meant to be accompanied by the listener on whichever instrument (or voice type) is excluded from the recording, as an aid to practice, ...

, a company that created courses on record with one instrumental part missing so that students play along. During the same year he became a contributing editor for ''Guitar Player'' magazine. By the mid 1970s, Leis had sold over 225,000 of his recorded courses and over two million copies of the ''Instruction Chord Book for Guitar''. eis, Gene (1974). ''Instruction Chord Book for Guitar''. Manhattan Beach: Gene Leis Studio, inc., p.2/ref> The studio in Manhattan Beach was a recording studio, a distribution center, and a retail store. In the late 1960s he built small studios for teaching guitar lessons. His students included

Jeff Linsky Jeff Linsky (born April 12, 1952) is an American fingerstyle guitarist who plays Latin and Brazilian jazz. Career Linsky was born in Whittier, California. When he was ten, he began playing guitar. During the following year, he played at a chur ...

.[Rodgers, Jeffrey Pepper (September, 2008). ''Have Guitar, Will Travel (interview with guitarist

)''. Acoustic Guitar Magazine, p.70] In 1970 he recorded ''Gene Leis Plays Beautiful Music'', also known as ''Music to Iron By''. Leis performed with guitarist Ron Anthony at Beach Bum Burt's in Redondo Beach, California. Master Jazz Guitarist at Beachbums" (November 18, 1976). ''Long Beach Press-Telegram'', p. A-29/ref> He retired in the 1970s, selling the studio and moving to

Santa Maria, California Santa Maria (Spanish language, Spanish for "Mary, mother of Jesus, St. Mary") is a city near the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California in northern Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara County. It is approximately no ...

, where he continued to sell his books, play at local clubs, and record others. He died in Santa Maria on March 15, 1993 at age of 73.

Discography

* ''Play Guitar Volume 1: Sounds of Today'' (Gene Leis Studios, 1962) * ''Play Guitar Volume 2: Sounds of Today'' (Gene Leis Studios, 1963) * ''Gene Leis Plays Beautiful Guitar'' (One Star Project, 1965) * ''Guitar for Two'' (Gene Leis Studios, 1966) * ''Let Me Teach You to Play the Guitar'' (Music Minus One, 1967)

Publications

Teaching materials and books

* Leis, Gene (1961). ''Nexsus Theory Instruction Book'', Gene Leis Studio, Manhattan Beach, California. * Leis, Gene (1961). ''Chord Book; Nexsus Theory'', Gene Leis Studio, Manhattan Beach, California. * Leis, Gene (1964, 1974). ''Instruction Chord Book for Guitar'', Gene Leis Studio, Manhattan Beach, California. * Leis, Gene (1964). ''Teacher's Pet Manuscript with Diagrams for Guitar, Book 1, Primary'', Gene Leis Studio, Manhattan Beach, California. * Leis, Gene (1964). ''Teacher's Pet Manuscript with Diagrams for Guitar, Book 2, Advanced'', Gene Leis Studio, Manhattan Beach, California. * Leis, Gene (1966). ''Guitar for Two'', Gene Leis Studio, Manhattan Beach, California. * Huyn, Peter; Leis, Gene; & Mari, Daniel (1966). ''A Guitar Manual''. E. & O. Mari * Leis, Gene (1967). ''Guitar for Fun'', Gene Leis Studio, Manhattan Beach, California.

Songbooks

* Hartzler, Brian, and Leis, Gene (1970). ''Wine + Bread + Cheese, a Guitar and Thee'', West Coast Publications, Los Angeles, California. * Leis, Gene (1972). ''Makin' Tracks: Hit Songs for Easy Guitar'', West Coast Publications, Los Angeles, California. * Leis, Gene (1972). ''Country Guitar '72'', West Coast Publications, Los Angeles, California. * Leis, Gene (1972). ''Getting' Together for Easy Guitar (Collector's Series #34)'', West Coast Publications, Los Angeles, California. * Leis, Gene (1972). ''What's Your Hangup?? A Guitar?? (Collector's Series #86)'', West Coast Publications Los Angeles, California.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leis, Gene 1920 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American jazz guitarists American male guitarists American male jazz musicians People from Sedgwick, Kansas United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II