Nathaniel Lester Lanin (August 26, 1907 – October 27, 2004) was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
and pop music bandleader. He was famous for long, smoothly arranged
medleys, at a consistent rhythm and tempo, which were designed for continuous dancing. Lanin's career began in the late 1920s and his popularity increased through the advent of the
LP era. Starting with
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
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
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
, were also both bandleaders; they came from a family of ten (of which Lester was the youngest) born to a family of
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
. 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 even after the
1929 stock market crash.
In 1930, Lanin was hired to play at a gala for
Barbara Hutton
Barbara Woolworth Hutton (November 14, 1912 – May 11, 1979) was an American debutante, socialite, heiress, and philanthropist. She was dubbed the "Poor Little Rich Girl"—first when she was given a lavish and expensive debutante ball in 1930 a ...
, and the event garnered so much press in New York
newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
s 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
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power in ...
, in addition to a recurring invitation to play at
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
inaugural ball
United States presidential inaugural balls are large social gatherings, both white tie and black tie, held to celebrate the commencement of a new term of the President of the United States. Planned and sanctioned by the Presidential Inaugura ...
s from the
Eisenhower administration
Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1953, and ended on January 20, 1961. Eisenhower, a Republican from Kansas, took office following a landslide victory ...
to the
Carter administration. In the 1930s his orchestral performances at the
Waldorf Astoria Hotel Waldorf can have the following meanings:
People
* William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (1848–1919), financier and statesman
* Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor (1879–1952), businessman and politician
* Pappy Waldorf (1902–1981), 1966 ...
's Starlight Roof included
John Serry Sr.
John Serry Sr. (born John Serrapica; January 29, 1915 – September 14, 2003) was an American concert accordionist, arranger, composer, organist, and educator. He performed on the CBS Radio and Television networks and contributed to Voic ...
as a sideman. Lanin was managed for much of his career by New York socialite music promoter Al Madison.
He conducted the music for
Grace Kelly's engagement party, as well as the nuptials between
Prince Charles and
Lady Diana Spencer
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
.
According to Lanin, one of his most memorable performances was playing at a party for
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
rock music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...
ian
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
. This was reported by
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
magazine in 1974. At the time Mr. Zappa was in New York City to play two
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
concerts at the Felt Forum (now known as
Hulu Theater
The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden is a theater located in New York City's Madison Square Garden. It seats between 2,000 and 5,600, and is used for concerts, shows, sports, meetings, and other events. It is located beneath the main Madison ...
.)
Lanin also played for other celebrities, including
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
's 1985 wedding to
Christie Brinkley
Christie Lee Brinkley (née Hudson; born February 2, 1954) is an American model, actress, and entrepreneur. Brinkley gained worldwide fame with her appearances in ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues'', ultimately appearing on an unprecedented ...
. Lanin continued performing well into the 1990s. In 1999 he played himself in the black-and-white film comedy ''
Man of the Century
''Man of the Century'' is a 1999 American comedy film directed by Adam Abraham and written by Abraham and Gibson Frazier. The film stars Frazier, Cara Buono, Susan Egan, Dwight Ewell and Anthony Rapp. It is a farce about the attitudes, values, ...
'', where he was the favorite musician of lead character Johnny Twennies.
Until his death, Lanin and his orchestra played at the prestigious
International Debutante Ball
The International Debutante Ball is an invitation-only, formal debutante ball, to officially present well-connected young ladies of distinction from upper-class families to high society. Founded in 1954, it occurs every two years at the Waldo ...
where upper-class girls from prominent American and international families are presented to
high society
High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...
at the
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schult ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Since his death, his orchestra continues to play biennially at the International Debutante Ball. Lanin and his orchestra are famous for handing out "Lanin Hats," with the logo of the Lester Lanin orchestra, to the crowd and debutantes at the International Debutante Ball.
Lester Lanin died at age 97 in 2004.
Legacy
The Lester Lanin Orchestra continues to perform full-time. The Orchestra is now led by musical director Spencer Bruno who was the band leader under Lanin and took over after Lanin's passing.
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)
References
External links
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanin, Lester
American jazz bandleaders
Musicians from Philadelphia
2004 deaths
1907 births
20th-century American musicians
Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania