Howard Lanin - Melancholy Lou

Howard Lanin (1897-1991) was the third most prominent brother in a family of bandleaders. Sam and Lester were the two most well known of the brothers. Sam became a very famous director of the 20s and early 30s who left us a huge amount of recordings, and Lester was a popular dance band leader from the 30s through the 90s. Howard entered music professionally in 1909 as a drummer in the orchestra at the Crystal Palace movie theater. He organized his first dance band of his own at 17 and spent the next 72 years leading bands. Although he often performed in New York and other East Coast cities as far south as Florida, he remained based in Philadelphia for most of his career. Lanin was called, "The King of Society Music." He led the Howard Lanin Orchestra, a group that performed show tunes, waltzes and sweet jazz. He recorded with various groups of his own, including the Benjamin Franklin Hotel Orchestra and played dances, industrial shows, and conventions for decades. The orchestras of the Lanin brothers gave a start to Red Nichols, Artie Shaw, The Dorsey Brothers and other jazz musicians. This brilliant recording, one of the very first electricals, was made in 1925.