Lenny Dee born 5 January 1923

Lenny Dee, born Leonard George DeStoppelaire, (January 5, 1923 - February 12, 2006) was a virtuoso organist who played many styles of music. His record albums were among the most popular of easy listening and space age pop organists of the 1950s through the early 1970s. His signature hit, Plantation Boogie, charted as a Top 20 hit in 1955. He also had a gold record with 1970's Spinning Wheel.

Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1923, Dee was an only child (though it is sometimes erroneously reported that he was one of eleven or twelve children). As a child, he sang in his church's choir; he also played ukulele and accordion. As a teenager, he turned playing the accordion into a profession, which he continued until he was drafted into the Navy during World War II in 1943.

Upon his return from service, Dee spent his Navy earnings on a Hammond Model A organ, one of the earliest of its kind. With money from the G.I. Bill, he received instruction in organ at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. Afterwards, he began playing hotels and night clubs in the south in the late 1940s to some degree of success, but very little fame and no record contracts.



It was not until the early 1950s that Dee was signed up to Decca after country singer Red Foley heard him playing at the Plantation Inn in Nashville, Tennessee, and thought Dee's country flavor would be a good contrast to the label's then prominent jazz organist, Ethel Smith.

Dee made good, and his original composition, Plantation Boogie charted at #18 in 1955. Dee re-recorded the hit on numerous albums, and was often imitated, even plagiarized, but never duplicated.

Dee ventured into recording albums for Decca starting in 1954 with his first LP, Dee-lightful. Part of Dee's charm was his albums' zany covers featuring Dee in various situations, and titles with puns that usually included his name, such as Dee-Lirious, Dee-Licious, and Dee-Most! His recording featured organ with other instruments. He was nearly always backed by percussion; depending on the song, he also recorded with guitar; bass; a backup chorus; strings; horns such as saxophones, trombones, trumpets; and even the banjo.

When Dee married his wife, Hendrica, in 1960, the couple settled down in Sarasota, Florida, which would become the base of Lenny's operations for the rest of his career. They had five children; his oldest son, Lenny Jr., played drums with his father.

Despite his contract with Decca, Lenny Dee's first love was live performance. In 1967, after performing regularly in hotel lounges at St. Petersburg Beach like the Dolphin Beach Resort, Dee started a night club named Lenny Dee's Dolphin Den. He later opened Lenny Dee's King's Inn, a few miles away. His supper club format—with dinner, drinks and his musical and his comedy routines—was popular with local fans and visitors from around the world. The club's menu included the "One Pound Pork Chop," along with other selections.

His routine included corny jokes and wild hat and costume routines that Dee was noted for. A lover of animals, Dee often included his pet dogs (particularly one black poodle he owned named "Miss Muffett") in his routine, with the dogs barking along with some of his numbers.

His television credits include appearances on Toast of the Town with Ed Sullivan, The Tonight Show with Jack Paar, The Lawrence Welk Show, and later Nashville Now. Dee even had his own show in the mid-50s on WFLA-TV in Tampa, Florida called Ladies' Day with Lenny Dee; it enjoyed a brief run.

Dee continued recording into the '70s, adding a background orchestra in the late '60s as many other easy listening performers were doing at the time. By the late '70s, Dee was in less demand. After recording 56 albums, he was finally dropped from the MCA label, along with many other easy listening artists.

Dee spent the rest of his career at his night clubs and on tour, but the demand for his music continued to decline. In 1999, Dee played on a series of cruise ship tours. He retired in 2003. He died on February 12, 2006 in St. Petersburg. He was 83. (info Wikipedia)

Lenny Dee appeared on an airing of the television program Nashville Now which also featured Pete Fountain. Some sources inform that this show aired on January 25, 1988. As a result of his Nashville Now appearances, the mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida (Lenny's home turf) proclaimed January 25 "Lenny Dee Day".