1.    The Glory of Love
2.    The Last Waltz
3.    Honeysuckle Rose
4.    Twilight Time
5.    Canadian Sunset
6.    Girl from Ipanema
7.    Somewhere My Love (Lara's Theme)
8.    Mr. Lucky
9.    Theme from Love Story
10.    Tangerine
11.    A Man and A Woman
12.    I Only Have Eyes for You
13.    Try A Little Tenderness
14.    Les Bicyclettes des Belsize
15.    April in Paris

An only child, Lenny Dee was raised in Logan Square, Chicago on Altgeld at California Avenue, and later moved to Florida. It was believed the family had eleven or twelve children but this was untrue. His father operated a tavern in Logan Square. Lenny was married with five children. His eldest son, Lenny, Jr. (known as JR) played drums in his Dad’s shows.

Lenny used a Hammond Model A converted to an AV (post World War II vibrato replacement for tremulant), added a Hammond Solovox and had a vibraphone installed inside the custom bench. Also, a control panel was located above the drawbars with potentiometers, drawbars reiteration, and other controls. There was also a foot switch mounted on the left side of the expression pedal that threw the tone wheel generator flat to the notes being played, useful for special effects. Releasing the switch restored the generator to normal speed. He used Leslie speakers Model 31-H. Very famous on this organ was Lenny’s tape loop, which re-echoed the sound of the organ, a trademark sound of his. The console was finished in custom white. His rendition of Mule Train using the tape-loop and his voice through a microphone was famous. ,/

In the early 1960s, he withdrew the four conventional tone cabinets and added Leslie speakers. In 1967, he started recording on the Hammond X-66 with full orchestral accompaniment. In 1972, he changed to the Hammond Concorde. In the early 1960s, he recorded on Wurlitzer (Ruby, I Left My Heart in San Francisco) overdubbing with the Hammond Model A. In the 1970s, a few songs were recorded using Yamaha (radio waves on Also Sprach Zarathustra and the train effect on Love Train) and Thomas (Take It To the Limit) organs. He also used an ARP synthesizer (The Most Beautiful Girl, Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)). Interestingly, Len was the only artist to record on the Hammond Piper, mainly for muted trumpet and harpsichord sounds.

Lenny Dee had a style that was uniquely his own. He played with scintillating animation and his rhythm was outstanding. You couldn’t listen to him without tapping your foot! He played in a traditional jazz style of the boogie and swing type. His drawbar settings were unconventional and produced interesting effects. In later years, an orchestra was added to his recordings and he played in a more conventional style. He was known in the 1970s as a great country organist.

After touring the nation in the early years, he settled down in 1967 and opened Lenny Dee’s Dolphin Den on St. Petersburg Beach, Florida. For ten years, he delighted organ lovers and tourists alike with his scintillating style, little sung ditties, jokes and hats. Shortly thereafter, he opened Lenny Dee’s Kings Inn, only a few miles from the Den. In 1999, Len toured the nation and performed on a cruise ship using a Hammond-Suzuki Elegante, after which he retired in 2003. --- theatreorgans.com

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1.    Plantation Boogie
2.    The Entertainer
3.    The Pink Panther
4.    Brazil
5.    Room Full of Roses
6.    Vaya Con Dios
7.    Alley Cat
8.    My Kind of Town (Chicago Is)
9.    Blues in the Night
10.    Moon River
11.    Tico Tico
12.    Georgia on My Mind
13.    Daddy
14.    Satin Doll
15.    Rhapsody in Blue

Lenny Dee was a versatile organist who enjoyed a Top 20 hit with "Plantation Boogie" in 1955 and recorded a series of albums. He is best-known for being able to make his organ sound like a wide variety of other musical instruments. Dee was born in Illinois, but raised in Florida, where he learned to play piano when he was seven years old. After he began playing the piano, he also learned how to play accordion and banjo. In his late teens, he studied music in Chicago. While he was studying, he began performing concerts on organ; during this time, he perfected his distinctive style. Dee began touring the U.S. after completing his studies. At a Nashville concert, Red Foley was impressed with his style and brought the organist to Decca Records. Dee signed a contract in the mid-'50s, releasing his first single, "Plantation Boogie," in 1955. The single became a hit, peaking at number 19. He followed it with his first album, Dee-lightful!, which peaked at number 11. The hits dried up for Dee quickly, though he continued to release records and tour. He returned to the charts in 1968, with his Gentle On My Mind album. Two other hit albums followed -- Turn Around, Look At Me (1969), Spinning Wheel (1970) -- which peaked in the lower reaches of the charts. Dee stopped recording in the mid-'70s. ---Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Kenneth M. Cassidy, Rovi

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