Lenny Dee - Golden Organ Memories - Disc One (1998)

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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