Lee "Stubby" Gordon (born Lavern Elton Gordon; May 12, 1902 – October 3, 1946) was an American musician and bandleader who conducted the Rhythm Masters orchestra and wrote the music for songs such as "Tell Me Dreamy Eyes", "Worryin' Blues", and "Rippin' It Off."
redhotjazz.com; accessed March 7, 2018.

Career

One of the most renowned saxophonists, he joined

Phil Spitalny Phil Spitalny (November 7, 1890 – October 11, 1970) was a Russian-born American musician, music critic, composer, and bandleader heard often on radio during the 1930s and 1940s. He rose to fame after he led an all-female orchestra, a novelty at ...

's orchestra and was soon promoted to director. He later became music director of

WTAM WTAM (1100 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, that airs a news/talk and sports radio format, commonly known as "Newsradio WTAM 1100". Owned by iHeartMedia, WTAM serves Greater Cleveland and much of s ...

and conductor of the NBC Orchestra. Gordon was the first to broadcast Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr.'s song, "The Rest of My Life With You".

Personal life

Lavern Elton Gordon was born in

Warren, Pennsylvania Warren is a city in and the county seat of Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States, located along the Allegheny River. The population was 9,404 at the 2020 census. It is home to the headquarters of the Allegheny National Forest and the Cornp ...

, on May 12, 1902, and died in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, on October 3, 1946, aged 44. He was interred in the family plot in Oakland Cemetery, Warren.

References

External links

''Digitized'' Pine Ridge News Vol I, No ISheldon Harris Sheet Music Finding-Aid at the University of Mississippi (originals)
1902 births 1946 deaths American saxophonists American male saxophonists American big band bandleaders American jazz bandleaders Musicians from Cleveland Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania People from Warren, Pennsylvania 20th-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Ohio 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians {{US-jazz-musician-stub