Leon Clay Berry (July 2, 1914 - August 23, 1996) was an American

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

. He was known in the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

area as the "dean of

roller rink A roller rink is a hard surface usually consisting of hardwood or concrete, used for roller skating or inline skating. This includes roller hockey, speed skating, roller derby, and individual recreational skating. Roller rinks can be located in ...

rock". A graduate of the

American Conservatory of Music The American Conservatory of Music (ACM) was a major American school of music founded in Chicago in 1886 by John James Hattstaedt (1851–1931). The conservatory was incorporated as an Illinois non-profit corporation. It developed the Conservat ...

in Chicago, his 1953 recording of "

Misirlou "Misirlou" ( < 'Egyptian' < ''Miṣr'' 'Egypt') is a folk song from the Eastern Mediterranean region. The song's original author is unknown, but Arabic, Greek, and Jewish musicians were playing it by the 1920s. The earliest known recordi ...

" on

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In its early years, Dot sp ...

reached sixth on the ''Billboard'' Magazine popularity charts. Berry also recorded for

Audio Fidelity Records Audio Fidelity Records was a record company based in New York City, most active during the 1950s and 1960s. They are best known for having produced the first mass-produced American stereophonic long-playing record in November 1957 (although this ...

References

External links

Leon Berry remembrance page
1914 births 1996 deaths American male organists Audio Fidelity Records artists Dot Records artists 20th-century American organists 20th-century American male musicians People from Dallas County, Alabama {{Organist-stub