Eddie Lang

AKA:

The Father of Jazz Guitar

Birth Name:

Salvatore Massaro

Birth Date:

October 25, 1902

Birth Place:

700 block of Saint Albans Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Death Date:

March 26, 1933

Place of Death:

Park West Hospital, Manhattan, New York, New York

Age:

Cause of Death:

Blood loss during tonsillectomy surgery

Cemetery Name:

Holy Cross Cemetery

Claim to Fame:

Music

Born Salvatore Massaro in Philadelphia, PA, in 1920 at age 18 Salvatore legally changed his name to Eddie Lang, exchanged his violin for a banjo, and began working with band leaders Charlie Kerr, Bert Estlow, Vic D’Ippolito, and then Billy Lustig. In 1924, he exchanged his banjo for a one-stringed guitar when he became a member of the Mound City Blue Blowers led by Red McKenzie. He recorded one of the first guitar solos in “Deep Second Street Blues” in 1926. Before his performance, the guitar had not been a prominent instrument in jazz bands and dance orchestras. In 1929, Lang and Joe Venuti became members of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. Vocalist Bing Crosby soon joined the orchestra on a trip west to Hollywood to make the movie King of Jazz in which Lang and Venuti appeared. Through Crosby’s wife, Lang met Kitty, a Ziegfeld girl, whom he soon married. In 1930 when Crosby was looking for a job in radio, he had Lang as his accompanist. Two years later, Crosby made another movie The Big Broadcast in which Lang also appeared. When Crosby returned to New York City and started his orchestra in late 1932, he hired Lang as a regular. Lang suffered from occasional laryngitis and had a chronic sore throat. After a doctor recommended a tonsillectomy, Crosby urged Lang to have the operation. Assured that the surgical procedure was routine, Lang entered Park West Hospital in Manhattan on March 26, 1933. He never woke up from the surgery and died at age 30.

Fun Facts

Lang was one of the first single-string guitar soloists. He played a melody on a one-stringed Gibson L guitar but occasionally added more chords. He showed that the guitar could be a band instrument. He was skilled enough to make his acoustic guitar heard among the other band instruments. Lang was so influential that banjo players soon switched en masse to the guitar and the banjo was dropped from most bands. As a result, Lang is known as the father of the jazz guitar. He was inducted into the American Society of Composers, Authors, & Publishers (ASCAP) Jazz Wall of Fame in 1986 and the Big Band & Jazz Hall of Fame in 2010.

It is not well known that future legendary musicians Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti attended James Campbell Elementary School where they played alongside future mob boss of the Philadelphia crime family Angelo Bruno during music class.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Holy Cross Cemetery

626 Baily Road

Yeadon, Pennsylvania, 19050

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Holy Cross Cemetery in Yeadon, Pennsylvania

Grave Location:

Section G

Grave Location Description

As you enter the cemetery from the second Baily road entrance, drive straight ahead just past the large mausoleums and take the second right turn. Drive to the second intersection and turn left. Continue on the third intersection and turn right. Drive 200 feet and park in front of the Baldi memorial (look for the angel on top of the gravestone) on your left. Walk nine spaces into Section G and you will find guitar legend Eddie Lang.