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Nick Lucas
Nick Lucas
Background information
Birth name	Dominic Antonio Nicholas Lucanese
Born	August 22, 1897; Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	July 28, 1982 (aged 84); Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, traditional pop
Occupation(s)	Musician, bandleader
Instrument(s)	Guitar, vocals
Years active	1912–1981
Labels	Pathé, Brunswick, Durium, Cavalier, Accent
Formerly of	Duke Ellington, Jimmie Noone, Wilber Sweatman, Spirits of Rhythm
Spouse	Catherine Ciffrodella (1917-1970)
Website	nicklucas.com

Dominic Antonio Nicholas Lucanese (August 22, 1897 – July 28, 1982),^[1] better known by his stage name Nick Lucas, was an American jazz singer and guitarist.^[2] He was the first jazz guitarist to record as a soloist. His popularity during his lifetime came from his reputation as a singer. His signature song was "Tiptoe Through the Tulips".

Career

Lucas was born into an Italian family in Newark, New Jersey, United States. In 1922, at the age of 25, he gained renown with his hit renditions of "Pickin' the Guitar" and "Teasin' the Frets" for Pathé. In 1923, Gibson Guitars proposed to build him a concert guitar with a deeper body. Known as the "Nick Lucas Special," it became a popular model with guitarists such as Bob Dylan. It was this guitar's outline that was later used as the basis for the Gibson Les Paul solid body electric guitar. Also in 1923, he began recording for Brunswick and remained one of their exclusive artists until 1932.

In 1929, Lucas co-starred in the Warner Bros. two-color Technicolor musical, Gold Diggers of Broadway, in which he introduced the two hit songs "Painting the Clouds with Sunshine" and "Tiptoe Through the Tulips", which survives in a fully synchronized and preserved Vitaphone disc. The same year, Lucas was featured in the studio's all-star revue, The Show of Shows. Lucas turned down Warner Bros. seven-year contract offer, which went instead to fellow crooner Dick Powell.

In April 1930, Warner bought Brunswick and gave him his own orchestra, billed on his records as "The Crooning Troubadours". This arrangement lasted until December 1931, when Warner licensed Brunswick to the American Record Corporation (ARC). The new owners were not as extravagant as Warner Bros. had previously been and Lucas lost his orchestra and eventually left Brunswick in 1932. He made two recordings for Durium in 1932 for their Hit of the Week series. These would prove to be his last major recordings.

Lucas spent the rest of his career performing on radio, in night clubs and dance halls. He made a number of recordings for small or independent labels, including Cavalier, where he was billed as the "Cavalier Troubadour." In 1944, he reprised some of his old hits in soundies movie musicals and filmed another group of songs for Snader Telescriptions in 1951, including his hit of "Walkin' My Baby Back Home". He signed with Accent in 1955 and remained with the label for 25 years.^[3] He once made an extended eight-month tour of Australia when he was on the road. As of 2023, Nick Lucas has one of the longest singing careers, spanning 64 years.

Personal life

Nick Lucas enjoyed a long marriage of 53 years to Catherine Ciffrodella. They had 1 Daughter, Emily Lucas Bissell(1918-2013) and 3 grandchildren.^[4]

Later years and death

Lucas became friends with Tiny Tim, who considered him an inspiration and who borrowed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as his own theme song. Most people believe that Tiny Tim was the original singer of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips". Lucas sang the song to him when he married Miss Vicki on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on December 17, 1969. Nick Lucas was interviewed all throughout the 1970's and the early 1980's.

In 1974, his renditions of the songs, "I'm Gonna Charleston Back to Charleston", "When You and I Were Seventeen" and "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue" were featured on the soundtrack of The Great Gatsby (1974), selected by the film's musical director Nelson Riddle.

In 1975,^[5] Nick Lucas performed a sold-out show at Mayfair Music Hall in Santa Monica, California. In 1977, he celebrated his 80th birthday.^[6] This footage is available on YouTube. In 1980,^[7] Lucas rode in the Rose Bowl Parade on his float 'Tiptoe Through the Tulips. In 1981,^[8] Lucas collaborated with Riddle one last time to sing 4 minutes of his best-selling hits. This was one of his last public appearances.

On July 28, 1982, less than a month before his 85th birthday, Nick Lucas died in Colorado Springs, Colorado, from complications of double pneumonia.^[9] He was interred with his wife Catherine in the "Shrine of Remembrance" in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Filmography

^[10] Here are the films that Nick Lucas Was In:

Title	Director	Year and Company
Gold Diggers of Broadway	Roy Del Ruth	Warner Bros. 1929
The Show of Shows	John G. Adolfi	Warner Bros. 1929
Nick Lucas Song		Vitaphone - 1929
Organloguing the Hits With Nick Lucas		Master Art Products - 1931
Home Again		Master Art Products - 1933
On the Air and Off		Universal - 1933
What This Country Needs		Vitaphone - 1934
Nick Lucas and His Troubadours	Joseph Henabery	Vitaphone - 1936
Vitaphone Headliners		Vitaphone - 1936
Yankee Doodle Home	Arthur Dreifuss	Columbia - 1939
Congamania (Nick sings "In a Little Spanish Town")	Larry Caballos	Universal - 1940
Goodnight, Wherever You Are		Soundies - 1944
An Hour Never Passes		Soundies - 1944
Tiptoe Through the Tulips With Me		Soundies - 1944
Side By Side		Soundies - 1944
Big Time Revue		Warner Bros. - 1947
Disc Jockey	Will Jason	Allied Artists - 1951
I'm Looking at The World Thru Rose Colored Glasses		Snader - 1951
I Love the Sunshine of your Smile		Snader - 1951
Get Out Those Old Records		Snader - 1951
Mexicali Rose		Snader - 1951
Marie, Ah, Marie		Snader - 1951
Bela Bimba		Snader - 1951
Walkin' My Baby Back Home		Snader - 1951
The Great Gatsby	Jack Clayton	Paramount - 1974 (voice only)
The Day of The Locust	John Schlesinger	Paramount - 1975 (voice only)
Hearts of the West	Howard Zieff	MGM - 1975 (Voice only) (Final film role)