Eddie Lang - Timeline
The Eddie Lang Timeline includes a number of entries that are contradictory and unsubstantiated. Until we are able to further clarify events we’ve taken the liberty of including all available information.
1902
October 25: Salvatoro* Massaro (Eddie Lang) born, eighth and youngest child of Domenico and Carmela Massaro, 701 South Marshall St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (1) *Salvatoro is the given name on birth & death certificates.
November 10: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) baptized @ St. Paul’s Catholic Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (45)
November 21: Arthur Schutt - piano, b. Reading, Pennsylvania.
1903
March 10: Leon Bismark (Bix) Beiderbecke - cornet, piano, b. Davenport, Iowa. (13)
May 3: Harry Lillis (Bing) Crosby - singer, b. Tacoma, Washington. (33)
May 29: Kathleen (Kitty) Magdalena Rasch (future wife), b. London, England. (58)
June 28: Adrian Francis Rollini - bass saxophone, vibraphone, b. Larchmont, New York.
September 16: Giuseppe (Joe) Venuti, born sixth and youngest child of Giacomo and Rosa Venuti, 1010 Christian Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (2)
October 25: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang), 1st birthday.
1904
February 29: James (Jimmy) Dorsey - saxophone, clarinet, b. Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. (53)
ca. April: “I … started (my musical education) at the very tender age of one and a half years. My father ... made me an instrument that consisted of a cigar-box with a broom handle attached, and strong thread was used for the strings”. (31)
June 7: Donald (Don) Murray - clarinet, saxophone, d. Joliet, Illinois.
July 8: William (Bill) Challis - arranger, b. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
July 30: Richard Tobin (Dick) McDonough – banjo, guitar, b. New York City, New York. (54)
October 25: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang), 2nd birthday.
1905
“He (his father) taught all his children to play those instruments, and while Eddie was a small boy Mr. Massaro made a little guitar with frets that his small fingers could reach.” (3)
May 8: Ernest Loring (Red) Nichols – trumpet, cornet, b. Ogden, Utah. (62)
July 9: Martha Boswell - singer, piano, b. Kansas City, Missouri. (51)
August 20: Weldon Leo (Jack) Teagarden - trombone, b. Vernon, Texas.
October 25: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang), 3rd birthday.
November 19: Thomas Francis (Tommy) Dorsey, Jr. – trombone, b. Mahanoy Plain, Pennsylvania. (53)
1906
October 18: Edward (Snoozer) Quinn - guitar, b. McComb, Mississippi. (82)
October 25: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang), 4th birthday.
1907
October 19: Roger (Wolff) Wolfe Kahn - musician, composer, bandleader, b. Morristown, New Jersey.
October 20: Carl Kress – banjo, guitar, b. Newark, New Jersey.
October 25: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang), 5th birthday.
December 3: Constance Foore (Connie) Boswell - singer, b. Kansas City, Missouri. (51)
1908
“According to Eddie’s brother, Thomas Massaro, Eddie worked incessantly on that little guitar, rarely taking part in games or sports with the neighborhood children. Except for the elementary instruction received by all of the Massaro children, Eddie was self-taught on guitar.” (3)
January 26: Stéphane Grappelli – violin, piano, b. Paris, France.
February 13 or 14: Leonard George (Lennie) Hayton – piano, arranger, conductor, b. New York City, New York.
September: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) attends first grade at James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
October 25: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang), 6th birthday.
1909
Theodore (Teddy) Bunn - guitar, b. Freeport, New York.
Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) commences study of violin (1909-1920). (3) (31)
“To dispel the impression that Lang was a talented but illiterate musician, it should be noted that he studied violin for eleven years under two competent instructors in Philadelphia. One of them, Professor Ciancarullo, had formerly played with the Naples Symphony Orchestra in Italy. He read music for concerts with the school orchestra and later doubled on violin with Charlie Kerr’s orchestra.” (3)
May 30: Benjamin David (Benny) Goodman – clarinet, saxophone, b. Chicago, Illinois. (61)
September: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) attends second grade at James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
September: Giuseppe (Joe) Venuti attends first grade at James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
October 25: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang), 7th birthday.
1910
January 23: Jean (Django) Reinhardt – guitar, b. Liberchies, Pont-à-Celles, Belgium.
September: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) attends third grade at James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
September: Giuseppe (Joe) Venuti attends second grade at James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
October 25: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang), 8th birthday.
1911
Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co, Ltd. introduces the L-4 archtop guitar.
May 20: Helvetia George (Vet) Boswell - singer, b. Birmingham, Alabama. (51)
September: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) attends fourth grade at James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
September: Giuseppe (Joe) Venuti attends third grade at James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
October 25: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang), 9th birthday.
1912
September: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) attends fifth grade at James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
September: Giuseppe (Joe) Venuti attends fourth grade at James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
October 25: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang), 10th birthday.
1913
August 7: George Van Eps – guitar, b. Plainfield, New Jersey. (80)
September: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) attends sixth grade at James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
September: Giuseppe (Joe) Venuti attends fifth grade at James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
October 25: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang), 11th birthday.
ca. 1913-1914
Gaetano Scioli (brother-in-law), Maddelena Massaro Scioli (sister), Eugenia Scioli (niece), Angelina Scioli (niece) depart Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and visit Monteroduni, Italy. (73)
1914
August 4: Start of First World War.
September: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) attends seventh grade at James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
September: Giuseppe (Joe) Venuti attends sixth grade at James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
First known photograph of Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) & Giuseppe (Joe) Venuti; James Campbell School Orchestra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (3)
October 25: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang), 12th birthday.
1915
June 9: Lester William Polsfuss (Les Paul) – guitar, inventor, b. Waukesha, Wisconsin.
September: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) attends eighth grade at James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
September: Giuseppe (Joe) Venuti attends seventh grade at James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
ca. September: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) and Giuseppe (Joe) Venuti meet; James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (3)
“Lang and Venuti first met in grade school. Eddie was thirteen, Joe twelve. Joe looked up to Eddie as a basketball player and musician. Eddie, in turn, admired Joe’s ability and musicianship, and though they were not close friends until several years later ….” (3)
October 25: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang), 13th birthday.
1916
April 15: Rasch Family (includes future wife, Kitty Rasch) arrive Ellis Island, NYC. (34)
As Eddie grew into his teens the music practice schedule so rigidly adhered to in boyhood now justified participation in some of the sports he loved. He fashioned his basketball style after that of a local professional star named “Eddie Lang”. (3)
May: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) graduates grade school, James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
September: Giuseppe (Joe) Venuti attends eighth grade at James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
October 25: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang), 14th birthday.
1917
January-February: Original Dixieland Jazz Band record first jazz records for Columbia and Victor records. (65)
April 6: United States enters First World War.
May: Giuseppe (Joe) Venuti graduates grade school, James Campbell School, Eighth and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
October 25: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang), 15th birthday.
ca. 1917-1918
Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang record for Edison Bell (unsubstantiated claim by Joe Venuti). (4)
Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) joins Chick Granese Trio (plays banjo) @ Shotts Café, 12th and Filbert Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (3)
1918
Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang make cylinder recordings with Gene Austin (unsubstantiated claim by Joe Venuti).
February 20: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) submission to join Philadelphia Musicians Union, Local 77.
April 18: Anthony (Tony) Mottola - guitar, b. Kearny, New Jersey. (74)
October 25: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang), 16th birthday.
November 11: End of First World War.
1919
Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang make cylinder recordings of “Wildcat” and “Stringing The Blues” for Edison (unsubstantiated claim by Joe Venuti).
March 7: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) elected to Philadelphia Musicians Union, Local 77.
October 25: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang), 17th birthday.
ca. 1919-1920
Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang record for Edison Bell (unsubstantiated claim by Joe Venuti). (4)
Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) plays mazurkas and polkas on guitar in four-four time with Joe Venuti (violin). (35)
May-September: Salvatoro Massaro (Eddie Lang) with Bert Eslow's Band (includes Joe Venuti-violin), Hotel Knickerbocker, Tennessee Avenue and Boardwalk, Atlantic City, New Jersey. (3)
1920
Adopts the stage name Eddie Lange*/ Ed Lange* after a local professional basketball star named “Eddie Lang”. (3) *drops “e” ca. early 1927.
Eddie Lang joins Charlie Kerr's Orchestra (plays violin), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (3)
“… my first real job on the violin came when Charlie Kerr signed me up to play with him for four years”. (31)
Kitty Rasch joins the 1920-1921 road tour of The Ziegfeld Follies (play Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago). (34)
January 16: The National Prohibition Act (Volstead Act) prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcohol goes into effect 12:01 am.
May-September: Eddie Lang with Bert Eslow's Band (includes Joe Venuti-violin), Hotel Knickerbocker, Tennessee Avenue and Boardwalk, Atlantic City, New Jersey. (3)
October 25: Eddie Lang, 18th birthday.
December 11: Mamie Smith's recording of "Crazy Blues" (OKeh) on the music charts for 11 weeks, reaches number 3. (27)
1921
Eddie Lang plays violin and banjo with Charlie Kerr's Orchestra @ Al White Dance Hall, 10th & Market St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (3)
Eddie Lang meets Kathleen (Kitty) Magdalena Rasch (who is touring with the 1920-1921 road company of the Ziegfeld Follies), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (34)
May-September: Eddie Lang with Bert Estlow, Atlantic City, New Jersey. (35)
October 25: Eddie Lang, 19th birthday.
1922
March 17: W.I.P., Philadelphia's first commercial radio station goes on the air. (71)
May-September: Eddie Lang in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
ca. July: Nick Lucas records two guitar solos; “Pickin’ The Guitar” and “Teasin’ The Guitar (Perfect), NYC. (72)
October 25: Eddie Lang, 20th birthday.
Over 500 licensed radio stations broadcasting nationwide.
1923
Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co, Ltd. introduces the L-5 archtop guitar. (83)
ca. January: Eddie Lang plays banjo & violin with Charlie Kerr's Orchestra @ Café L'Aiglon, Fifteenth and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (3), with radio broadcasts over W.I.P. Tuesday and Saturday evenings. (50)
Eddie Lang, first performance photo; Charlie Kerr and his Leighlon Orchestra. (5)
March 8: Eddie Lang, first recording session; Charlie Kerr's Orchestra (Edison), NYC.
April 3: Eddie Lang recording session with Charlie Kerr's Orchestra (Edison), NYC.
April 6: King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band (includes Louis Armstrong) make first recordings (Gennett), Richmond, Indiana. (65)
April 24: Frank Trumbauer meets Bix Beiderbecke, Coliseum Ballroom, Davenport, Iowa. (63)
April 26: Eddie Lang recording session with Charlie Kerr's Orchestra (Edison), NYC.
May-September: Eddie Lang in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
June 27: Eddie Lang recording session with Charlie Kerr's Orchestra (Edison), NYC.
June 9: Bessie Smith's recording of "Down Hearted Blues" on the music charts for 12 weeks, number one for 4 weeks. (27)
July 4: Carmela Tamburro Massaro – Mother, dies (age 56), 738 St. Albans Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (57)
October 25: Eddie Lang, 21st birthday.
October 25: Eddie Lang recording session with Charlie Kerr's Orchestra (Edison), NYC.
ca. late 1923: Eddie Lang joins Vic D'Ippolito's Band @ Danceland (Philadelphia?). (3)
ca. late 1923: Columbia Phonograph Company goes into receivership.
The Charleston is the biggest dance craze of the decade.
1924
Bing Crosby joins Musicaladers as drummer and singer, Spokane, Washington. (33)
January 1-14: Eddie Lang joins Scranton Sirens (plays banjo, guitar, violin) @ Beaux Arts Cafe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (3) (31)
ca. January 15 - ca. April 20: Eddie Lang on tour of one-nighters and club dates with Scranton Sirens. (3)
February 12: George Gershwin with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, premiere "Rhapsody in Blue" at Carnegie Hall, NYC.
February 24: Wolverine Orchestra (with Bix Beiderbecke) makes its first records for Gennett at Richmond, Indiana. (13)
ca. March: Joe Venuti joins the Jean Goldkette Orchestra, Detroit, Michigan. (3)
March 24: Joe Venuti records first jazz violin solo, Jean Goldkette Orchestra; “It's The Blues (No. 14 Blues)” (Victor), Detroit, Michigan.
March 24: Frank Trumbauer records with Mound City Blue Blowers, Chicago, Illinois. (11)
June 1-September 1: Mound City Blue Blowers (trio) perform with Ray Miller Orchestra (with Frank Trumbauer), Cliff Edwards @ Cafe Beaux Arts, St. James Place and Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ. (11)
June 14-August: Eddie Lang with Scranton Sirens @ Follies Bergere, New York Avenue at Boardwalk, Atlantic City, New Jersey. (6)
August: Eddie Lang joins Mound City Blue Blowers (plays guitar) @ Cafe Beaux Arts, St. James Place and Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ. (3) (31)
August-December: Eddie Lang on tour of vaudeville and nightclub appearances with Mound City Blue Blowers in New York City and New Jersey. (7)
September 12: Wolverines (with Bix Beiderbecke) open at Cinderella Ballroom, NYC. (13)
October 10: Bix Beiderbecke leaves the Wolverine Orchestra. (13)
October 15: Bix Beiderbecke joins Jean Goldkette Orchestra, Detroit, Michigan. (13)
October 25: Eddie Lang, 22nd birthday.
December 8: Bix Beiderbecke leaves Jean Goldkette Orchestra. (13)
December 10: Eddie Lang recording session with Mound City Blue Blowers, NYC, plays first recorded jazz guitar solo (also first published composition); “Deep Second Street Blues” (Brunswick).
December 31: Eddie Lang with Vic D’Ippolito and George Raft at the Stanley Theatre, Philadelphia. (77)
1925
Popularity of radio soars: 1,000 radio stations across America.
The condenser microphone replaces the acoustic horn and the Columbia Company becomes the first to issue electrically recorded discs. (33)
January: Eddie Lang recording sessions with Irving Kaufman (Vocalion), Mound City Blue Blowers (Brunswick), NYC.
January-March: Eddie Lang vaudeville and nightclub appearances with Mound City Blue Blowers in New York City and New Jersey. (3) (7)
January 23-24: Eddie Lang , first freelance recording session; Irving Kaufman, NYC.
February: Eddie Lang recording sessions with Mound City Blue Blowers (Brunswick), NYC.
February 25: Columbia Phonograph Company makes first recordings with the new electric recording process licensed from Western Electric.
February 26: Victor Talking Machine Company makes first commercial electrical recording, Camden, New Jersey. (70)
March: Eddie Lang recording sessions with Mound City Blue Blowers (Brunswick), NYC.
March: Eddie Lang appears in ad with the Mound City Blue Blowers for The Vega Co. (60)
April-June: Eddie Lang on tour of England with Mound City Blue Blowers (includes radio broadcast and recording for Brunswick). (31) (32) (36) Eddie’s older brother Tom (Alexander) accompanies the band to England, then travels on his own to Monteroduni, Italy, returning to America with two of their nieces: Veronica and Angelina Scioli.
June-September: Eddie Lang in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Eddie Lang has father quit his job, buys a house (1629 S. 15th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) with his brother Tom who takes care of their father while Eddie tours. Veronica and Angelina Scioli live with the Massaro family. (34)
ca. September: Joe Venuti leaves Jean Goldkette Orchestra in Detroit, Michigan and returns to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
September: Eddie Lang recording sessions with Mound City Blue Blowers (Brunswick), NYC.
September-October: Joe Venuti joins the Roger Wolfe Kahn Orchestra @ Hotel Biltmore, NYC. (3)
September 8-May 3 (1926): Frank Trumbauer (with Bix Beiderbecke) at Arcadia Ballroom, St. Louis, Missouri. (11)
October: Eddie Lang recording sessions with Mound City Blue Blowers (Brunswick), Norman Clark (Vocalion), Charlie Kerr (Gennett), Ross Gorman (first Columbia session), NYC.
October 25: Eddie Lang, 23rd birthday.
October 29: Eddie Lang recording session in NYC with Ross Gorman includes “I'm Sitting On Top Of The World” (Columbia), the earliest known dance band recording to feature a solo guitar.
ca. November: Eddie Lang plays banjo, guitar, violin with Charlie Kerr's Orchestra @ Bouche's Bal Masque, Claridge Hotel, NYC. (8)
November: Eddie Lang recording sessions with Peggy English (Vocalion), Norman Clark (Vocalion), Ross Gorman (Columbia), NYC.
November 4: Lonnie Johnson records first session under his own name; “Mr. Johnson’s Blues” & “Falling Rain Blues” (OKeh), St. Louis, Missouri.
November 12: Louis Armstrong (Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five) makes first recordings under his own name (OKeh), Chicago, Illinois. (64)
December: Eddie Lang recording sessions with Bailey's Lucky Seven (Gennett), Charlie Kerr (Gennett), Norman Clark (Vocalion), NYC.
SOURCES
1. Birth Certificate, City Of Philadelphia, Department Of Records, City Archives, 176861 2. Birth Certificate, City Of Philadelphia, Department Of Records, Vital Records, 59506 3. Stringing The Blues, Columbia Records, 1962 4. Eddie Lang: Stringin' The Blues, by Adriano Mazzoletti, Pantheon Editore, Rome, Italy (1997) 5. Indiana Moon, sheet music, 1923 photo 6. Atlantic City Daily Press, June 14, 1924 7. "As I Knew Eddie Lang" by Jack Bland , Jazz Record (1946) 8. Orchestra World, Nov, 1925 9. Billboard Jan 9, 1926 10. Orchestra World Feb 1926 11. TRAM: The Frank Trumbauer Story, Philip R. Evans & Larry F. Kiner, with William Trumbauer, Studies in Jazz, No. 18, Institute Of Jazz Studies, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey and Scarecrow Press, Inc. (1994) 12. Orchestra World, Nov 1926 13. Bix, Man & Legend, Richard M. Sudhalter & Philip R. Evans, with William Dean-Myatt, Arlington House (1974) 14. "Segovia's American Debut" New York Times, Jan 9, 1928 by Olin Downes 15. Musical Forum, New York Times Jan 23, 1928 16. “Packed Theatre Hears Segovia" New York Times, Jan 30 1928 17. "Guitarist Gives a Work of Variations With Glittering Effects" New York Times, Feb 5. 1928 18. "Segovia Plays to Crowded House" New York Times, Feb 16 1928 19. Internet Broadway Database, http://www.ibdb.com 20. Los Angeles Times, September 30, 1930 21. Bing Crosby - A Diary Of A Lifetime, by Malcolm Macfarlane, Scarecrow Press, December 2001 macwilmslo@aol.com 22. Bing Crosby - The Radio Directories compiled by Lionel Pairpoint (2000), and bingmagazine. http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk 23. Gene Inge, Los Angeles Evening Herald, 1st October, 1931 24. Variety, November 19, 1932 25. Tuneful Topics by Ruby Vallee, December, 1932, Radio Digest , Volume XXIX, No. 5. 26. Bunny Berigan: Elusive Legend of Jazz by Robert Dupuis (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1993) 27. Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954, Record Research, 1986 28. Bullfrog Moan/Melody Man copyright application, Library Of Congress 29. Death certificate, March 26, 1933 30. Red Hot Jazz – Sizzling! Roasting! Scorching! By Russ Shor, VJM 31. "Hello-Rhythm Fiends!" by Eddie Lang, RHYTHM (UK), September, 1932 32. Recordings made by the Mound City Blue Blowers while in England have also been noted by Harry Francis, and record collector Nat Kinnear. These recordings have yet to be uncovered. (mp, 2010) 33. Bing Crosby – A Diary Of A Lifetime, by Malcolm Macfarlane, Scarecrow Press, December 2001. AS 21 34. Still A Ziegfeld Girl, Memoirs Of A Showgirl, An Autobiography by Kitty Good. Registered: 136497, Writers Guild of America, unpublished. 35: Venuti Part of ‘Golden Era’ of Jazz, Downbeat, December 1, 1950 36. As I Was Playing …, Harry Francis, Crescendo, November, 1972 37. Eddie Lang’s Gibson L-5, Robb Lawrence, Guitar Player, August 1983 38. unknown Philadelphia newspaper, April 6, 1938 39. Local 802, April, 1926 40. The Orchestra World, May 1926, p.14 41. Vitaphone Corporation consent form, February 14, 1927; Vitaphone Project 42. The Orchestra World, November 1926, p.11 43. Discrepancy with this date as a result of Eddie Lang’s name being recorded in Frank Trumbauer’s diary for October 20, 1927. I suggest the following: Lang was scheduled for the session, cancelled at the last minute, replaced by Dick McDonough (tenor guitar), and Trumbauer failed to delete Lang’s name for his diary. (mp, 2010) 44. The Orchestra World, October 1927, p.12 45. St. Paul’s Catholic Church, 1900-1903 Baptismal Records book 46. Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers, Newark, New Jersey 47. The Phonograph & Talking Machine Weekly, June 1927 48. Scrantonian, Scranton, PA, Daily News, October 2, 1927 49. A 1928 Melody Maker special supplement on the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. I suggest the following: The editors of the English music paper Melody Maker mistakenly included Lang amongst the Whiteman orchestra personnel (with a photo and brief bio) based upon several 1927 Whiteman recordings that prominently feature guitar; I’m Coming Virginia & Side By Side. The guitar player on these sides is the little known Gilbert Torres. (mp, 2010) 50. The Metronome, June 1923; Conn musical instruments ad 51. Bozzies.com 52. The Metronome, June 1928 53. Tommy Dorsey: Livin’ In A Great Big Way by Peter J. Levinson, Da Capo Press (2005) 54. Time Life Records: Giants Of Jazz "The Guitarists" (1980) 55. Mr. Johnson’s Blues: Lonnie Johnson, by James Sallis; The Guitar Players (1982; rev. ed. 1994) 56. King Oliver by Laurie Wright; Storyville Publications (1987) 57. Saint Mary Magdalen de Pazzi Church death records (St. Paul Parish) 58. Descendants of Antonio Massaro, researched by Pat DeFrancesco (May 5, 2010) 59. St. Blasius Church records, Monteroduni, Italy. 60. Metronome: March 15, 1925. 61. The Record Of A Legend, Benny Goodman by D. Russell Connor (1984). 62. rednichols.com 63. Bix; The Definitive Biography of a Jazz Legend by Jean Pierre Lion, Continuum (2005) 64. Jazz Records 1897-1942, Volume 1, Brian Rust, Arlington House (1978) 65. Jazz Records 1897-1942, Volume 2, Brian Rust, Arlington House (1978) 66. hoagy.com 67. Pops: Paul Whiteman, King Of Jazz by Thomas A DeLong, New Century Publishers (1983) 68. Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life by Laurence Bergreen, Broadway Books (1997) 69. Voices Of The Jazz Age by Chip Deffaa, University Of Illinois Press (1990) 70. ? 71. phillyradioarchives.com 72. The Complete Entertainment Discography by Brian Rust with Allen G. Debus, Arlington House (1973) 73. Correspondence with Kathleen Elizabeth Kinsey Hansell (daughter of Angelina Scioli), 2010 74. Tony Mottola - Obituary; The Independent, UK, August 17, 2004 75. Billiards: The Official Rules & Records Book, edited by the Billiard Congress of America, Lyons Press (2005) 76. Time Magazine 77. Variety; January 7, 1925 & January 28, 1925 78. The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926, a world's fair hosted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversary of the 1876 Centennial Exposition. Ran through November on grounds bounded by 10th Street, Packer Avenue, 23rd Street, and the U.S. Navy Yard (Terminal Avenue) in South Philadelphia. 79. The first bridge (later renamed Benjamin Franklin Bridge) spanning the Delaware River between center city Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey was built in anticipation of the attending crowds of The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926. At the time of its completion it was the world's longest suspension bridge span. 80. classicjazzguitar.com 81. Ruth Etting: America’s Forgotten Sweetheart by Kenneth Irwin & Charles O. Lloyd, The Scarecrow Press (2010) 82. The Newsletter of the William Ransom Hogan Jazz Archive, Vol. VII, 1-2, December 1992 83. Gibson's L-5: A Milestone, George Gruhn "Rare Bird", Guitar Player Magazine, September 1984