Abe Lyman the Master of Syncopated Symphony is how this extroverted drummer billed himself. He was born Abraham Simon in Chicago in 1897. He recorded prolifically, appeared in films and provided the music for many radio shows and cartoon soundtracks. He was best known nationally for providing music for Your Hit Parade.
At 14, he had learned to play the drums and by 1919 was on the west coast playing with Henry Halstead and Gus Arnheim. His music and first class orchestra made him an attraction with the elite class on the west coast. He opened at the Cocoanut Grove in the Ambassador Hotel in 1922 where he drew a packed crowd of 1500 plus 500 unlucky latecomers who had to listen from outside. He also appeared on radio shows as early as 1922 and made records for Brunswick beginning in 1923. He stayed with Brunswick for 12 years, then signed with Decca from 1935-37 and in '37 jumped to Victor where he recorded prolifically on the Bluebird sub-label until 1942. The band also worked with Warner Brothers and their Vitaphone studios making soundtracks for the Merrie Melody cartoons. The band toured the US in the mid 20s and Europe in 1929. When he was 50, he abruptly left the music industry and with his vocalist, and now wife, Rose Blane, started an insurance agency and restaurant management business in California. He died in Los Angeles in 1957.
Abe Lyman and His Orchestra, Vitaphone 2338, released February 28, 1928. Waters of the Perkiomen composed by F. Henri Klickman. Varsity Drag, music composed by Ray Henderson with lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy de Sylva.
