For more than seven decades Nick Lucas was an entertainer, beginning as a child street musician and becoming one of the most popular singer-guitarists of all time. He was a popular sideman in bands, and his solo career conquered radio, recordings, vaudeville, Broadway, films, night clubs and television. He is credited with being the first musician to replace the banjo with the guitar in big bands and on records, and with initiating the “intimate style” of singing, making him the first crooner. Nick Lucas’ guitar playing contributed significantly to the instrument’s popularity, and he influenced generations of players with his instruction books and by having a line of popular guitar picks bearing his name. He was the first guitarist to have a custom-made model, “The Nick Lucas Special.” This biography comprehensively covers Nick Lucas’ career as he entertained audiences in the United States, England and Australia, becoming a beloved star and influencing popular music to the present day.

Michael R. Pitts has written more than 40 books on motion picture history and entertainment and has also compiled more than three dozen volumes of local history and genealogy. He lives in Chesterfield, Indiana.

Michael R. Pitts

Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 256
Bibliographic Info: 61 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9067-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4851-4
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments viii
Preface 1
Biography 3
Discography 129
Songbooks and Song Folios 191
Songs 199
Sheet Music 201
Filmography 203
Radio 219
Television 229
Stage Shows 231
Bibliography 237
Index 241

• Certificate of Merit, Best Historical Research in Recorded Rock or Popular Music—ARSC

• “I could say that from start to finish this Nick Lucas biography is a page turner. However, I’d rather tell you about how it whisks you through learning about ten year old Dominic playing music in saloons until 4:00 a.m. on a school night, to a teenage Nick Lucas (name change) recording on early cylinders with THE Thomas Edison, to his exciting vaudeville years and beyond. You will get to know Nick through the thoughtful and engaging writing of his personal friend and author, Michael R. Pitts.”—nicklucas.com