Nick Lucas

Known in the "Roaring Twenties" as "the crooning Troubadour", Nick Lucas was one of the early stars of American popular music. He was a well-established, influential singer and guitarist. Nick would become one of the most popular crooners on radio. Nick Lucas was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1897. His birth name was Dominic Nicholas Anthony Lucanese. At an early age, Nick learned to play the guitar, the mandolin, and the banjo. He, along with his brother Frank, would play Italian weddings and Italian christenings. They would play on street corners and in saloons. Nick became a very popular recording artist, renown both for his beautiful, sincere singing and his exceptional guitar playing. His guitar playing was very advance for the age. Nick was among the earliest solo jazz guitar players, and made the first solo jazz guitar record for Pathe in 1922. Nick wrote original compositions for the recording, "Picking the Guitar," and "Teasin' the Frets." These songs would blaze a trail for