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of the kitchen. By then the interest in electronics had taken hold. Also the same year he was given an accordion by his father and started taking lessons. At some stage he grew tired of the lessons and the routine and wanted to quit, however his father wouldn't let him. He also played clarinet at the
Pattengill junior and Eastern high school bands.
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By the time he was in his early twenties, he had opened the
Bloomquist Music Studios which was based in Lansing, Michigan. He started his career as a music teacher and was also recording music professionally. By the time he was in his late twenties, he would have success with a hit making single. The
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Lee had an interest in electronics and how things worked which was sparked off from when he was eight years old. He was given a train set and would run it throughout his house as well as taking it apart to see how it worked. He also was experimenting with things and was told by his mother to keep out
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the single was said to be climbing steadily, heading for the charts. On June 29 it was at #2 on the WAAF 950 AM chart. By
September 9, it was already being recognized as a hit. It became a hit for him in the Summer of that year. In the Chicago charts it had a run for ten weeks peaking at #18.
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Following the success of his single, he toured the country and then came back to
Michigan and opened up The Don Lee Studios which was a chain of teaching and recording studios. He toured again in the mid 1960s and spent two seasons performing in the half time breaks for the
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In his last years, around 2011, he was a resident at
Pennington Place Senior Living in Hendersonville, TN.. He gave weekly shows there and soon became a favorite. The following year in 2012, he became a finalist in Nashville's senior talent competition, Silver Stars.
122:(December 11, 1930 – July 21, 2015) was an American accordionist, multi-instrumentalist, music teacher, music publisher, record label owner, studio owner and electronics enthusiast who is most remembered for his
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with Peg Leg Bates and Homer "Lee" Talboys. In the late 1960s, he worked in the computer industry and still managed to play on weekends and night engagements.
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with Lee's reasoning that what Paul could do with the guitar, he could do with the accordion.
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Lee died on July 21, 2015, at the age of 84. He was survived by his wife and four children.
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This article is about the accordionist. For the country guitarist and singer, see
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WAAF / 950 AM / CHICAGO, ILLINOIS D-J ROUNDUP OF TOP TUNES (June 29, 1957)
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American multi-instrumentalist, music teacher and music publisher
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YouTube – crazy rhythm (1958) don lee accordion space age pop
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City Pulse: A look back: When Peg Leg Bates came to
Lansing
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was released on
Jubilee JLP 1067. The tracks included "
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MagicValley.com: Obituary: Donald "Don" Lee
Bloomquist
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The Don Lee
Orchestra, Discography, Singles & EPs
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crazy rhythm (1958) don lee accordion space age pop
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crazy rhythm (1958) don lee accordion space age pop
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612:Don Lee (3), Discography, Singles & EPs
401:Don Lee's Accordion Career Echoes Back to 8
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325:"Evening Song" / "Mackinac Waltz"
130:" in 1957. He also has a place in
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429:Discography for Blue Chip Records
146:An early inspiration for him was
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492:Evansville Courier & Press
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537:Page 45 Album Reviews
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667:Discogs: Don Lee (3)
497:MR. MUSIC for Nov. 6
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70:(2015-07-21)
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697:2015 deaths
692:1930 births
289:Lee Talboys
219:Discography
60:Lansing, MI
686:Categories
622:Discogs –
610:Discogs –
574:Youtube –
382:References
351:Catalogue
235:Catalogue
138:Background
87:Occupation
54:1930-12-11
39:Birth name
560:Pinterest
134:history.
82:Pop music
512:Page 86
362:Don Lee
357:Notes #
348:Release
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246:Don Lee
241:Notes #
232:Release
224:Singles
159:single "
148:Les Paul
90:Musician
549:Caravan
518:POPULAR
340:Albums
277:Jubilee
179:Caravan
120:Don Lee
108:Jubilee
32:Don Lee
154:Career
124:reverb
103:Labels
79:Genres
373:1968
354:Year
331:1968
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282:1957
259:1957
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211:Death
451:Hits
345:Act
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65:Died
48:Born
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