Don Lee (accordionist)

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 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.

An early inspiration for him was Les Paul with Lee's reasoning that what Paul could do with the guitar, he could do with the accordion.[1]

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.[2] The single "ECHO, Echo echo" bw "Charmaine" was released on Blue Chip Records, cat# 0013 in May 1957.[3] On page 34 of the August 19 edition of The Billboard the single was said to be climbing steadily, heading for the charts.[4] On June 29 it was at #2 on the WAAF 950 AM chart.[5] By September 9, it was already being recognized as a hit.[6] 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.[7]

By May 1958, his album Crazy Rhythm was released on Jubilee JLP 1067. The tracks included "Caravan", "Lady Be Good" and some compositions by Lee himself. With the aid of overdubbing Lee played all of the backing instruments.[8] The album had a Jazz edge to it and also got a positive review from The Cash Box.[9] Some of the material on the album is regarded by some as Space Age Pop.[10][11][12]

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 playing in the half time breaks for the Harlem Globetrotters. In the late 1960s, he worked in the computer industry and still managed to play on weekends and night engagements.

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.[13]

Lee died on July 21, 2015 at the age of 84. He was survived by his wife and four children.[14]

• Lansing State Journal, Feb 9th, 1958 Article: "Don Lee's Accordion Career Echoes Back to 8" by Ethelyn Sexton
• YouTube – crazy rhythm (1958) don lee accordion space age pop
• Discogs: Don Lee (3)
• MagicValley.com: Obituary: Donald "Don" Lee Bloomquist