Local musician Bobby Lanz dies at 57
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- Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 22:07:20 -0400
Elizabethtown News Enterprise, KY, USA
Monday, September 24, 2007
Local musician Bobby Lanz dies at 57
By JOHN FRIEDLEIN
Monday, September 24, 2007 8:55 PM CDT
Bobby Lanz lived in a musical world.
Blind since birth, the Elizabethtown native could name the notes of a birdsong.
A car horn blared? B-flat.
Lanz, who died in his sleep Saturday after a battle with throat cancer, was one
of the most prominent Louisville musicians of the past few decades, performing
with a variety of notables from Alice Cooper to Air Supply. He was 57.
Lanz's interest in music took root at an early age, with piano lessons, singing
on a local radio station and hanging out at a record store next to the State
Theater in Elizabethtown. It was at this shop where he met Fort Knox soldiers
who later performed with Lanz at local venues, such as the American Legion,
said his mother, Marjorie Osborne.
"All these young soldiers would make young Bobby the leader of their group."
She and Lanz's younger brother, Frank, sat in Frank's kitchen Monday afternoon
listening to WHAS radio. Bobby Lanz's friend Terry Meiners was expected to
mention the late musician on his show.
The two relatives described Lanz as a talented singer and keyboard player whose
blindness was no roadblock.
"He was always very independent," his mom said.
In fact, as a young boy, he'd tool his tricycle around his neighborhood,
feeling his way by sticking out his foot.
After graduating from Elizabethtown Catholic High School, he moved to
Louisville, where musical opportunities were more plentiful.
The Bobby Lanz Band, or a variation of it, lasted from about 1964 to at least
'90. Lanz was most popular in the '80s, playing mostly top-40 music. One song,
"Fort Lauderdale," made a Billboard chart and was popular in Florida.
Fans would drive up from Elizabethtown to see him play his B3 Hammond organ.
Lanz also recorded commercials for Louisville radio stations. One, ironically,
was for eyeglasses.
His brother said he had a sense of humor.
"You'd better have one to survive in our family," Frank said.
Lanz's relatives also remember how he looked out for others and his dogs. He
even threw big birthday bashes for his dogs. His Seeing Eye dog, Beau, is with
a friend and might go back into service.
Florida connection. After Lanz moved to Destin, Fla., in 1999, a young
saxophone player from Elizabethtown, Michael J. Thomas, moved there too. They
made an album and played live together.
For Thomas, Lanz was both a mentor and the best musician who has performed with
him. Lanz skillfully put cords together and he was original, Thomas said.
"He never played anything the same way twice."
Thomas will play at the funeral Mass, which starts at 1 p.m. Wednesday at St.
James Catholic Church in Elizabethtown.
Thomas' church in Destin performed a musical tribute to Lanz - who moved back
to Louisville about a year ago - during Sunday's service.
"It was a huge loss," he said of Lanz's death.
John Friedlein can be reached at 769-1200, Ext. 237, or at
jfriedlein@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.newsenterpriseonline.com/articles/2007/09/25/news/news04.txt
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