Biography
Born Roy Landman on 27 March 1914 in Memphis, Tennessee, the future vocalist passed away on 2 July 1990 in Nashville, Tennessee. Throughout the 1950s he served as one of the regular voices on the nationally popular television variety series Your Hit Parade. His professional journey opened in 1934 when he began performing as a vocalist on Nashville’s WSM radio. Subsequent engagements found him fronting the Ray Noble Orchestra, followed by wartime duty in Ted Weems’ big band alongside pianist Owen Bradley, who would later become one of Nashville’s most influential record producers. Each week the syndicated program Your Hit Parade assembled its own roster of singers to deliver fresh interpretations of that week’s twelve highest-ranking songs; Lanson remained a cast member from the show’s 1950 debut through 1957. In 1955 he placed two titles on the national pop charts—“Why Don’t You Write Me” and “It’s Almost Tomorrow.” During summer 1956 he fronted his own fifteen-minute network variety program, and in the following decade he hosted a syndicated showcase devoted to big-band music. Lung cancer claimed his life in 1990.