Lola Dee is an American singer and recording artist with Mercury Records and Columbia Records labels in the 1950s and 1960s. At the age of 14, she was heard in an amateur contest and asked to audition for a network teen-aged show called "Junior Junction". At 16 she was signed to a recording contract. She recorded over 40 sides, including the half million best seller "Only You" in 1955. Her popularity as a recording artist gave her the opportunity to tour with such stars as Bob Hope, Johnnie Ray and Jimmy Durante in the late 1950s and 1960s.
Background
Born Lorraine DeAngelis in Chicago, Illinois, Lola Dee grew up in Chicago's west-side communities. Her father was a drummer and she started singing before the age of 2, delighting her family. Her first public engagements were amateur shows starting at age 9 with the support of her mother. At the age of 14, she was heard on an amateur program and was asked to audition for the American Broadcasting Company network teen-aged show called "Junior Junction", a national show based in Chicago, Illinois with Dick York as Master of Ceremonies. Dee appeared on Chicago's WLSBarn Dance and she referred to as "The Little Princess" that appearance lead to three years as staff singer for ABC and during that time she signed to a recording contract with Mercury Records.
Recording career
Lola Dee changed her given name to the performance name Lola Ameche in honor of her mother's maiden name on signing the Wing label contract, then to Lola Dee on the same label. Over time she also worked under contract with Columbia Records as Lola Dee, and recorded over 60 sides in total. Her biggest selling record was "Only You". Her Billboard chart hits include "Pretty Eyed Baby" and "Hittsitty Hottsitty", "Paper Roses" and "Padre". Dee also sung the title song from the movie Fire Down Below and recorded "Dahil Sa Iyo" with the Manila Symphony. During her recording career and after, Dee performed worldwide and became a member of several tours that included such stars as Bob Hope, Johnnie Ray and Jimmy Durante. She toured clubs and theatres in Australia, the Far East, Mexico, the Philippines, the Caribbean, Japan, South America, Cuba, Canada. A two-CD, 58-track compilation of her recordings was released in June, 2015 by Jasmine Records.
Later career
Starting in 1965, Lola Dee performed more intimate venues at nightclubs through the 1980s. She continued to be a featured singer with WGN radio and Television in Chicago. Her national career continued through 1978 and included annual appearances at the Illinois State Fair doing live broadcasts for WGN with Orion Samuelson from 1971 to 1978. Dee appeared as "Klondike Kate" first lady of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and performed on Royal Caribbean International cruise line for three years. Dee limited her travel to care for her mother who developed Alzheimer's disease. Her last two public performances were singing the national anthem on television for the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox in 1978.
Charitable activity
As a regional celebrity, Lola Dee was Honorary Chairwoman of the Illinois chapter of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Foundation in 1978 and 1979, which brought in thousands of dollars for research for "Lou Gehrig’s Disease". Due to her mother's struggle with Alzheimer's disease, she has also worked with fund raising for that cause.
Later life
Lola Dee became an Executive Concierge in 1988 in Oak Brook, Illinois to be near her mother. She was the top vote getter among Hilton Hotels & Resorts Honors-program guests in 2007 nationally for satisfaction. The magazine Concierge Preferred appointed her to the advisory council from 2005 to 2013. She was most recently the Chicago Concierge Hall of Fame-2013 Inductee. She is the mother of one son, Barry, born in 1958
Selected discography
2015 two-CD compilation: Pretty Eyed Baby--The Complete Singles on Jasmine Records Wing Label/Mercury Records
