Trivia

Alto saxophone player and younger brother of Les Elgart,.

He co-wrote the theme music for "American Bandstand" (Barry Manilow wrote the lyrics years later). His biggest hit album came out in 1982, a disco medley of 1940s standards called "Hooked on Swing".

He traveled with bands starting at age 15 to help support his family during the Depression. He played alto sax in orchestras led by Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, and Red Norvo, among others.

His 1959 album, "New Sounds At the Roosevelt," was nominated that year for a Grammy Award.

In 1953, Larry met Charles Albertine and recorded two of his experimental compositions, "Impressions of Outer Space" and "Music for Barefoot Ballerinas". Released on 10" vinyl, these recordings became collectors' items for fans of avant-garde jazz, but they were not commercially successful. Larry and Albertine put together a more traditional ensemble and began recording them using precise microphone placements, producing what came to be known as the "Elgart Sound".

Larry and his brother Les attended Pompton Lakes High School. Both brothers began playing in jazz ensembles in their teens, and while young Larry played with jazz musicians such as Charlie Spivak, Woody Herman, Red Norvo, Freddie Slack and Tommy Dorsey.

While touring in a band with his brother Les in the 1950s, they were approached to write the theme song "Bandstand Boogie" for the Philadelphia television show that would eventually go national as "American Bandstand." This legendary television show was originally hosted by Bob Horn, and two years later, by Dick Clark. In 1956, Clark took the show from its local broadcast in Philadelphia, to ABC-TV for national distribution as "American Bandstand." He remained host for another 32 years. Variations of the original song surfaced as the show's theme in later years.

For decades, Larry Elgart was something of an unstoppable force in dance band and big-band music, bordering on jazz mostly through the appropriation of various swingy instrumentalists to fill section ranks.

His mother was a concert pianist; and his father also played piano, though not professionally.