Mercer Lee - Band Leader, Keyboardist
Mercer Wellington Lee was born in Washington, D.C.,
and raised around the world as a military brat. He began
playing music as a young child in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
His father bought him a tenor saxophone and Mangus
organ at the tender age of twelve and the rest, as they
say, is history.
Mercer played in an Oklahoma elementary school band,
but that wasn't enough. In his teens, Mercer formed a
band, Lunar Funk, who performed regularly at the local
recreation centers. Due to a mispronunciation of the
name, it became La Funk, and stayed that way. The
band soon became popular at teen dances, performing
the top songs of the time.
After high school, Mercer recruited female and male
vocalists, a horn section (by now, Mercer played
keyboards full-time) and dancers to complete his
group. Mercer met keyboardist Edward Putman of
Putman and the Merrimacs. Ed Putman was a protégé
of Errol Garner (internationally known for his song
“Misty”). Mercer became a protégé of Ed Putman.
Taking the knowledge Ed Putman gave him, Mercer put
together the group known as Wellington and Company.
Wellington & Company was a group of up to fifteen
musicians, dancers, and entertainers under Mercer's
direction which span a period of over fifteen years.
Mercer has written many scores for plays written and
directed by Bernadine Francis Lee-Dickerson, such as
Gran’ Ma, Wake Me When The Rooster Crow, and
When Caterpillars Fly. Wellington & Company
performed background music for poetry readings from
inspirational books written by Helen Francis Lee,
Looking Toward Sky, and Get Outta The Rut.
Mercer is currently working with fellow musicians and
vocalists Theresa Havard, Maretta Brooks, and David
Marq. He is also working with two outstanding
producers, Gary Strausbaugh in Phoenix, AZ and Ray
Disney of Sonority Records in Millville, DE.