Eddie Lang (born Salvatore Massaro; October 25, 1902 – March 26, 1933) was an American musician who is credited as the father of jazz guitar.

[2] He recorded duets with guitarists Lonnie Johnson and Carl Kress and jazz violinist Joe Venuti, and played rhythm guitar in the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and was the favoured accompanist of Bing Crosby.

The son of an Italian-American instrument maker, Lang was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,[3][4] and grew up as friends with violinist Joe Venuti.

In 1920, he dropped the violin for banjo and worked with Charlie Kerr, then Bert Estlow, Vic D'Ippolito, and Billy Lustig's Scranton Siren Orchestra.

[4] Lang and Joe Venuti recorded with Roger Wolfe Kahn and Jean Goldkette and performed with the Adrian Rollini Orchestra.

[4] He also worked with Frankie Trumbauer, Hoagy Carmichael, Annette Hanshaw, Red Nichols, Jack Pettis, Bessie Smith, and Clarence Williams.

Their friendship grew when Crosby joined the Whiteman Orchestra on its trip west to Hollywood to make the movie King of Jazz in which Lang and Venuti appeared.

[4] While most bands of the time had a banjo player, Lang was skilled enough to make his acoustic guitar heard against the other instruments by using heavy gauge strings and a high action.

[12] The mural was championed by area guitarist Richard Barnes, who started "Eddie Lang Day in Philadelphia" in 2010, an annual charity event.