Dominic Antonio Nicholas Lucanese (August 22, 1897 – July 28, 1982),[1] better known by his stage name Nick Lucas, was an American jazz singer and guitarist.

Lucas was born into an Italian-American family in Newark, New Jersey on August 22, 1897, his parents hailing from Ariano di Puglia, Campania.

His father, Otto, a landscaper and tree surgeon, was illiterate in English, although he was able to speak it; owing to his poor health, the family had relocated to the country—particularly Silver Lake—around 1900.

A year subsequent, he tasked his son, Frank, a renowned accordionist, to teach the young Nick, then known as Dominic, a musical instrument.

[3] By 1905, Dominic had developed a routine comprising both his academics and musical pursuits, the latter used as a means of assisting his family with respect to income.

[3] In 1912, at the age of fifteen, Lucas delivered his inaugural record performance, in particular for Thomas Edison's phonograph company.

In 1929, Lucas co-starred in the Warner Bros. two-color Technicolor musical, Gold Diggers of Broadway, in which he introduced the two hit songs "Painting the Clouds with Sunshine" and "Tiptoe Through the Tulips", which survives in a fully synchronized and preserved Vitaphone disc.

[5] Lucas became friends with Tiny Tim, who considered him an inspiration and who borrowed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as his own theme song.

Lucas sang the song to him when he married Miss Vicki on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on December 17, 1969.

In 1975,[6] Nick Lucas performed a sold-out show at Mayfair Music Hall in Santa Monica, California.