Peter van Steeden

Who was Peter van Steeden?

Peter van Steeden was a composer. His best-known composition, "Home", has been performed by many musicians, including Louis Armstrong, Paul McCartney and Sam Cooke. Starting on April 17, 1935, van Steeden replaced Lennie Hayton as the orchestra leader for Fred Allen's radio show Town Hall Tonight. He was often given comedy lines by Allen, and the April 17, 1940 show featured a comedy skit called "From Nipper to Nobody", all about Van Steeden. In 1937, Joseph Henabery directed a 10 minutes documentary Peter van Steeden and His Orchestra in Special Arrangements.