Jan August

It is well-documented that surf guitarist Dick Dale's career was revitalized by the inclusion of his 1962 recording of "Misirlou" in Quentin Tarantino's blockbuster film Pulp Fiction; what is less known is that the song was originally a major hit for a slender, elegant pianist from New York, who was paid less than $40 for the million copies of his version that made the song a fixture in American pop history. Pianist Jan Augustoff was born on September 24, 1904, the fifth and final child of middle-class immigrants in New York City. His siblings -- three sisters and a brother --...