A gifted accordion player, Art Van Damme enjoyed a lengthy career and was particularly popular with the nostalgia audience in Europe. However his choice of instrument tended to edge him out of favor with jazz fans of the swing era. After touring with Ben Bernie’s band, Van Damme returned to Chicago where he played clubs and joined NBC radio in 1944. For the next 15 years Van Damme was a studio musician, recording for Music Craft, Columbia, and Capitol Records. In the mid-'60s he signed with MPS Records, and over the subsequent decades he toured every corner of America. He also worked with many artists, including Buddy De Franco, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Harry James, Peggy Lee, Joe Pass, and Jo Stafford.