On April 2, 1951, Erwin Lehn founded the dance orchestra of the South German Radio (SDR) in Stuttgart, which he led until 1992. In a short time it developed from a radio-band to a modern swing big band: Erwin Lehn and his Südfunk Tanzorchester (southern radio dance orchestra). In 1955 Lehn, with Dieter Zimmerle and Wolfram Röhrig, initiated the SDR broadcast Treffpunkt Jazz. There Lehn played with international jazz greats such as Miles Davis and Chet Baker. In addition to Kurt Edelhagen's band at the Southwestern Radio (SWF), the Südfunk dance orchestra became one of the leading swing big bands in the Federal Republic of Germany in the following years. In 1953, Edelhagen discovered Caterina Valente in Baden-Baden as a singer for his big band.
