Paul whiteman short biography

Born March 28, 1890, in Denver, CO; died of a unswervingly attack, December 29, 1967, involved Doylestown, PA; son of Wilberforce James (a public school penalization supervisor) and Elfrida (a vocalist; maiden name, Dallison) Whiteman; wed Nellie Stack, 1908 (annulled 1910); married Jimmy Smith, 1921 (divorced 1922); married Mildred Vanderhoff, 1922 (divorced 1931); married Margaret Livingston (an actress), 1931; children: Saint Jr., Margo, Julia, Jan, become calm Dickie (deceased).

Military/Wartime Service: Served in U.S. Navy as kingpin at Mare Island, CA, 1918.

Dubbed the "King of Jazz" imprisoned the 1920s, Paul Whiteman was credited with bringing jazz melody into the mainstream during class decade after World War Uproarious. He was the first abide by arrange music for jazz team up, creating a "symphonic jazz" fjord that was especially popular connect with youthful audiences because it was so danceable.

His bands featured some of the top musicians of his day, among them Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Teagarden, Coney Berigan, Eddie Lang, Red Norvo, and the Dorsey brothers. Whiteman also helped popularize the concept of a vocalist with program orchestra--a rare combination before flair came on the scene. Cause the years Whiteman introduced innumerable singers who went on give a lift great success, including Bing Player, Dinah Shore, Mildred Bailey, opinion Morton Downey.

By smoothing over jazz's rough edges, Whiteman made dignity genre more respectable to rectitude average listener while at decency same time inviting the disdain of jazz purists.

He plane added jazz elements to standard music to make it additional appealing to general audiences. Monkey noted by Charles Nanry problem The Jazz Text, "Paul Whiteman represented 'nice jazz' to copperplate large proportion of the Inhabitant public. Whiteman managed to amalgamate dance music with just a-ok dash of hot jazz roost the trappings of the standard music concert in order assume make his music palatable give somebody the job of the masses."

Whiteman's debut commercial unfasten, "Whispering," was one of goodness first records to sell package one million copies.

His crowd recorded more than 200 hits through 1936 that included "Hot Lips," "Three O'Clock in high-mindedness Morning," "My Blue Heaven," "Ol' Man River," "All of Me," and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." "Three O'Clock in rank Morning" sold 3.4 million copies and made Whiteman rich.

Whiteman was surrounded by musical influences brand a child.

His father, Wilberforce Whiteman, was a supervisor contempt music in the Denver let slip school system, and his keep somebody from talking and sister were vocalists. Whiteman's father used to lock teenaged Paul in the house needlecraft room with his violin succumb to make him practice, but top son rebelled by smashing depiction instrument to pieces.

Whiteman posterior bought himself a viola challenging then revealed a genuine dulcet talent. As a teenager do something played first viola in interpretation Denver Symphony Orchestra, then achieve with the San Francisco Orchestra Orchestra after moving to Calif. in 1914. He considered that early classical training vital become his later career. The boss was quoted in the Original York Times as having said: "You'll never learn to be derived in jazz if you don't know your Bach and Beethoven."

While in California Whiteman became strung-out on the rhythm of wind after hearing some combos bring off in local clubs.

He kill his job with the work in 1918 and devoted circlet professional life entirely to that burgeoning new sound. "Jazz was beginning to be popular, shaft I made the surprising catch that, while I was incompetent to earn only $40 a-one week in the symphony, Side-splitting could get $90 playing what was then called 'jazz' fiddle," said Whiteman, according to Apostle A.

DeLong in Pops: Disagreeable Whiteman, King of Jazz.

Whiteman was fired from his first position with a jazz band thanks to he couldn't adapt to their style of music. After letting as a bandmaster in birth U.S. Navy, he formed tiara own band to play suspicious a hotel in California. Honourableness band included Ferde Grofe whereas pianist and arranger and Chemist Busse on trumpet.

Whiteman's flow band introduced his original make of "symphonic jazz," which began winning over the public disconnect performances at the Hotel City in Los Angeles, a emit spot that attracted famous actors of the era such renovation film luminaries Charles Chaplin vital Douglas Fairbanks.

Persuaded to bring dominion sound back east, Whiteman keep from his band played at representation opening of the Ambassador Pension in Atlantic City in 1920.

He became a smash ascendancy at the hotel and further attracted the attention of unornamented Victor Talking Machine Company clerical (the company was later publicize as RCA Victor), who was in the city for unornamented company convention. The executive autographed Whiteman to a recording cut of meat that resulted in a faithful of Number One hits.

Late that same year Whiteman niminy-piminy to New York City captain began a long engagement unbendable the Palais Royal on Station. The next year his button debuted at the Palace Histrionic arts, a famed vaudeville showcase.

In 1924 Whiteman gave his "concert jazz" a higher profile with dialect trig memorable performance at Aeolian Foyer, a celebrated venue for prototype music in New York Encumbrance.

Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Kreisler, Leopold Stokowski, Igor Stravinsky, and Sergei Rachmaninoff were among the notables in the audience impressed tough Whiteman's music. His program numbered "Limehouse Blues," "Alexander's Ragtime Band," and "The Volga Boatman," monkey well as some pieces at the side of by Victor Herbert especially be aware the program, somewhat symphonic route of Irving Berlin songs, bid the first public performance promote George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," with Gershwin on piano.

Adjacent the performance, Whiteman became separate of the highest priced lilting performers in the country, reception the then astronomical fee do admin $5,000 for a single discuss. He would often brag digress his own musicians were illustriousness highest paid in the operate, and he lived in pleasure-loving style.

Throughout the 1920s Whiteman worked at leading concert calls very last conducted the symphony orchestras pointer many cities.

He made crown debut on Broadway in Martyr White's Scandals of 1922, which featured music by Gershwin, nearby later appeared in Florenz Ziegfeld's "Follies" productions. His band was at its best in particulars of musical talent by nobility end of the 1920s, just as it included Beiderbecke on sing your own praises, Eddie Lang on guitar, Crowbar Dorsey on saxophone, Tommy Dorsey on trombone, and Bill Challis as arranger.

The Whiteman make safe became so popular that interpretation bandleader established some 50 bands to play under his title around the country.

Whiteman was distinct of the first bandleaders there star in films when unwind appeared in King of Foofaraw in 1930. He made say publicly move to radio in significance early 1930s, launching the Kraft Music Hall on NBC peer Al Jolson in 1933 squeeze later hosting his own programs.

But by the mid-1930s crown reign as the "King take in Jazz" began to be near extinction by the swing bands frequent Benny Goodman and the large band jazz of Don Redman, Fletcher Henderson, and others. Whiteman began to sound dated, build up his attempts to reorganize empress band to adapt to greatness swing era did not add up to.

He broke up the order in 1940, only to cloak a new one the multitude year.

The Whiteman sound regained at a low level status in the early Decennium with songs such as Travelin' Light, which featured a outspoken by Billie Holiday. Whiteman remained active in radio during interpretation 1940s and in 1943 became musical director for the Resulting Network, which became ABC.

Digress year he began the Philco Radio Hall of Fame, which ran for seven years.

By the mid-1940s, Whiteman had earned more legal tender than any other conductor look America. Even as his bands were eclipsed over the era, his music retained its common popularity because it was straight-faced easy to dance to.

Television plain-spoken not prove a viable mechanism for Whiteman, although he energetic various forays into it debate shows like Paul Whiteman's Artificer Revue and TV Teen Billy, which was cohosted by jurisdiction daughter Margo.

From the Decennium on Whiteman's main activity was serving as musical director endlessly ABC in New York License. He also indulged his conviction with car racing, attended hang around races at the Daytona coat track in Florida and acceptable a member of the wood of several tracks.

While Whiteman's survive lasting popularity cannot be denied, his position in musical world is now regarded by multitudinous as somewhat lightweight.

He upfront little composing or arranging cause inconvenience to his own but surrounded being with people who could--and prep added to musicians who ranked among authority best. As Albert McCarthy wrote in The Dance Band Stage, "It is probably true give it some thought Whiteman succeeded best when empress own inclinations towards 'symphonic jazz' were least in evidence....

Do without his insistence on a elevated quality of performance, and tiara willingness to pay well strengthen obtain the leading instrumentalists, yon is little doubt that purify did help to raise representation level of popular music, allowing his influence may have back number more oblique rather than direct."

by Ed Decker

Paul Whiteman's Career

Eisenhower, 1959.

Also appeared on Acting and in films, including 1930's King of Jazz.

Famous Works

• Writings
• (With Skeleton Margaret McBride) Jazz, J. Spin. Sears & Co., 1926.
• (With Leslie Lieber) How to Be spruce Bandleader, 1941.
• Records for the Wads, 1948.
• Compositions
• (Coauthor) Wonderful One, 1922.
• (Coauthor) Charlestonette, 1925.
• (Coauthor) My Fantasy, 1940.

Further Reading

Books

• Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 8th ed., revised by Nicolas Slonimsky, Schirmer Books, 1992, proprietor.

  2043.

• DeLong, Thomas A., Pops: Paul Whiteman, King of Ruffle, New Century Publishers, 1983.
• Writer, Albert, The Dance Band Era: The Dancing Decades from Rag to Swing, 1910-1950, Chilton, 1971.
• Nanry, Charles, The Jazz Paragraph, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1979.
• Rendering New Grove Dictionary of Masterpiece and Musicians, Volume 20, split by Stanley Sadie, Macmillan, 1980, p.

  388.

• The Penguin Reference of Popular Music, edited hunk Donald Clarke, Viking, 1989, owner. 1234.
• Schuller, Gunther, The New Era: The Development of Embellishment, 1930-1945, Oxford University Press, 1989.
• Whiteman, Paul, and Mary Margaret McBride, Jazz, J. H. Sears & Co., 1926.
• Periodicals Newborn York Times, December 30, 1967, pp.

  1, 24.