Paul Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was a popular American orchestral leader. He was born in Denver, Colorado. After a start as a classical violinist and violist, Whiteman then led a jazz-influenced dance band, which became locally popular in San Francisco, California in 1918. In 1920 he moved his band to New York City where they started making recordings for Victor Records which propelled Whiteman and his band to national prominence. Whiteman became the most popular band leader of the decade. In the May of 1928, he signed with Columbia Records, only to return to Victor September, 1931, where he stayed until March, 1937.

In the 1920s and early 1930s Whiteman became widely known as The King of Jazz (see: Jazz royalty). He recorded Hoagy Carmichael singing and playing Washboard Blues to the accompaniment of his orchestra in 1927.^[1]

While today most fans of jazz consider improvisation to be essential to the musical style, Whiteman thought the music could be improved by scoring the best of it. At the time he was popular, his recordings were critically popular and commercially successful at the time. Whiteman's music was often the first jazz of any form that some people heard.

Duke Ellington wrote in his autobiography: "Paul Whiteman was known as the King of Jazz, and no one as yet has come near carrying that title with more certainty and dignity."

Whiteman commissioned George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, which was premiered by Whiteman's Orchestra with Gershwin at the piano in 1924. Another familiar piece in Whiteman's repertoire: Grand Canyon Suite, by Ferde Grofé (much of which was used in the score of A Christmas Story).

Whiteman hired many of the best white jazz men for his band, including Bix Beiderbecke, Frankie Trumbauer, Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, Steve Brown, Mike Pingitore, Gussie Mueller, Wilbur Hall, Jack Teagarden, and Bunny Berigan. He also signed a young Bing Crosby in late 1926 and also signed Mildred Bailey in 1929 (although she didn't make her record with Whiteman until 1931), and Red McKenzie and Ramona Davies in 1932, greatly advancing their careers.

It has been reported in a couple of recent books that Whiteman wanted to hire Black musicians back in the late 1920s but he was talked out of it by his management and record company.

For over 30 years, he sought out and encouraged musicians, vocalists, composers, arrangers and entertainers who looked promising. It is worth repeating that Whiteman not only premiered George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" in 1924, but commissioned him to write it, much to Gershwin's surprise at the time.

Both Bing Crosby and Mildred Bailey got their start singing with the Whiteman Orchestra.

In 1931, Whiteman married motion picture actress Margaret Livingston.

After he disbanded his Orchestra, in the 1940s and 1950s Whiteman worked as a music director for the ABC Radio Network. He also hosted several television programs and continued to appear as guest conductor for many concerts.

Paul Whiteman died at the age of 77 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

Quotations

"Jazz tickles your muscles, symphonies stretch your soul."

"Jazz is the folk music of the machine age."

"Jazz came to America three hundred years ago in chains."

Notes