Paul Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was a popular American orchestral leader.
Because press agents dubbed him "The King of Jazz" in the 1920s, Paul Whiteman has always been considered a controversial figure in jazz history. Actually, his orchestra was the most popular during the era and at times (despite its size) it did play very good jazz.
Paul Samuel Whiteman was born in Denver, Colorado. After a start as a classical violinist and violist, he led a large Navy band during World War I and always had a strong interest in the popular music of the day. In 1918, he organized his first dance band in San Francisco and, after short periods in Los Angeles and Atlantic City, he settled in New York in 1920. His initial recordings for Victor Records ("Japanese Sandman" and "Whispering") were such big sellers that Whiteman was soon a household name. His superior dance band used some of the most technically skilled musicians of the era in a versatile show that included everything from pop tunes and waltzes to semi-classical works and jazz.
Trumpeter Henry Busse (featured on "Hot Lips" and "When Day Is Done") was Whiteman's main star during the 1921-1926 period. Seeking to "make a lady out of jazz," Whiteman's symphonic jazz did not always swing, but at Aeolian Hall in 1924 he introduced "Rhapsody in Blue" (with its composer George Gershwin on piano) in what was called "An Experiment in Modern Music." Red Nichols and Tommy Dorsey passed through the band but it was in 1927, with the addition of Bix Beiderbecke, Frankie Trumbauer, and Bing Crosby (the latter originally featured as part of a vocal trio called the Rhythm Boys), that Whiteman began to finally have an important jazz band. Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang soon joined up, and many of Whiteman's recordings of 1927-1930 (particularly the ones with Bill Challis arrangements) are among his finest.
In the 1920s, Whiteman was controversially dubbed The King of Jazz (see: Jazz royalty) and though he wore this title with pride, he hadn't stopped short of acknowledging the African American roots of the genre and never claimed to be a pioneer of the genre, but rather emphasized the way he'd approached the already well-established style of music while organizing its composure and style in a fashion of his own choosing. He recorded Hoagy Carmichael singing and playing "Washboard Blues" to the accompaniment of his orchestra in 1927.
Whiteman became the most popular band leader of the decade. In May, 1928, he signed with Columbia Records, only to return to Victor September, 1931, where he stayed until March, 1937. Whiteman signed Mildred Bailey in 1929 (although she didn't record with Whiteman until 1931). 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. Red McKenzie and Ramona Davies joined the Whiteman group in 1932.
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| Whiteman with Ramona Davies |
After Beiderbecke left the band in 1929 and Whiteman filmed the erratic but fascinating movie The King of Jazz in 1930, the Depression forced the bandleader to cut back on his personnel (which at one time included two pianos, tuba, bass sax, string bass, banjo, and guitar in its rhythm section). While today most fans of jazz consider improvisation to be essential to the musical style, Whiteman thought the music could be improved by orchestrating the best of it, with formal arrangements. In a time when most dance bands consisted of six to 10 men, Whiteman led a much larger and more imposing group, numbering as many as 35 musicians. Whiteman's recordings were critically popular and commercially successful, and his more respectable brand of jazz music was often the first jazz of any form that some people heard.
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| Whiteman with Bing Crosby |
Although his orchestra in the 1930s at times featured Bunny Berigan, Trumbauer, and both Jack and Charlie Teagarden, Whiteman's music was considered old hat by the time of the swing era and he essentially retired (except for special appearances) by the early '40s. In the 1940s and 1950s, after he had disbanded his orchestra, 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. His manner on stage was disarming; he signed off each program with something casual like, "Well, that just about slaps the cap on the old milk bottle for tonight."
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." Paul Whiteman died December 29, 1967, at the age of 77 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
(Edited from Wikipedia & AllMusic)