Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel 'Pops' Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violist.

As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, Whiteman produced recordings that were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz". His most popular recordings include "Whispering", "Valencia", "Three O'Clock in the Morning", "In a Little Spanish Town", and "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers". Whiteman led a usually large ensemble and explored many styles of music, such as blending symphonic music and jazz, as in his debut of "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin.

Whiteman recorded many jazz and pop standards during his career, including "Wang Wang Blues", "Mississippi Mud", "Rhapsody in Blue", "Wonderful One", "Hot Lips (He's Got Hot Lips When He Plays Jazz)", "Mississippi Suite", "Grand Canyon Suite", and "Trav'lin' Light". He co-wrote the 1925 jazz classic "Flamin' Mamie". His popularity faded in the swing music era of the mid-1930s, and by the 1940s he was semi-retired from music. He experienced a revival and had a comeback in the 1950s with his own network television series, "Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue", which ran for three seasons on ABC. He also hosted the 1954 ABC talent contest show "On the Boardwalk with Paul Whiteman".

Whiteman's place in the history of early jazz is somewhat controversial. Detractors suggest that his ornately orchestrated music was jazz in name only, lacking the genre's improvisational and emotional depth, and co-opted the innovations of black musicians. Defenders note that Whiteman's fondness for jazz was genuine. He worked with black musicians as much as was feasible during an era of racial segregation. His bands included many of the era's most esteemed white musicians, and his groups handled jazz admirably as part of a larger repertoire.

Critic Scott Yanow declares that Whiteman's orchestra "did play very good jazz...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. [...] Many of his recordings (particularly those with Beiderbecke) have been reissued numerous times and are more rewarding than his detractors would lead one to believe."

In his autobiography, Duke Ellington declared, "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."
Q806349
bandleader
Concept
Q1374818
Whispering
MEDIA
Q7910646
Valencia
MEDIA
Q3990868
Three O'Clock in the Morning
MEDIA
Q6011377
In a Little Spanish Town
MEDIA
Q7756060
Parade of the Wooden Soldiers
MEDIA
Q42998
symphonic music
Concept
Q8341
jazz
Concept
Q722599
Rhapsody in Blue
MEDIA
Q123829
George Gershwin
PER
Q7967653
Wang Wang Blues
MEDIA
Q6879233
Mississippi Mud
MEDIA
Q8031838
Wonderful One
MEDIA
Q5910127
Hot Lips (He's Got Hot Lips When He Plays Jazz)
MEDIA
Q6879332
Mississippi Suite
MEDIA
Q3819778
Grand Canyon Suite
MEDIA
Q7835858
Trav'lin' Light
MEDIA
Q5457219
Flamin' Mamie
MEDIA
Q203775
swing music
Concept
Q7154346
Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue
Concept
Q169889
ABC
MEDIA
Q7091304
On the Boardwalk with Paul Whiteman
MEDIA
Q1049625
improvisational
Concept
Q2652357
racial segregation
Concept
Q743133
Scott Yanow
PER
Q225131
Beiderbecke
PER
Q4030
Duke Ellington
PER
Q470182
Paul Whiteman
PER
Q470182
Paul Whiteman
PER
1890-03-28T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
March 28, 1890
DATE
1967-12-29T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
December 29, 1967
DATE
1920-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1920
DATE
1930-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1930
DATE
1925-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1925
DATE
1940-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1940
DATE
1950-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1950
DATE
1954-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1954
DATE
-1930^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-1930
NUMBER
date of birth
date of death
genre
instrumentation
composer
genre
notable work
original broadcaster