Paul Whiteman, Part Two! 1920-1927

Buster, at Big 10-Inch Record, inspired my last Paul Whtieman post, so I guess it's fair to say he inspired this one, too.  Logically consistent, anyway.  And I need to do something with the 100-plus Whiteman tracks I ripped last year.  I can let them sit, unloved and neglected, on 80 min. CD-Rs, or I can release them into the blogosphere.  So, here they are.  They're happy to be here.

These are all from 78s in my collection, edited and curve-correct by me, and most are in good to very good condition, with two exceptions--Dixie's Favortie Son and Down Around the 'Sip 'Sip 'Sippy Shore.  But these were too terrific to exclude simply because they sound like, well, 78s.  (78s tend to do that, I've noticed.)  And, besides, I coaxed some decent sound out of them by using every MAGIX trick I know.

We're always told that Whitmean's band didn't sound anything like jazz until he inherited all that great talent from the Jean Goldkette Orchestra (e.g., Bix Beiderbecke, Frankie Trumbauer), but I hope these pre-overhaul sides help to correct that notion, because there's a lot of jazz here.  You just have to be familiar with how jazz sounded in its very early days--and marvel at the skill with which popular bandleaders like Whiteman, Fred Waring, Vincent Lopez (and, earlier, Earl Fuller and Art Hickman) managed to sneak the sound into their dance numbers.  Hence, Whiteman's dance sides, like those of many bandleaders in the 1920-1927 period, run the gamut from 1) nothing remotely like jazz to, 2) "Hey, that sounds like the real thing!"  Years ago, a 78 dealer with greater early dance/jazz knowledge than me (at the time, at least) heard Whiteman's Wang Wang Blues and said, "That's King Oliver, isn't it?"  I suppose Whiteman and head arranger Grofe were crooks, but very skilled ones.

Seriously, I love the fact that jazz found its way into the mainstream pop of the 1920s.  And I deplore the second-class treatment and regard accorded the black founders of the music in those days.  But it needs to be said that Whiteman, like Elvis Presley (how's that for a link?), never denied the black origins of his music, even if Paul was obsessed with turning jazz into concert fare.  For this he has never been forgiven, yet that was precisely the path taken by jazz, post-Whiteman--think 1938 and Benny Goodman.

Wang Wang Blues is from Whiteman's first Victor session (Aug. 9, 1920), and the 12-inch Best Ever Medley is from his second (Aug.19).  The latter side was arranged by Paul himself, and it's easy to hear why he brought Ferde Grofe on board.  Whiteman was co-author of the other 1920 side here,  I Never Knew (I Could Love Anybody Like I'm Loving You), which apparently is associated with Judy Garland and 1942, but it goes back to at least 1919.  It would take me hours to find my sheet music copy, and my Google search isn't getting me anywhere, so let's stick with 1919.

Note the four-selection 12-inch Whiteman 78 shown in the bottom scans--it's the only one of its type I've seen in the Whiteman catalog.  I suppose it's an early kind of EP, and I've seen others like it--especially acoustical and early electrical era 78s for children.  The two bands on each side are without a connecting groove.  The four selections are part of today's playlist.

In some ways, Whiteman is a Bill Haley sort of figure--helping bring in something new while being too old and lacking in good looks.  The Victor Whiteman sleeve (above), however, shows him looking very svelte.  Not at all like the other Victor sleeve.

Fun sounds--some of them genuinely jazzy--await!

DOWNLOAD: Paul Whiteman, Part 2

Shaking the Blues Away (Berlin)--1927 (A: Grofe)
Dixie's Favorite Son--1924
Ivy (Cling to Me)--1922
Wang Wang Blues --1920 (A: Grofe)
Down Around the 'Sip 'Sip 'Sippy Shore--Medley (One-step)--1921
San (Oriental Fox Trot)--1924
Shanghai Dream Man, w. vocal chorus--1927 (A: Grofe)
Best Ever Medley (One-step)--1920 (A: Whiteman)
Fallen Leaf, w. vocal chorus (A: Grofe), 1927
Lulu Belle (A: Grofe), 1926
No More Worryin', w. vocal refrain (A: Grofe), 1926
Charleston--1925 (A: Grofe)
Two Little Ruby Rings--1922 (A: Grofe)
Moonlight on the Ganges, w. vocal chorus--1926 (A: Grofe)
There's a Boatman on the Volga, v. Gladys Rice--1926 (A: Grofe)
Where Is That Girl of Mine?/Driftwood--1924 (A: Grofe)
Mandalay/Step Henrietta--1924 (A: Grofe)
Oh Me! Oh My! (Hirsch)--1921 
Honey, I'm in Love with You--1925 (A: Grofe)
I Never Knew (I Could Love Anybody Like I'm Loving You)--1920
Precious, w. vocal chorus--1926 (A: Grofe)
I'm Just Wild About Harry--1922








Lee