Paul Whiteman Some information in this article or section has not been verified and may not be reliable . Please check for any inaccuracies , and modify and cite sources as needed . Paul Whiteman and his orchestra in 1921 . Photo from the sheet music issue of the band 's early hit recording Wang Wang Blues 1928 Columbia Records label with caricature of Paul Whiteman Paul Whiteman ( March 28 , 1890 – December 29 , 1967 ) was a popular American orchestral leader . Whiteman was born in Denver , Colorado . He started out as a classical violinist and violist , then started leading 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 late 1920s he recorded for Columbia Records . In the 1920s and early 1930s Whiteman was dubbed ( self proclaimed ) The King of Jazz ( see : Jazz royalty ) . Much of what his band played has n't been considered `` true '' jazz by later generations . Others reject these notions , and regard Whiteman 's music as an interesting development in jazz history . He recorded Hoagy Carmichael singing and playing Washboard Blues to the accompaniment of his orchestra in 1926 . 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 . While modern revisionists might look back & say `` that was n't the True Jazz '' , his notions were critically popular and commercially successful at the time , and Whiteman 's music was often the first jazz of any form that some people heard . Here is what 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 appreciated jazz musicians and 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 , Jack Teagarden , and Bunny Berigan . Whiteman gave them constant chances to improvise , paid them top salaries and encouraged them to make small band jam recordings on the side . Paul Whiteman was primarily responsible for revolutionizing the dance orchestra and dance music after World War I . Prior to then , dances were played by military bands , string ensembles , or small combinations . Working in 1918-19 with arranger Ferde Grofé and in parallel with fellow San Francisco bandleader Art Hickman , Whiteman introduced the saxophone section as musical unit of equal weight with the brass . This set a standard for instrumentation that defined the dance orchestra , and remains in big bands to this day . Before Whiteman , musical arrangements were very cut-and-dried , with much repetition . Whiteman and Grofé introduced arrangements that instead of repeating , changed keys , textures and rhythms over their course , much like symphonic music . This innovation , combined with the jazz elements mentioned above , plus his insistence on using top notch , concert-calibre musicians , made Paul Whiteman 's orchestra a vanguard force that changed the face of popular music in the 1920s . Whiteman was also one of the greatest of all talent scouts . 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 . Bing Crosby got his 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 . Notes ^ Wilder , Alec ( 1990 ) . American Popular Song : The Great Innovators 1900-1950 . New York & Oxford : Oxford University Press . ISBN 0-195-01445-6 . Categories : Wikipedia articles needing factual verification | 1890 births | 1967 deaths | Jazz bandleaders | People from Denver | People from New York City | Hollywood Walk of Fame In other languages : Deutsch | Français | Svenska Alec Wilder 1990 American Popular Song : The Great Innovators 1900-1950 Oxford University Press New York & Oxford ISBN 0-195-01445-6 