Beyond the Bandstand: Paul Whiteman in American Musical Culture

The most successful bandleader of the 1920s, Paul Whiteman was an entertainment icon who played a major role in the mainstreaming of jazz. Whiteman and his band premiered Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue. Duke Ellington acknowledged his achievements. His astonishing ear for talent vaulted a whos who of artists toward prominence. But Whitemans oversized presence eclipsed Black jazz musicians while his middlebrow music prompted later generations to jettison him from jazz history.

W. Anthony Sheppards collection of essays confronts the racial implications of Whitemans career. The contributors explore Whitemans broad impact on popular culture, tracking his work and influence in American marketing, animated films, the Black press, Hollywood, and the music publication industry, and following him behind the scenes with arrangers, into grand concert halls, across the Atlantic, into the courtroom, and on television.

Multifaceted and cutting-edge, Beyond the Bandstand explores the racial politics and artistic questions surrounding a controversial figure in popular music.

Contributors: Ryan Raul Bañagale, Stephanie Doktor, John Howland, Katherine M. Leo, Sarah Caissie Provost, W. Anthony Sheppard, Catherine Tackley, Elijah Wald, and Christi Jay Wells