Paul Whiteman

Paul Whiteman was born into a music family as his father was a music legend, so he essentially came up with music being in his genes. At the age of 17, he got an invitation to play with Denver symphony. In 1914 he left Denver and headed to San Fransisco to play where jazz was thriving. After high school he briefly attended DU. During this time of attending college he was also playing with the Brown Palace Orchestra as well as with his father’s orchestra in Denver. During World War 1, he led a large navy band. During his time in the industry, the press dubbed him as “The King of Jazz” as he was seen as one of the premium jazz figures. As years and decades went on, Whiteman saw his popularity begin to decline, in which he eventually ended up playing and retiring in Las Vegas. In 2016, he was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame.

Written by: Christian Powell

Paul Whiteman early years

Being that this was a musical family, the Whiteman's would move quite often around the city, but with beneficial reasons. Each reason corresponding to an elevation of status within the family. Paul Whiteman was pushed in his early years by his father as he first started playing the Violin at the age of seven. He really didn't want to play here so he smashed his violin in which he was punished by his father by being banned to his mother's sewing room for an hour everyday.

1956

Paul Whiteman returns to Denver

Paul Whiteman was an iconic figure in his hometown of Denver. It helped that his father also had a good reputation, and he had been running the school board of Denver for quite sometime. He came back the week of April 29, 1956 to visit the city of Denver. In his return, Whiteman played for the local schools around his home area of East Denver. During his time being back, he attended the dedication of a new public school, Wilberforce J. Whiteman, which is named after his father. Whiteman without a doubt was Denver's most famous musical figure at the time. Written by: Christian Powell

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