In the 1920s and early 1930s Whiteman became widely known as The King of Jazz (see: Jazz royalty). Much of what his band played hasn'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.[1]
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. Modern revisionists might look back and say "that wasn't the True Jazz", but his notions were critically popular and commercially successful at the time. Whiteman's music was often the first jazz of any form that some people heard.
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, Wilbur Hall, 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 that time, 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 a 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.
Both Bing Crosby and Mildred Bailey got their 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.
Ramona
Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where the mountains high
Seem to kiss the sky
Someone is out yonder, o'er the hills
Waiting patiently, Waiting just for me
Ramona, I hear the mission bells above
Ramona, they're ringing out our song of love
To always remember the rambling rose you wear in your hair
Ramona, when day is done you'll hear my call
Ramona, we'll meet beside the water fall
I dread the dawn when I awake to find you gone
Ramona I need you my own
Let's wander out yonder o'er the hills
By a babbling brook
Where we'll find a nook
To build our own love nest, o'er the hills
Darling of my heart, Never more to part
Ramona, I hear the mission bells above
Ramona, they're ringing out our song of love
I press you, caress you, and bless the day you taught me to care
To always remember the rambling rose you wear in your hair
Ramona, when day is done you'll hear my call
Ramona, we'll meet beside the water fall
I dread the dawn when I awake to find you gone
Ramona I need you my own
The lyrics of Paul Whiteman's "Ramona" describe a man wandering out in the hills where the mountains seem to kiss the sky, searching for someone who is waiting for him. The song seems to be a love story between two people, with the singer singing about his love for Ramona. He hears the mission bells above and they're ringing out their song of love. He remembers the day Ramona taught him to care, and he promises to always remember the rambling rose she wears in her hair. Even though he dreads the dawn when he'll wake up and find her gone, he needs her to be his own.
The verses of the song describe the singer wandering the hills and searching for his love, while the chorus is a declaration of his love and a promise to always be with her. The song has a romantic and nostalgic tone, with the singer looking back on his memories of Ramona.
Line by Line Meaning
I wander out yonder o'er the hills
I'm wandering far from home over the mountains
Where the mountains high seem to kiss the sky
The mountains look immensely high as they almost touch the sky
Someone is out yonder, o'er the hills
There's someone waiting for me far away over the hills
Waiting patiently, Waiting just for me
They're waiting patiently and eagerly anticipating my arrival
Ramona, I hear the mission bells above
Ramona, I can hear the bells of the local church ringing in the distance
Ramona, they're ringing out our song of love
Those bells are ringing out the melody of our love song
I press you, caress you, and bless the day you taught me to care
I hold you close to me, shower you with affection, and appreciate the day you taught me to love
To always remember the rambling rose you wear in your hair
I'll never forget the beautiful rose that you wear in your hair
Ramona, when day is done you'll hear my call
Ramona, when the day is over I'll call out for you to join me
Ramona, we'll meet beside the water fall
We'll find each other and meet up next to the waterfall
I dread the dawn when I awake to find you gone
I'm afraid of waking up to find that you've left me behind
Ramona I need you my own
Ramona, I need you with me, you belong to me
Let's wander out yonder o'er the hills
Let's go out and explore the hills together
By a babbling brook where we'll find a nook
We'll find a secluded spot by a babbling brook
To build our own love nest, o'er the hills
We'll create our own private space where we can nurture our love
Darling of my heart, Never more to part
You're the love of my life, and we'll never be separated
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: L. Wolfe Gilbert, Mabel Wayne
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
withersmithers
Best version of Ramona. I love this type of music.
Billy
Beste versjon av Ramona er innspilt med Gene Austin. ingen kunne synge den som ham.