Paul Whiteman was issued of his nickname "The King of Jazz". Many ignore the title, some play it down, and others berate it. Although he himself tried to change his introductions to "The Dean of Modern American Music" on the later radio shows, The "King" Whiteman continued to stick with the fans.

What made Whiteman great were the people he sought to have in his band. Names like Bing Crosby, Bix Beiderbecke, Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Hoagy Carmichael, and many others.

Jazz before Whiteman was heard in smaller combos. Whiteman increased the size of his band into nearly symphonic proportion. The large emsemble made Jazz certainly more respectable with the serious music listener than before. This "symphonic" Jazz concept culminated in a concert at the Aeolian Hall, New York, in February of 1924.

If the Aeolian Hall concert was Paul Whiteman's coronation, his rise to power certainly came quick. He began his first band in San Francisco, 1918. His band played sucessfully in California for a couple of years and then it was on to New York. His signature song at the time was "Whispering" and it was the crowd favorite.

His fame was enormous throughout the twenties. The number one band that everyone else emulated. He even signed up the young Bing Crosby,  Harry Barris and Al Rinker, who were known as the Rhythm Boys. During the late twenties they were the primary vocalists.

The climax for Whiteman seems to be the Universal opus, "The King of Jazz" in 1930. The film was landmark. It was filmed in an early form of technicolor, the first musical to do so. The film has no story. It is rather a scrapbook of music and comedy sketches made into an entertaining little variety show.

In the 1930s, Paul Whiteman's claim to the "King of Jazz" began less and less to matter. For the "King of Swing" was taking over. His popularity never declined in as much as his band's size did. Yet radio work was always there and even though live band music on the networks faded, Paul continued to work in radio, spinning 78s into his twilight.

His twilight years caught the age of television and he hosted his own show. He never had his "own" band by this time in the 1950s. However, he guest conducted often. It should be mentioned that Paul Whiteman never really retired from the music scene, yet it is fair to say that he lived in a state semi-retirement in the 1960s until his death in 1967 from heart-failure.

Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra is amongst the most beautiful in recording history.