1929 Bing Crosby Paul Whiteman POTATO HEAD GREAT DAY Without a Song Columbia
  $   35

 


$ 35 Sold For
Jan 29, 2026 Sold Date
Jan 24, 2026 Start Date
1 Number Of Bids
  USA Country Of Seller
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Description

A series of great  JAZZ Blues and R&B Records from early Ragtime to Beb-Bop on 78 rpm Victrola Records

More great Jazz and Vocal Records in my other listings!



Great Paul Whiteman Potatohead Picture label Columbia Viva Tonal  record
featuring Bing Crosby

Surprisingly, the 1929 musical “Great Day” that produced not only this song but also “More Than You Know” and “Without A Song” lasted only one month on Broadway; and MGM’s planned 1930 film adaptation was halted during production and never finished.  This Columbia ‘potato-head’ 78 release (“Without A Song” on the flip side) was among the more popular of the recorded Whiteman-Crosby collaborations.

Paul Whiteman & his Orchestra, vocals by Bing Crosby, Jack Fulton, Al Rinker & Harry Barris, recorded in NYC October 9, 1929


Paul Whiteman And His Orchestra – Great Day / Without A Song


Label: Columbia – 2023-D
Format: 
Shellac, 10", 78 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1929
Genre: Latin, Stage & Screen
Style: Soundtrack
A  Great Day = Dia Grandioso
Written-By – Rose*, Eliscu*, Youmans*
B  Without A Song = Sin Una Canción
Written-By – Rose*, Eliscu*, Youmans*
Copyright © – Columbia Phonograph Company, Inc.
From the movie "Great Day!"


Orig Issue Potatohead Picture label Columbia Viva Tonal  10" 78 rpm record
Condition:VERY GOOD PLUS PLUS rubbed, rim chip does not touch groove, 15mm fine scratch on Without does not sound,
plays E- very quiet light hiss

 

Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra was the most popular band of the 1920s and represented the apex of jazz to the general public. Over the years, critics and some musicians like Eddie Condon, have not had kind words to say about the band and have tended to represent Whiteman as a bad influence on the music in his attempts to "Make a lady out of Jazz". The title of "The King Of Jazz" which Whiteman was billed as seems somewhat politically incorrect these days, but in the 1920s he dominated the scene and hired the best White hot musicians like Bix Beiderbecke, Frankie Trumbauer, Eddie Lang, Joe Venuti, Jack Teagarden and many more to play in his band. Paul Whiteman greatly enriched American music by commissioning George Gershwin to write Rhapsody In Blue which became his orchestra's signature tune. He also "discovered" Bing Crosby and featured him in Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys, and gave the career of Hoagy Carmichael a boost, by recording several of Hoagy's songs early in his career. Jazz singer Mildred Bailey also rose to fame in the orchestra in the 1930s. So, what was it that has led Whiteman's name to be dragged through the mud in the annals of Jazz history? Paul Whiteman being the most popular Jazz band leader of the Jazz Age is blamed for the racism in America that denied African-American musicians the credit that they deserved in the history of Jazz. If there is such a thing as the "King of Jazz" the title belongs to Louis Armstrong, although that may not have been clear to most people in the 1920s. Whiteman is also criticized for not hiring African-American musicians to play in his band, but this argument ignores the commercial realities of the period. Paul Whiteman was clearly not a racist. He commissioned Duke Ellington to write for his modern music series, recorded with Paul Robeson and Billie Holiday, and hired Don Redman as an arranger in the 1930s and was generally held in high regards as a person by musicians both Black and White. The worst that can be leveled at Whiteman was that he was a businessman. Despite that, Whiteman made some very good Jazz records in the 1920s such as San, Washboard Blues, Mississippi Mud, Whiteman Stomp, Wang Wang Blues and I'm Coming, Virginia. His interest in making symphonic Jazz led the way for generations of Jazz musicians as diverse as Miles Davis, Gil Evans, The Modern Jazz Quartet and Winton Marsalis, who may not directly cite Whiteman as an influence, but have certainly walked down the path that he blazed at points in their careers.

 

 


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