Herbert Authur Wiedoeft (22 November 1886 - 12 May 1928) was a band leader in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 in the 1920s.

Career

Wiedoeft was born in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and came to the USA with his parents as a child. Wiedoeft came from a family of gifted musicians and was encouraged by his father. His brothers Gerhardt and Adolph (nicknamed "Gay" and "Ad" respectively) played as sidemen in his band, Gerhardt on string bass and Adolph on percussion and xylophone

Xylophone

The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...

. Another brother, Rudy Wiedoeft was a famous saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

 player during the late ragtime

Ragtime

Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...

 and early jazz era. Their sister, Erica, was a pianist.

Wiedoeft started his first orchestra before 1915. Herb's band played for most of its time at the Cinderella Roof Ballroom in the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel

Millennium Biltmore Hotel

The Millennium Biltmore Hotel, originally named the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel of the Biltmore Hotels group, is a luxury hotel located on Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Upon its grand opening in 1923, the Los Angeles Biltmore was the largest hotel west of Chicago, Illinois in...

. The band's theme song "Cinderella Blues" came from this venue. The band recorded four songs for the Nordskog label in 1922.
The band gained a recording contract with Brunswick Records

Brunswick Records

Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...

, toured in Chicago and New York and earned a national reputation.
Their first record for Brunswick was "Cinderella Blues"/ "Shine", the latter being the first recording of the song that had Lew Brown

Lew Brown

Lew Brown was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States.Brown was born as Louis Brownstein in Odessa, Russian Empire...

's revised lyrics.
Clyde Lucas

Clyde Lucas

- External links :...

, who went on to form his own popular band in the 1930s and 1940s, started out as a singer and trombonist in the Herb Wiedoeft orchestra.

Wiedoeft died in a car accident in Medford, Oregon

Medford, Oregon

Medford is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 US Census, the city had a total population of 74,907 and a metropolitan area population of 207,010, making the Medford MSA the 4th largest metro area in Oregon...

 on 12 May 1928, when his car skidded off the Madford-Klamath Falls highway.
The trombonist Jesse Stafford took over the band, and released another 13 sides on Brunswick records under the name of the Jessie Stafford Orchestra.

Discography

A partial list of Brunswick recordings:

Title	|Composers	|Recording	|Serial
	Date	Location
Beale Street Blues Beale Street Blues "Beale Street Blues" is a 1916 song by American composer and lyricist W.C. Handy. The title refers to Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, the main entertainment district for the city's African American population in the early part of the twentieth century, and a place closely associated with the...	W.C. Handy	5-20-1924	Los Angeles, California	2795-A
Beside A Sunny Stream	Moret / Black	5-1925	Los Angeles, California	2893-A
Cinderella Blues	Norman Spencer / Herb Wiedoeft	8-14-1923	San Francisco, California	2542-A
Chimes Blues	Gene Rose / Johnson / Jesse Stafford	5-11-1924	Los Angeles, California	2647-B
Clementine	Brown	10-21-1924	Los Angeles, California	2730-B
Deep Elm	Willard Robison Willard Robison Willard Robison was an American composer of popular song. Born in Shelbina, Missouri, his songs reflect a rural, melancholy theme steeped in Americana. Their warm style has drawn comparison to Hoagy Carmichael...  / Clay	10-14-1925	Chicago, Illinois	2982-B
Everything Is Hotsy Totsy Now (Vocal chorus by Clyde Lucas Clyde Lucas - External links :... )	Jimmy McHugh Jimmy McHugh James Francis McHugh was a U.S. composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he composed over 270 songs...  / Irving Mills Irving Mills Irving Mills was a jazz music publisher, also known by the name of "Joe Primrose."Mills was born to Jewish parents in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. He founded Mills Music with his brother Jack in 1919...	5-1925	Los Angeles, California	2916-A
From Day To Day	Thompson / Wiedoeft / Rose	10-21-1924	Los Angeles, California	2730-A
Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine		5-7-1924	Los Angeles, California	2660
Hard Hearted Hannah Hard Hearted Hannah (The Vamp of Savannah) "Hard Hearted Hannah " is a popular song from Tin Pan Alley.The music was written by Milton Ager, the lyrics by Jack Yellen, Bob Bigelow, and Charles Bates...	Yellen Jack Yellen Jack Selig Yellen was an American lyricist and screenwriter.-Life and career:Born in Poland, Yellen emigrated with his family to the United States when he was five years old. The oldest of seven children, he was raised in Buffalo, New York and began writing songs in high school...  / Bigelow / Bates	10-21-1924	St. Louis, Missouri	2751-B
He's Just A Horn-Tootin' Fool	Lou Davis / Henry Busse Henry Busse Henry Busse Sr. was a jazz trumpeter known for work with sweet bands and big bands.-Early life:Born May 19, 1894 to a generational German Band family. Henry Busse studied violin and then trumpet under his Oompah Band leader uncle...  / Ross Gorman	5-1925	Los Angeles, California	2916-B
Hoodoo Man	Brown	8-8-1924	Los Angeles, California	2627-A
Hot Stuff	Jackson / Herb Wiedoeft / Gene Rose / Jesse Stafford	10-21-1924	St. Louis, Missouri	2781-B
If It Wasn't For You	Berg / Fields / Herb Wiedoeft / Gene Rose	10-21-1924	Los Angeles, California	2781-A
I Want You All For Me	Fisher / Miller / Cohen	10-14-1925	Los Angeles, California	2982-A
Maple Leaf Rag	Scott Joplin Scott Joplin Scott Joplin was an American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions, and was later dubbed "The King of Ragtime". During his brief career, Joplin wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas...	10-21-1924	St. Louis, Missouri	2795-B
Monte Carlo Moon		10-21-1924	St. Louis, Missouri	2751-A
Moonlight Memories	Rose / Terriss	5-11-1924	Los Angeles, California	2647-A
Oh, Peter! You're So Nice	Herb Wiedoeft / Gene Rose / Jesse Stafford	8-8-1924	Los Angeles, California	2627-B
Promenade Walk	Grey / Goodman / Rubens / Coots	10-12-1925	Los Angeles, California	2976
Roamin' Around	Herb Wiedoeft / Sonny Clay / Jesse Stafford	5-1925	Los Angeles, California	2893-B
Shine	arranged by Herb Wiedoeft	8-14-1923	San Francisco, California	2542-B
Stack O'Lee Blues Stagger Lee (song) "Stagger Lee", also known as "Stagolee", "Stackerlee", "Stack O'Lee", "Stack-a-Lee" and several other variants, is a popular folk song based on the murder of William "Billy" Lyons by Stagger Lee Shelton...	Ray Lopez / Lew Coswell	5-14-1924	Los Angeles, California	2660

External links