Herbert Arthur Wiedoeft (22 November 1886 – 12 May 1928) was a German-American band leader in California in the 1920s.
Career Wiedoeft was born in Germany and came to the United States with his parents as a child. Wiedoeft came from a family of 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. Another brother, Rudy Wiedoeft, was a saxophone player during the late ragtime and early jazz era. Their sister, Erica, was a pianist. Herbert himself played the trumpet.
Wiedoeft started his first orchestra before 1915. His band played for several years at the Cinderella Roof Ballroom at Sixth and Olive in downtown Los Angeles. The band's theme song, "Cinderella Blues", came from the name of this venue. The band recorded four songs for the Nordskog label in 1922. The band gained a recording contract with Brunswick Records, 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's revised lyrics. Clyde Lucas, 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, on 12 May 1928, when his car skidded off the Medford–Klamath Falls highway. The trombonist Jesse Stafford took over the band and released another 13 sides on Brunswick Records under the name of the Jesse Stafford Orchestra.
Discography A partial list of Brunswick recordings: TitleComposersRecordingSerialDateLocationBeale Street Blues W.C. Handy5-20-1924Los Angeles, California 2795-ABeside A Sunny Stream Moret / Black5-1925Los Angeles, California2893-ACinderella Blues Norman Spencer / Herb Wiedoeft8-14-1923San Francisco, California2542-AChimes Blues Gene Rose / Johnson / Jesse Stafford5-11-1924Los Angeles, California2647-BClementine Brown10-21-1924Los Angeles, California2730-BDeep Elm Willard Robison / Clay10-14-1925Chicago, Illinois2982-BEverything Is Hotsy Totsy Now (Vocal chorus by Clyde Lucas)Jimmy McHugh / Irving Mills5-1925Los Angeles, California2916-AFrom Day To Day Thompson / Wiedoeft / Rose10-21-1924Los Angeles, California2730-AGo Your Way and I'll Go Mine 5-7-1924Los Angeles, California2660Hard Hearted Hannah Yellen / Bigelow / Bates10-21-1924St. Louis, Missouri2751-BHe's Just A Horn-Tootin' Fool Lou Davis / Henry Busse / Ross Gorman5-1925Los Angeles, California2916-BHoodoo Man Brown8-8-1924Los Angeles, California2627-AHot Stuff Jackson / Herb Wiedoeft / Gene Rose / Jesse Stafford10-21-1924St. Louis, Missouri2781-BIf It Wasn't For You Berg / Fields / Herb Wiedoeft / Gene Rose10-21-1924Los Angeles, California2781-AI Want You All For Me Fisher / Miller / Cohen10-14-1925Los Angeles, California2982-AMaple Leaf Rag Scott Joplin10-21-1924St. Louis, Missouri2795-BMonte Carlo Moon 10-21-1924St. Louis, Missouri2751-AMoonlight Memories Rose / Terriss5-11-1924Los Angeles, California2647-AOh, Peter! You're So Nice Herb Wiedoeft / Gene Rose / Jesse Stafford8-8-1924Los Angeles, California2627-BPromenade Walk Grey / Goodman / Rubens / Coots10-12-1925Los Angeles, California2976Roamin' Around Herb Wiedoeft / Sonny Clay / Jesse Stafford5-1925Los Angeles, California2893-BShine arranged by Herb Wiedoeft8-14-1923San Francisco, California2542-BStack O'Lee Blues Ray Lopez / Lew Coswell5-14-1924Los Angeles, California2660
Works
References
Bibliography for references
External links Herb Wiedoeft's Cinderella Roof Orchestra at the Red Hot Jazz Archive