#24 Happy Feet by Paul Whiteman Orchestra. TOP 40 CHARLESTON SONGS of the 1920s.

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Whiteman was the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, He is perhaps best known for his blending of symphonic music and jazz, as typified by his 1924 commissioning and debut of George Gershwin's jazz-influenced "Rhapsody In Blue".

Whiteman's place in the history of early jazz is somewhat controversial. Detractors suggest that Whiteman's ornately-orchestrated music was jazz in name only, Defenders note that Whiteman's fondness for jazz was genuine and he worked with black musicians as much as was feasible during an era of racial segregation),

In his autobiography, Duke Ellington[ declared, "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."