Goldkette, Jean (18 May 1893–24 March 1962), dance bandleader, businessman, and classical pianist, was born in Patras, Greece, the son of Angelina Goldkette, an actress. It is not known who Jean's father was. The Goldkette family was a troupe of entertainers that traveled throughout Europe and the Ottoman Empire. Angelina met and married John Poliakoff, a journalist, in Moscow in 1903. Raised in Greece and Russia, Jean studied classical piano from an early age, and he attended the Moscow Conservatory of Music. He moved to Chicago in 1910, when he was 17, to live with George Goldkette, an uncle. His mother and stepfather moved to the United States in 1919....
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Goldkette, Jean (18 May 1893–24 March 1962), dance bandleader, businessman, and classical pianist
Stephen C. Galleher
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Goldkette, Jean (18 May 1893–24 March 1962)
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Jean Goldkette. With his orchestra. Courtesy of the Red Hot Jazz Archive.
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Graupner, Gottlieb (1767-1836), musician and music publisher
J. Terry Gates
Graupner, Gottlieb (06 October 1767–16 April 1836), musician and music publisher, was born Johann Christian Gottlieb Graupner in Verden, Germany, the son of Johann Georg Graupner, an honored Hanover musician, and Anna Maria Agnesa Schoenhagen. He apparently bore no relation to famed composer Christoph Graupner of Darmstadt. At age fifteen Gottlieb followed his father’s profession and joined the nearby Hanover regiment as an oboist. After his father’s death Gottlieb was discharged in 1788 and traveled to London where, in 1791–1792, he performed under Joseph Haydn in the premieres of the first set of his “London” symphonies. Graupner then immigrated to the United States, probably through Prince Edward Island off the coast of Canada. He gained employment as a musician in a traveling Atlantic coast theater company on the West and Rignall circuit. In April 1796 he married Catherine Comerford Hillier, a widow with three children, a professional singer, and a member of the company. The Graupners settled in Boston in the winter of 1796–1797 and worked to improve the musical quality of Boston’s cultural life....
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Mills, Irving (1894-1985), singer, music publisher, and manager
Burton W. Peretti
Mills, Irving (16 January 1894–21 April 1985), singer, music publisher, and manager, was born in New York City, the son of working-class Russian Jewish immigrants whose names are unknown. He was educated in New York City public schools but did not attend college. He married Bessie (maiden name unknown) at the age of seventeen; they had five children....
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Pace, Harry Herbert (1884-1943), entrepreneur
John N. Ingham
Pace, Harry Herbert (06 January 1884–26 July 1943), entrepreneur, was born in Covington, Georgia, the son of Charles Pace, a blacksmith, and Nancy Francis. Pace’s father died when he was an infant, but he was nonetheless able to secure a good education. He finished elementary school in Covington by the time he was twelve and seven years later graduated as valedictorian of his class at Atlanta University....
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Savage, Henry Wilson (1859-1927), real estate entrepreneur and theatrical manager
Roger A. Hall
Savage, Henry Wilson (21 March 1859–29 November 1927), real estate entrepreneur and theatrical manager, was born in New Durham, New Hampshire, the son of Captain M. Henry Savage and Betsey Woodhouse. He graduated from Harvard University in 1880 with an A.B. degree and entered the field of real estate. For fifteen years he built up a thriving real-estate business before he switched careers almost accidentally. In 1894 Savage built the Castle Square Theatre in Boston as an investment. The following year the manager of a light opera troupe deserted his company, and the desperate performers turned to Savage for assistance. Savage took over the operation and began his managerial career on 6 May 1895 with his company presenting light opera in English. The Castle Square Opera Company soon gained a large following and a reputation for high-quality musical productions offered at reasonable prices. Savage arranged extensive nationwide tours for his company, and eventually it branched out to Romantic opera and grand opera, presenting ...
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Wilburn, Virgil Doyle (1930-1982), country performer and businessman
Marilee Birchfield
Wilburn, Virgil Doyle (07 July 1930–16 October 1982), country performer and businessman, was born in Hardy, Arkansas, the son of Benjamin Elijah “Pop” Wilburn, a disabled World War I veteran and farmer, and Katie Maple Zieger. Wilburn’s musical career began early when he joined older brothers Lester and Leslie, younger brother “Teddy,” and sister Vinita in a family band. The family’s farm provided little support and the father’s war injuries made it difficult for him to hold a steady job. In 1937 Pop Wilburn saw a neighbor’s family singing on the street in Hardy, Arkansas, and had the idea for the Wilburn Family band. With a mandolin, guitar, and fiddle ordered from a Sears Roebuck catalog the children practiced entertaining neighbors on a makeshift stage in their backyard....
