Pete Wendling (June 6, 1888 – April 7, 1974) was an American composer and pianist, born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to German immigrants. He often collaborated with fellow QRS pianist and composer, Max Kortlander. He started his working life as a carpenter, but gained fame during the mid-1910s as a popular music composer, with his name appearing on the "Soup and Fish Rag" in 1913. He worked on such hits as "Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula" (recorded by

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...

), "Take Me To The Land Of Jazz", "Take Your Girlie To The Movies", "Felix The Cat", and "Oh What A Pal Is Mary". Wendling was also one of the top pianists of his era, and set a long-standing record when he appeared at the

London Hippodrome The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Cranbourn Street and Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few survi ...

for eight consecutive weeks. He joined the Rhythmodik Music Roll Company in 1914, and started to record his performances on paper rolls for

player piano A player piano is a self-playing piano with a pneumatic or electromechanical mechanism that operates the piano action using perforated paper or metallic rolls. Modern versions use MIDI. The player piano gained popularity as mass-produced home ...

s. In 1916 he recorded for American Piano Company (Ampico). In 1918, he joined the largest piano roll company, QRS, and rapidly became one of their most popular artists, his distinctive yet always fresh performances constantly topping their best-selling lists. He recorded two sides for

Okeh Records OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

in 1923, and in 1926, cut another four for Cameo. In 1927, QRS, tightening their belt due to declining sales, released Wendling, and he concentrated on his composing career until his retirement in the 1950s. In 1955, he co-wrote "I Wonder", which became a UK chart hit for both

Jane Froman Ellen Jane Froman (November 10, 1907 – April 22, 1980) was an American actress and singer. During her thirty-year career, she performed on stage, radio, and television despite chronic health problems due to injuries sustained in a 1943 plane cr ...

and

Dickie Valentine Richard Bryce ( Maxwell; 4 November 1929 – 6 May 1971), known professionally as Dickie Valentine, was a British pop singer who enjoyed great popularity in Britain during the 1950s. In addition to several other Top Ten hit singles, Valentine h ...

. Wendling's last notable work was "Rich in Love" in 1956. Married to Anna, he had no children. A resident of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, he died in New York City in April 1974, aged 85 after several strokes.

Selected Discography

Source: * Al Jolson- ''Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula'' (1916), Columbia *

Henry Burr Henry Burr (January 15, 1882 – April 6, 1941) was a Canadian singer, radio performer and producer. He was born Harry Haley McClaskey and used Henry Burr as one of his many pseudonyms, in addition to Irving Gillette, Henry Gillette, Alfred Ale ...

- ''Oh How I Wish I Could Sleep (Until My Daddy Comes Home)'' (1918), Victor *

Marion Harris Marion Harris (born Mary Ellen Harrison; March 25, 1897 – April 23, 1944) was an American popular singer who was most successful in the late 1910s and the 1920s. She was the first widely-known white singer to sing jazz and blues songs.Ward, Elij ...

- ''Take Me to the Land of Jazz'' (1919), Victor * Henry Burr- ''Oh, What a Pal Was Mary'' (1919), Victor * Irving Kaufman- ''Take Your Girlie to the Movies'' (''When You Can't Make Love at Home)'' (1919), OKeh * Al Jolson- ''In Sweet September'' (1920), Columbia ''(as lyricist)'' * Billy Murray & Aileen Stanley- ''Whenever You're Lonesome (Just Telephone Me)'' (1922), Victor *

Johnny Marvin John Senator Marvin (July 11, 1897 – December 10, 1944) was an early American recording artist and musician, starting in 1924 and covering a twenty-year period for many record labels. Early years Born in Butler, Oklahoma, Butler, Oklahom ...

& Aileen Stanley- ''Red Lips (Kiss My Blues Away)'' (1927), Victor * Paul Whiteman Orchestra- ''Felix the Cat'' (1928), Columbia * Paul Specht Orchestra- ''(That's What I Call) Sweet Music'' (1929), Columbia * Seger Ellis- ''There's Danger In Your Eyes, Chérie'' (1930), OKeh

References

External links

Pete Wendling recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wendling, Pete 1888 births 1974 deaths 20th-century American composers