Introduction
On March 12, 1928, Paul Whiteman and the musicians in his orchestra went to the Victor recording studios in Liederkranz Hall, 58th Street between Lexington and Fourth Avenue, New York, NY and recorded three numbers: “When,” “Down in Old Havana Town,” and “I’m Wingin’ Home.”
In the present article I provide information about “When,” the first number recorded in that session.
“When”—The Song
It will be seen that Andy Razaf and Bob Schafer wrote the lyrics and J. C. Johnson composed the music. When is an example of an interracial composition: two of the songwriters, Razaf and Johnson, were African American and the third, Schafer, sometimes spelled Shafer, was white.
Andy Razaf, African American poet and lyricist, was born Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo on December 16, 1895, in Washington DC, and died on February 3, 1973, in North Hollywood, CA. Razaf was the son of a Madagascar nobleman and nephew of Queen Ranavalona, III of the Imerina kingdom in Madagascar. The Songwriters Hall of Fame, where Razaf was inducted in 1972, lists over 200 songs co-written by Razaf-among them “A
