# Eddie Wittstein

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**Eddie Wittstein** (February 22, 1885 – December 22, 1975) was an American bandleader popular in [New Haven, Connecticut](/source/New_Haven%2C_Connecticut) and [Yale University](/source/Yale_University) in the first half of the 20th century.

Wittstein grew up in New Haven, and was performing professionally in a band by the time he was 14. He was awarded a music scholarship to Yale in 1904, and was [concertmaster](/source/Concertmaster) for the [Yale Symphony Orchestra](/source/Yale_Symphony_Orchestra). He started an orchestra that played for silent films after graduation.[1]

Wittstein and his orchestra began performing regularly in the Yale dining hall during meals. In 1910, he debuted [Cole Porter](/source/Cole_Porter)'s "Bingo Eli Yale," a Yale fight song which is still sung.[2] Wittstein also conducted the annual proms at Yale for 52 years, starting around 1912.[3][2][4]

A 1924 newspaper profile credited Wittstein for launching the careers of opera singer [Rosa Ponselle](/source/Rosa_Ponselle), dancer [Allyn King](/source/Allyn_King), and actress/dancer [Diana Allen](/source/Diana_Allen). According to the story, after Wittstein started playing violin for Yale students about 20 years prior. Ponselle was a cashier in the restaurant which hired Wittstein to play, and brought her on to sing. Allen was then brought on as a performer for Wittstein's budding "cabaret". After those two left for New York, Wittstein brought on King.[5] Broadway composer [Harold Rome](/source/Harold_Rome) also played for piano for Wittstein's band while attending Yale in 1927.[6]

Wittstein, still conducting at age 89, was highlighted in a 1974 article in *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)* about a revival of Yale's annual prom.[3] He died in December 1975.[1]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-1975yale_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-1975yale_1-1) Myers, Jennifer (14 January 1976). [Prom leader Eddie Wittstein succumbs at 90](http://digital.library.yale.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/yale-ydn/id/140327/rec/4), *Yale Daily News*

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-cole_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-cole_2-1) Kimball, Robert. *Cole Porter at Yale*, in [A Cole Porter Companion](https://books.google.com/books?id=QfSLDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA4) (Don M. Randel et al., eds.), p. 4 (2016)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-nytimes74_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-nytimes74_3-1) Knight, Michael (20 April 1974). [Yalie Fox‐Trot at Pro, Five Years After It Was Dropped as Old‐Fashioned](https://www.nytimes.com/1974/04/20/archives/yalies-foxtrot-at-prom-five-years-after-it-was-dropped-as.html), *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-people74_4-0)** Harrison, Norma (17 June 1974). [Ballroom is Back and Duchin Is King](https://people.com/archive/ballroom-is-back-and-duchin-is-king-vol-1-no-16/), *People*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1924one_5-0)** (20 June 1924). [He's a Star Maker](https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/46920392/), *Danville Bee*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-rome_6-0)** Zimmers, Tighe E. [Lyrical Satirical Harold Rome: A Biography of the Broadway Composer-Lyricist](https://books.google.com/books?id=geKvAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA6), pp. 6, 199 (2014)

## External links

- [Sheet music for "Why Don't You Answer Me, Daddy?"](https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/1832/) (Wittstein composer), DigitalCommons at UMaine

- [Will You Wait A Year or Two?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=injkBIbCbwE), Eddie Wittstein and His Orchestra 1931 (YouTube)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Eddie Wittstein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Wittstein) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Wittstein?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.